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Your Maine Farmers' Market resource
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This is the 29-Nov-2007 edition.
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Openings At Brunswick Farmers' Market. (4-Dec-07)
There are two openings for vendors at Brunswick's farmers' market. Space is open to farmers, bakers, butchers, craftspeople, and others. Market runs Tuesdays and Fridays from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., May through the first week in November. Interested vendors should contact Pete Karonis at 729-1872 by the end of the year.
A Gorham Farmers' Market? This email arrived today, 27-Nov-07. The town would like the market to run from at least late June to late August, which is the season for their summer events series, but are open to it running longer. A town-owned site on Route 25 is the planned location:
HI
I would like to start a farmer's market in downtown Gorham Maine on the summer afternoon/evenings we hold our concerts ....
As an organizer do I need to request any kind of food permits from vendors, Tax ID's etc/
IS there an app I can look at for reference?
thanks for your time!
Gail Platts
Administrative Assistant
Gorham Parks & Recreation
recreation@gorham.me.us
75 South Street, Suite 1
Gorham, ME 04038
(207) 222-1630 (phone)
(207) 839-7752 (fax)
This press release arrived today, 27-Nov-07:
New magazine focuses on marketing methods for independent farmers
Farmers' Markets Today is a new magazine with information to help farmers and farmers markets be more successful and profitable in selling their products direct to customers. The magazine shares stories about what growers, artisans and farmers markets are doing to promote their businesses, reach new customers and develop value-added products. Also featured are guest columnists and resources for tools, products and equipment.
Farmers' Markets Today premiered June 2007 and will be published 10 times per year. Free subscriptions are available to managers of farmers markets, market vendors and direct market farmers who sell through CSAs, u-pick farms or farm stands, or directly to restaurants, grocers, co-ops, institutions or other organizations.
To sign up for a subscription or for more information, call 1-800-959-3276, visit www.farmersmarketstoday.com or send an e-mail to info@scissortailproductionsllc.com.
FARMERS WANTED! This email arrived on 2-Nov-07:
Hi all,
This is just a quick email to let you know we are having a meeting of the Harrison Farmers Market on Monday, November 12th at 10:00 a.m. at the Harrison Fire Station Community Room. We would like to invite you all and any other farmers who may be interested in learning about our farmers market. The 2008 market will run from May 26th to August 25th, each Monday from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
We are a growing market, looking for new members for the 2008 season.
If you are interested but unable to make the meeting on the 12th, please let me know and I will send you notification of a future meeting.
Thanks, and we would love to see you at the meeting!
Cindy Creps, Secretary, Harrison Farmers Market
Meadow Ridge Perennial Farm
316 Back Street,Hebron, ME 04238
(207) 966-2126 or (207) 577-1216
Meadowridgeper@aol.com
NEW FEATURE: Store your market's applications and important documents here!
It was suggested to me that markets without their own website would benefit from having some of their important documents available here at www.MFFM.org for members and potential members to download. Any market can send their applcation, preferably in .doc, .rtf or .pdf format, to tom@mffm.org and we'll make them available here within a few days.
So to begin this, we start with the . . .
FARMERS WANTED! This email arrived on 30-Sept-07:
I am currently trying to obtain information with regards to persons who may be interested in coming to Millinocket to participate in a farmers' market that is being considered. I am not looking for any set commitment from sellers, only an idea of how much interest there may be in such a venture.
We have an area off from the main road into and through town which is called, Peddlers' Hill. For as long as I can remember people have sold produce and other products at this site. We are considering an upgrade to improve this area for such activities and add public restrooms and a picnic area which will have a great view of Mt. Katahdin. This road is the one that leads to Baxter State Park and the mountain and is well traveled. I believe it could be a great opportunity for sellers. As far as I know, the nearest farmers' market is in Orono.
If you could suggest where I might be able to find the information I seek, I would be extremely grateful. Thank you for any assistance that you may be able to provide.
Sincerely,
Kathy Gagnon
Co-Chair, Millinocket Community Action Committee
5 Pleasant Street
Millinocket, Me 04462
New Maine Farmers' Market book! This email arrived today, 17 Feb 2007:
Greetings,
My husband Paul, myself and our friend Emelie Tolley are writing a book to be published next winter on "The Farmers Markets of Maine"°. We will be spending this year visiting the markets, photographing, interviewing and writing. It will be intense and since we want to be as inclusive as possible we rely on your feedback.
Our intent is to make the Farmers Markets and farm stands as seductive to the Maine residents and visitors as they are to us. We want to educate our readers to your impact and importance to the sustainability of our land our environment and our ultimate good health. We want to do this in a way that is exciting, obligatory and irresistible through photographs, interesting text and interviews with farmers and chefs.
If you have any feedback for us, we are grateful for it and welcome your input. There may be farmers we are not familiar with, particular niches that we have missed or restaurants that use local produce, to the extent that is possible, that we have not yet discovered in our travels. Because we live in the mid coast region and may not know your area well but want to visit and include all of the markets, we count on your feedback. We would love copies of any photos you may have that show the spirit of your particular market and the surrounding areas.
We have used the guide book from the Dept of Agriculture for reference so if you have any changes as to their information for your particular market please advise us of this.
We thank you in advance for your participation and for the humble and great work that each of you do day after day.
Sharon, Paul Mrozinski and Emelie Tolley
For more info: sharon@marstonhouse.com
Local Food is fully discussed pro and con at the U.K.-based Reference.com, and they also have a great page on Farmers' Markets. It is intriguing to see how many of their concerns are the same as those on this side of the pond.
How do you spell it? Farmers market, farmers' market, or farmer's market? I've seen it done each way, and the misspelling irks me like seeing my farm's name spelled wrong on my mail. As my 6th grade teacher Mrs. Liston made us memorize, adding the apostrophe makes a noun possessive; adding it before the "s" makes it a singular possessive; adding it after the "s" makes it a plural possessive. Applying this rule we realize that when we talk about a farmer's market, we are actually referring to a market belonging to one farmer. When we talk of a farmers' market, we are referring to a market belonging to many farmers. If we don't use any apostrophe at all, we're just demonstrating that we're afraid to guess. So, let's get it right. A group of farmers selling together is a farmers' market. And after all, it's the Law. 'Nuf said.
Mid-November, 2006: Online since January 18, 2006, Maine Farmers' Markets Forum had only two visitors since then and was being regularly spammed. Given the infrequent usage, the bother of trying to weed out spurious messages does not seem worth the effort, so it has been discontinued. If someone else wants to host and maintain a Farmers' Markets Forum, let me know and I will gladly link to it from here.
WASHINGTON, Dec 5, 2006 · The U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced the number of farmers markets increased more than 7 percent between 2005 and 2006, preliminary results of a survey indicate.
The new numbers are based on an update of the National Farmers Market Directory by USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), and the preliminary results of the 2006 USDA National Farmers Market Survey, conducted by AMS in partnership with Michigan State University.
"These statistics show farmers markets continue to be an increasing source of income for our nation's farmers," said AMS Administrator Lloyd Day. "Their popularity with consumers is growing, and buyers enjoy fresh, locally grown products."
The updated directory lists 4,385 farmers markets currently operating in the United States, representing a 7 percent increase from 4,093 farmers markets in 2005. As a result of the strong growth in the number of farmers markets, total sales volumes are estimated at about $1 billion for 2005, significantly larger than the estimated sales volume of $888 million in 2000.
Average sales at individual farmers markets in 2005 totaled about $245,000; average annual sales per vendor totaled $7,108. Marketing opportunities at farmers markets were sufficiently favorable in 2005 that, on average, 25 percent of vendors from surveyed farmers markets relied on these markets as their sole source of farm-based income.
With the help of such USDA programs as the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Farmers Market Nutrition Program and the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program, farmers markets also provide low-income people with increased access to fresh foods. Fifty-nine percent of surveyed managers indicate their market accepted WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program vouchers, amounting to $17,696 in annual revenue per market site in 2005. Forty-four percent of surveyed managers report their market accepted Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program vouchers, amounting to $15,654 in annual revenue per market site in 2005.
The revised version of the National Farmers Market Directory can be accessed on-line at http://www.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/map.htm. AMS is also developing a final research report based on the 2006 USDA National Farmers Market Survey expected to be available in spring 2007.
Get Real Get Maine, the Maine Department of
Agriculture's website with listings of all Maine farmers' markets, CSA's, farm stands and pick-your-own's.
The Augusta Farmers Market is looking for all kinds of vendors -- flowers, seedlings, cheeses, vegetables, berries, meats, jams & jellies, pickles, breads, etc. We are in the process of offering a complete market approach to Community Supported Agriculture---yes, right there at our Augusta Market. What an opportunity for the farmers and the workers of Augusta to connect!! (State workers---Hospitals) If you want to be a part of this market or just want to find out more.....then email Market Master Terry Johnston at broacres@peoplepc.com - Rec'd 10-Feb-07
We want to make this website into an even better resource for Maine Farmers' Markets and market members! It can be with your help. Here's some of the ways, and perhaps you can think of more.
Send your market info and ideas to the webweaver.
The Turkey Farm has a good article in their Summer 2002 The Turkey Times newsletter on An easier way to food security. It's about half way down the page, and talks about how small local farms make for better food security than large distant farms.
The New Farmers' Market, by Vance Corum, Marcie Rosenzweig & Eric Gibson. And if you'd like to see what the book is like, go here for free chapters.
Grower's Guide to the Internet, by Eric Gibson & Gregg Banse.
Growing for Market, "the national monthly newsletter for direct market farmers." They have a good list of books at their online store.
What do farmers do in the winter? Here's an article by market members Joe & Dennis Fisher we found on the Belfast Famers' Market website about The Dormant Farmer.
Open Air-Market Net, "the World Wide Guide to Farmers' Markets, Street Markets, Flea Markets and Street Vendors". A nice site with lots of links to markets and market resources.
Organic Volunteers is a website where workers looking for a farm, or farmers looking for workers, can add their information. The site can be searched by many criteria.
Many people use the terms "Rules" and "By-Laws" interchangeably. They are similar, but have basic differences. You might think of the difference this way: By-laws are like the constitution, and rules are like the laws.
Rules (sometimes called "guidelines" or "regulations") are for the day-to-day operation of the markets. They are often changed a little bit each year during the market's winter meetings.
By-laws define the structure of the association of farmers which operates the farmers' market, and once in place are rarely amended. By-laws generally include a definition of officers, job descriptions, general purpose of the association, and what to do with assets upon dissolution.
Most markets have rules; many have by-laws, as well. Those few markets that are incorporated always have both.
There are several example of market rules and by-laws accessable from the links at left.
Please send us your market's Rules and By-Laws so we can post them here (preferably via email).
A good set of hanging scales can be hard to find. Some of the best brands are Chatillon and Detecto, but there are others. However Hanson seems to make no hanging scales that are legal for trade, so although they are less money, they are not worth it.
Two websites where scales can be purchased online are www.scalesgalore.com in Brooklyn which carries a wide range of scales of all brands and types; and Ohio-based www.chatillon.com which is the actual manufacturer of the most popular hanging scales for farmers' markets. From either site, the model 0723TG, rated "legal for trade", runs about $215 to $230 with galvanized pan. Shipping is about $8.00. It has temperature-compensated springs, which means your mess of beet greens will weigh as much in June as in October.
Each of these sites also has portable digital scales, and more other types of scales than I knew existed. You can enter "scales" and your favorite brand name into any search engine to find more websites offering scales online.
The Maine Department of Human Services and the Maine Department of Agriculture cooperate to sponsor the Maine WIC Farmers' Market Nutrition Program. Using federal funding, these special WIC checks are given to folks who already qualify for the regular WIC checks, which are redemable in stores for specified products. The Farmers' Market WIC Checks will begin to be issued in May this year.
Farmer's Market WIC Checks are spendable only at farmers' markets and farm stands and can be used only for fresh, unprocessed fruits, vegetables and herbs. This year they will be in denominations of $5 and, like a personal check, they get signed by the user when the purchase is made. The farmer then deposits them like a regular check after stamping them with a unique number issued to each farmer by the WIC program.
For all the details of the program, go to www.WICforME.com/farmers.htm or call 800-437-9300 and ask for Dawn Mulcahey. There is now no deadline during the year for joining.
A list of Maine statutes relating to selling agricultural products is available at http://janus.state.me.us/legis/statutes/7/title7ch101sec0.html which is at the Maine legislature's website of Maine statutes.
Another site which is somewhat easier to access is the Maine Department of Agriculture's site on Statutes and Rules which has links to the same statutes, but organized a bit differently.
For a list of downloadable permits go to http://www.state.me.us/agriculture/qar/permits.html to find permits in .pdf format.
The Maine Federation of Farmers' Markets (MFFM) was organized in the spring of 1991 by farmers' market members to help meet the mutual needs of Maine's farmers' markets and market members and to promote the establishment and popular use of farmers' markets in Maine.
As an organization, the MFFM is currently dormant, except for this website.
From 1992 to 1996, the Federation sponsored a booth and a presentation about farmers' markets at the Agricultural Trades Show in Augusta in January. Published from 1991 to 1998, our quarterly newsletter Selling Outdoors spotlighted various markets and issues and in general serves as a information sharing resource for Federation members. A compilation of the best articles will be published in the Spring of 2000. To buy a copy of The Best of Selling Outdoors, contact Tom Roberts, 3645 Snakeroot Rd., Pittsfield ME 04967, phone 487-5056, email tom@snakeroot.net
Other Federation projects have included a co-operative hanging scales and jar order and a "Vendor Exchange Program" where small or new marketers work as helpers at the stands of larger farmers as "apprentices" to learn the ropes.
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Last updated 3-Jan-2007.
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