that is good, how big is the market, how many people came past your stall? what did you sell, what sold and not sold well

Mark

congrats

$250 in the first year is excellent.
I've been selling at the farmers market for a long time. my best day ever was about $450. i am a one man operation and i think that is about my limit for one day and one pickup load of produce.

Yes, that is a good day. Congratulations! It is our second year at market and our best single day was $465. It is the two of us, so I think we can do better. We have hit more than one market most weeks, but the best week we have had so far was $692. We grow mostly heirloom tomatoes, but have other summer crops as well. What did you sell to get such good results?

What would you consider an average day for a one person / one pickup truck load operation?

if i average $200 per market day i'm pretty happy.
i do best in early to mid july when i have tomatoes and they are still scarce. i also do well in september/october with pumpkins and winter squash. at those times i make up for the slow days.

That day I had tomatoes@$2.50/lb, squash@.75/ea,cukes@.75/ea, a few cabbage @$1.00/lb, some beans @ $3.00/lb,A few baby carrots @ $2.00/bn,a few baby onion @ $2.00/bn, assorted peppers @ .25/ea, 2.5 ft tall basil plants in 2 gal buckets @$6.00/EA I only sold 2 of these but thats all I had. I transplanted 4 more into buckets for this week. Most of my sales came from my tomatoes, and beans.

I even sold all of my dammaged tomatoes for $1.00/lb.I need to change the way we transport tomatoes to elimante damage.

I came home with some cukes, squash and cabbage.

This is our first year and its just me my wife and our kids. All organic athough not certified.

We have 4 acres with about 10000 square ft in produce this year. Mostly tomatoes we have 350 plants total.

I have already learned a bunch this year and will do a lot different next year with regards to planning.

Its a fun second job and I consider myself lucky that my second job can be at home.

We will see how it goes. My wife says that I am just hard headed enough to make a go of it in this market garden thing

Reagan, what are some of the things that you would do differently? I plan on doing this after I retire so this thread is very enlightening to me.

I will consider the day great if I get $250 for the Weekday market and $350 for the Saturday market.

My best one day market was around $750 a few years ago at a very busy market

"What would you consider an average day for a one person / one pickup truck load operation?"

It would depend on what you are bring to market and how much you charge for it. If you bring in a load of sweet corn and $2 an dozen you will make half of what you would make charging $4 a dozen.

This is my first year also. However my family has been selling sweet corn on the side of the road for 5 years. I am located in SW WI but my market is Dubuque IA. Its about 20 minutes away. The market is the oldest in the state of Iowa and there are vendor families who have been comming to market for 100, 50 and 30 years. About 100 vendors. BUT many are baked goods and crafts. The market is located around the city hall, the same place its been for 100+ years. I would consider this a "meat and potatoes" market the "foodie" movement hasn't hit Dubuque like Madison WI

My biggest complaint about my market is the people are very cheap. I think somedays if you gave the stuff away they would want it delivered!! I accept the Farmers market Nutrition Progran checks for WIC and seniors at $2 each, so that helps. ( I hope you know what I'm taking about)

This is what I'm getting for prices:

tomatoes $1 a pound and no takers!!
potatoes 50 cents a # I reduced my price b/c they weren't selling fast enough and I have a lot. I mean a lot in the ground yet.
$.50 each no matter the size for zuchinni, yellow summer squash, eggplant, and green peppers (I do 5 for $2 for green peppers)
spagettii squash $1.50 each no matter the size
cabbage is now at $1.25 each "" ""
$1 for herbs like tyme oregano mint dill, cilantro,and basil
hot peppers 4/ $1
cukes:3 for a dollar early season and 5 for a $1 later
sweet corn $4 for 14 ears my corn is now done

My biggest day ever was my first day with corn. I made $550 and sold out. After sweet corn was done I'm ave. about $150 ; before sweet corn I ave. about $100 with radishes and lettuce, spinach and other early stuff.
I now have a cult following for my sweet corn and lettuce. I'm learning a lot this first year next year I will probly go to a week day market in Madison WI (about an hour and 15 min. away)

Labor day weekend I'm going to a one time deal in Galena ILL (about 25 min drive) this is where all the Chicago people spend there weekends. Anyway the Galena Territoy homeowners assoc is putting on a one day farmers market for the homeowners hopefully I can jack up the prices a bit.

Thanks for letting me vent, I read this forum a lot, just to busy to but my 2 cents in.

Kristi

kristi...i drive almost an hour to my market so dont let distance stop you.

I agree sometimes driving further pays off. After all most of us live in farming communities where most people have at least a garden or have a neighibor who does.
So driving into the big City to sell is a must for most of us. I drive about 35 miles one way to a city market where folks are glad to get fresh local food and will pay a fair price for it .
My average day is $250 But when blackberries are in season or I have value added products like garlic powder or garlic braids I can do much better.
Our best $$ is during a 2 day garlic festival where we sell as much as 2-3 months of income from regular farmers markets .
The garlic lady

I am also a one-man operation with only a toyota truck, so I can only haul so much. And I sell live plants, not produce, so things have to packed just so or else they suffer greatly during transport.

I'm happy when I make $150 an afternoon but I most often make around $100. When I make less than $50 I take some time off and work on getting the plants ready for the next big gardening season.

The demand for bedding plants is outrageous during the month of May, yet it completly disappears in July. Plants that folks were fighting over early in the season you cannot give away later when it gets hot.

I don't sell at a Farmer's Market, I sell at a larger Flea Market. The crowds there are stable year 'round and it doesn't open til 9am and since I work M-F at a real job I need that time in the morning to load up and set up (the Farmer's Market is open all year but the crowds are very seasonal and ready for business at 6am!). I love doing it and can see a day when it is my only job.

wackybell, I have really been perplexed by the frugalness of some people when it comes to food. A few weeks ago a man came by a friend's stand and said his wife sent him to get some okra, and asked about the price. The farmer responded $2 per pound, and showed him how much okra that was. Now this was organically grown small pods that were very fresh. He said "I guess she won't be getting any" and walked away.

I did some limited reading trying to better understand why food is so cheap in the chain grocery stores, and I hoping someone with a more in depth understanding will respond here. But I think it is partially due to the fact that the price at the checkout is just a fraction of the real cost of the food item. Some of the cost is paid for by tax dollars that cover the subsidies that go to large farms. Then the immigrant workers help keep the cost low because most will work for very little pay with no insurance. Then there is the cost of maintaining the highways where the average food product travels 1500 miles before reaching the retail store. Just the cost of the fuel seems to make the prices we are use to paying at a grocery store impossible. Throw in packaging, advertising, on and on. There is no way we are paying even the production cost of that foodÂforget about a profit for the grower.

Luckily there are some people that really value high quality food and understand the impact of the current food distribution system. I know that I need to become better educated and help educate potential customers. I thought of printing a fact sheet from somewhere that would help explain and hand it out at the market, but I am not sure if it would do more harm than good. I wonder if people would think we were just trying to justify our "high" prices.

Patty

"Some of the cost is paid for by tax dollars that cover the subsidies that go to large farms."

Other than apples, I am not aware of any subsidies for fruits/vegetables. Most subsidies are for commodity crops such as grains, beans, cotton, dairy, etc., plus conservation and disaster assistance. This does amount to a large sum, but take heart that recipients of such subsidies are not allowed to produce fruits/veggies. If they switched, they could easily flood the markets.

Just for fun, click on the link below and input your zipcode to see which of your neighbors are getting subsidies. I was surprised to find many of the ranchers in my area got bucks for drought assistance.

Here is a link that might be useful: subsidy search

Everything is not always as it seems. People spend money for a whole lot of reasons - reasons completely different than what the experts or the analysts think. There are so many consumers with so many different forces compelling them to spend money that there is no way to define any of it. It is also changing, sometimes rapidly sometimes slowly. So if anyone tells you they know the secret to the marketplace or consumer buying habits they are wrong. There are millions of reasons why a person out seeking okra would choose not to purchase your okra for $2 a pound - it may have nothing to do with the price, or the quality, or the location, or your attitude - there is no way to answer the long list of questions. My approach is to tell myself over and over that this is what I have for sale, it is the best product I can produce, this is the price I am asking, my time is too precious to waste it trying to figure out everyones motivations for buying or not buying, complaining or staying silent. For every person that is hesitant or down right obnoxious about my product there is another customer willing to pay with a smile. The secret is to look past the bad ones and encourage the good ones.

Drats lost the spacing copying it from the currrent NH market bulletin. First price is the North country, second price is the much more crowded southern part of the state.
The farm stands all pretty much go by this. It's an average but the ones near me all all in the same ball park.

Produce CT Valley North Country Merrimack Valley, Seacoast VEGETABLES Beans, lb. green 2.49-3.19 1.50-2.50 shell 3.19 2.50 yellow 2.69-3.19 1.50-2.50 Beets, lb. .79 bunch 1.59-2.49 Beet greens, lb. 2.59-2.89 Broccoli, lb. 2.40-2.49 2.00
head 1.00 Cabbage, lb. green .59-1.89 red .59 Carrots, bunch 1.39-1.59 lb. .79 Cauliflower, head 1.59-2.89 Corn, ea. .50 .50 doz. 5.00-6.00 5.00 Cucumbers, ea. .33-.69 .75 lb. 1.49 1.50 Eggplant, lb. 1.89-2.49 2.00 Leeks, ea. .50 Lettuce, hd. Green 1.29-1.49 Red 1.29 Mesclun 4.29 Melons, lb. Cantaloupe .79 Honeydew .79 Onions, ea. .79 lb. .79 Peppers, lb. hot .25 4.00 green 1.29-1.99 2.00 Potatoes, lb. new red 1.49 new white .99 Radishes, bunch .49-1.49 Scallions, bunch 1.29 Spinach, lb. 2.79 Squash, lb. Pattypan 1.29 Summer 1.19-1.49 1.50 Zucchini 1.19-1.49 1.50 Swiss Chard, lb. 2.79-2.89 Tomatoes, lb. 2.99-3.49 2.50-3.00 Cherry, pt. 3.29 3.00-4.00 Green 2.29 HERBS Basil, bunch 1.39 Cilantro, bunch 1.39 Dill, bunch 1.39 Parsley, bunch 1.39 Garlic, bulb .79 lb. 8.00 FRUIT Apples, lb. .75-1.50 1/2 peck bag 4.00 Blackberries, 1/2 pt. 3.25 Blueberries, cult. pt. 3.25 Nectarines, lb. 2.00 Peaches, lb. 2.00 Raspberries, 1/2 pt. 3.25 Strawberries, pt. 3.25 *

Wow Jay, I am surprised to see so many neighbors on that list! Thanks for the clarification on subsidies. I definitely need to do more research, and get facts straight. I read that veggie/fruit farmers could get subsidies for irrigation, but I can't back that up with a link right now. I'll try to find it again.

so am i the only one who thinks farm subsidies are like welfare?
and i think the irrigation thing is not actually for irrigation but to provide water for livestock....its a subsidy to develop a spring. a guy i know that sells at the same market as i do told me that he did that a couple of years ago and suggested that i do the same but you've already heard my opinion about that.

I agree with you 100% Randy. I would like to see them completely eliminated along with many other hand outs. Farm subsidies really irk me because even though lots of farmers are getting some money, it seems that a few farms are getting the majority of the money.

It don't really matter - once China becomes the world's super power we'll all be farming to help feed THEM!

The point that org is trying to make is WHO is getting a lot of that money. You'll see billion dollar chemical companies and millionares getting subsidies.

I checked my local area and I see several places that have multiple variations on names. Money from the same subsidy is being given to husbands name, wifes name, farm name, daughter name.
I see a farm listed where the guy is basically a junk dealer. He will buy and sell at the local auctions yet he gets a subsidy. Reads the obituraries and swoops down on the grieving widow and buys all her animals and things for cheap. Isn't a farm by anyones imagination.

There is some serious fat in this gig that needs to be cut out. Just like the welfare system. Nothing wrong with giving folks a hand but those taking advantage are using up the money when there are other people trying hard to survive.

i noticed in the grocery store the garlic now comes from china, 3 bulbs for $.59
Mark

you guys are way more big time than me, I sold $75 worth of tomatoes and was thrilled. Of course around here people are cheap and I sold them for $1 a lb. Indiana must be the most stubborn place in the world to sell heirloom tomatoes. Tomatoes here have to be red and have to be round. Anything else, you have to talk them into buying them. I hope they will catch on soon. It sounds like they already have on the east coast, so maybe in 10 years, they will catch on here. Meanwhile, does anyone know how to ship heirloom tomatoes to the east coast? ha ha ha

Dear folks -

I have been participating at a farmer's market for five years now and have built up a very loyal following.
My speciality is unusual plant material, and I have learned that the public will not buy unless the plants are blooming or at least showing a good amount of color. Educating my customers as to the requirements of the plant, its habit, and what to expect from their purchase is important too. There isn't much competition from other vendors at the market so I can get a premium for the material I grow.
This past spring (April through the end of June) I averaged fouteen hundred dollars every Saturday morning, the market runs from 7am to noon. My stand is run by me alone, and at times the volume of people wanting to buy is a bit overwhelming - honestly I could use some help!
Some things that I have learned to increase sales are: offer different varieties - try something new and unusual
educate and offer suggestions to customers
remember customer's names!
make your set up and display eye catching and very full
have everything labled with prices and signs
say hello and good morning to everyone that walks by
a little 'shmoozing' never hurts, such as "nice hat you're wearing today Mrs. Haskel"!
smile a lot and have fun at the market.
I drive a good hour from the country into the city so it has to be worth my time and trouble. I have made many good friends at the market and am looking forward to this autumn and next year - which will be even better!
Sincerely, Jeff

update:

Had my farmers market day in the Galena (IL)Territory yesterday (sunday of labor day) and make $235 !!! not bad for leftovers from saturday. I left somethings on the vine friday and repicked saturday afternoon. All other vendors did very well also. The home owners assoc. directors are begging us to come back in a month for the next one. You bet I'll be there.

This is the kind of people I want to grow for. The are definatly into the fancy food stuff. They went ga ga over my blue potoatoes and other things. some women even asked me to contact the chefs at their favorite resteraunts in Galena. And everyone there was there to buy. not to look or haggle.

talk to you later

Kristi