Reminder about the Spring Plant Sale and 1st Annual (of many) New Mexico Hard Cider Festival. May 2nd. Saturday. 9am-5pm at our warehouse, 3435 Stanford Dr NE. We will have plants and cider available all day. Judging from previous years, get there early for the plants. I cannot believe how many plants we sell on that day. We will have more plants than ever, but early bird gets the worm in this case. And since I love the Kentucky Derby, we will be showing the race projected onto the wall too.
OK, now on to the farm, or farmers’ markets more specifically. Every year in the spring I like to write a newsletter to let our members (you) know our feelings about the farmers’ markets. I feel that transparency of purpose in life alleviates a lot of confusion. So let me lay some of this out and if you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask .
From the day we broke ground on the farm, farmers’ markets have not been a part of our business plan or overall vision for what we want this farm to be. You can say a lot about farmers’ markets, but the one thing you never hear about them is the word consistency. A rain storm, cool weather, 4th of July, and/or a road closure can kill your sales at a market. When you really boil it down, the farmers’ markets are not actually for the farmers, they are for the community to come out and socialize.
There is no cover charge and no minimum purchase that you have to make at a farmers’ market. So what ends up happening is folks bring the dog and the kids and leave the shopping bags at home. It is an event more than a shopping experience. And that inconsistency was never going to work for our farm financially. We needed consistent support in order to expand our fields, hire more farmers, and feed more mouths in our community. Fortunately, we have found that consistent support through our members and been able to grow for you and with you. I do not know who is credited for starting the first CSA farm, but they were brilliant in addressing the true needs of the farmers.
One of my biggest pet peeves (besides people talking on their cell phone in restaurants) is when people criticize something then offer no solutions to the problem. So I will not throw stones at the markets without my 2 pesos on how to fix them.
First off, we need to close over half of the markets that exist right now in the ABQ area. I think we have 12 or something absurd. Folks, we do not have the support in our community yet for 12 farmers markets. I mean there are 4 just in downtown ABQ alone. There needs to be one market downtown. These markets are not bringing more people to the markets, they only dilute sales for growers.
Second, I would not hire any bands or entertainers to come to the market. Why can’t the food be the entertainment? Why can’t the sights and smells and flavors of our local farms be the attraction? The entertainers are just distractions from what the purpose of the market should be, the food. Markets should not feel like they have to “lure” you to the market, you should want to be there.
I believe that you need a pavilion or a cool space that is the farmers’ market and nothing else. A place with easy parking, easy access, and protects the growers and customers from the elements. The Ferry Building in San Francisco and Pikes in Seattle are the two best examples but I think they could be done on a smaller scale here.
To me, here is the ultimate goal for a market: give the consumer a genuine and authentic shopping experience while giving the local farmers/ranchers a viable option to sell their food and interact with the community. And by viable I mean financially viable. We had to stop going to the markets last year because we could not even make minimum wage for our effort to be there.
So until things change, I don’t see us having much of a presence at the markets. But you know where to find us, we will be in the fields and bringing the CSA to you. Thanks for all of your support and keeping us going.
Farmer Monte