Farmers Markets

[beedeetee]

Triple sink...I suspect that if a health department inspector ever looked inside of a hive they would probably pass out and possibly die of a heart attach right then and there. Dirty looking, unwashed frames and bugs everywhere.

Here they want $250 a weekend for the permit to allow tasting at a farmers market. You get to fill out a form explaining how you plan on keeping the food product at the proper temperature....

[collins.bee.feeder]

The whole point of a Famers Market, well to most people is buying locally grown produce and yes Honey! There are many other reasons for people going to farmers markets both as a buyer and a seller:

1. As I mentioned already buying locally grown produce and Honey for health reasons and personal living choices.
2. Cutting down on the carbon footprint with community farms and markets (example - by NOT driving hundreds of miles).
3. Education- the opportunity to educate non-beekeepers and children about the importance of Honey Bees and what they offer.
4. Some do Beekeeping as a hobby, and if all they do is break even than so bee it.
5. Being around other people that enjoy the same things and not around Negative folks is well.... "Priceless!" as the commercials say.

Matt
http://www.collinsbeefeeder.com

[sqkcrk]

But, as I tryed to ask, is it profitable? Apparently for some it is, monetarely and for others it is in nonmonetery ways. But, the guys I see doing it either don't need to or need to but don't really get the profitable prices.

[beemandan]

But, as I tryed to ask, is it profitable?

Always. I'm surely not going to sell at a loss. Is it worthwhile....now that's the question.

[bigbearomaha]

Mark, you ask "is it profitable?" but Iget the feeling you're more wondering if it's "profitable enough" as in, to earn a living from.

I personally know several folks who do make their living from selling at farmers markets, at leas t a good portion of it. I know others who make substantially less in terms of total income, but will at least break even over the costs of their table fee, etc...

Like I said earlier, I have found it more profitable to pay my own vendor fees to set my own market up when and how frequently I choose. The costs are then leveraged to my advantage vs the time I have any given week to set it up and run it.

Paying the booth fees at a farmers market, at least in my area, is more cost prohibitive because the people who operate the market itself are trying to make money of the table fees.

Big Bear

[brooksbeefarm]

Yes i make a profit, but i don't try to make it my main income, it's more of a supplementary income. Once you get your equipment and bees, and learn how to manage and keep them alive you can do pretty good. If i was younger i would expand and do some pollenation rentals, but at my age, sixty bee hives, cattle, 5 acres of truck farm and Farmers Market is more than enough. Jack

[Grant]

I just came from the Farmer's Market in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and I've been thinking about this thread. One reason I attend the market is to sell honey and sell it profitably. I also wholesale through some stores. I've got about nine hundred dollars of orders to deliver today.

So one thing I got thinking about is how much additional money I make at the farmer's market, over my wholesale prices, that basically pays my time to operate my booth.

Moneywise, I'm not so sure spending the time at the market pays me that well. I doubt I could afford to pay someone to sit at my booth and energetically sell my honey. I doubt they could share that rapport with the customer that puts a face/name with a product. After all, I'm not just marketing a sweetner, I'm marketing better health and I'm marketing ME!

And I like being there. I've come to accept the fact that a BAD day at the market is better than a GOOD day at the office.

As I'm loading my truck to deliver today, I'm thinking about the idle time I have as I drive the truck. I'm thinking about the gas and fuel. I'm also thinking about how this store will sell several cases of my product and I don't have to be there...that's a plus.

So I got thinking about why I attend Farmer's Markets and what would I lose if I quit attending. What would the market lose?

I attend the market because I like hanging out with other vendors who have the same *passion* and *vision* for bringing local produce to the market. I like talking to customers, even though I repeatedly answer the same questions about getting stung, are my bees dying, etc., etc., etc. It's just fun. I enjoy it.

And, even though my presence may not be financially justified against a wholesale distributorship, I move a lot of honey at the Farmer's Market. I have a lot of repeat customers with whom I've developed a relationship. I've helped some beginners get started and when they've tried to sell their honey, the number one question they get is, "Do you know Grant Gillard?" This is more than dollars and cents.

I also have to realize that the Farmer's Markets and my presence there has opened a lot of other doors. When I first approached the local health food store (which has turned into a very lucrative account), the manager looked at my name and said, "Oh, so you're the honey guy. We've been wanting to put your product on our shelves."

Yeah, there are trade offs to both situations. I think it takes a very special person with an approachable personality to deal with the public and physically market a retail product. Farmer's Markets take time to set up and tear down. There are some days I wonder if it would not be easier to simply scale back and sell all my honey in buckets and drums.

But on the days that I have a conflicting appointment or if I have to go on vacation (yeah, my wife has to make me go on vacations)...I miss my weekly market "fix." The market is like an oasis for me. I guess if I didn't like it, I would find another way to market my honey.

All the best,

Grant
Jackson, MO

[Grant]

Paying the booth fees at a farmers market, at least in my area, is more cost prohibitive because the people who operate the market itself are trying to make money of the table fees.

Big Bear

But what are you getting for that fee? I pay one market $175 for the year, another market gets $125, and there is a third market in a rural area that costs $10 for the whole year.

That money is what I pay for the privilege of being at the market. It pays for advertising, parking lot rent, liability insurance if something happens to someone at the market, and this fee pays for a market manager (usually another vendor who has to put up with all the complaints and all the inquiries from prospective vendors).

To pay to be present at these markets seems steep, but the opportunity to be there is well worth it. If you think you can do better setting up on a vacant lot by yourself, then more power to you. There is a synergy to be part of a marketing group that brings customers to the market. I sell a lot of honey to people who pass by my booth and buy somewhat impulsively...usually a small squeeze bear. But it all adds up.

All three market organizations have financial reports and no one is making any money off these fees. You may not realize what it costs the market to rent that space. The better the market, the more money you can expect to pay because the location is one of the prevailing factors to market success. You get what you pay for. And if you attend consistently, you develop a rapport that will bring back customers time and time again.

Grant
Jackson, MO

[bigbearomaha]

that's what I'm saying. Farmers markets here attract vendors , multiple vendors with the same type of products. It can get to be overkill for the consumer who is looking at buying when they see 2 or 3 honey vendors, 5 or 6 cucumber and squash vendors, etc.. then For about the same price as my one event farmers market spot, I can get a 4 month seasonal vendor permit and and spread the cost of that over say 16 setups (or more) at my own location.

and here, I know for a fact that the operators of a couple of the biggest ones are indeed making a profit on entry fees instead of just dividing up costs.

Now, I may not have the temporary high traffic flow that I might see at a farmers market that is well known, but, I have the opportunity to spend more time with the customers, I am not surrounded by 10 other people selling the same thing and I have the equivalent to a unique presence that is consistent and recognized as time goes on.

So the trade of for maybe more sales at one time events vs the investment in time I put in to build up my one, consistent location is more than worth it. I happen to be set up in an area that is not served directly at all by these types of events, forcing customers to drive a good distance to get to a Farmers market. I am close, local and always there when I say I will be there. I am pretty recognized now and getting moreso as time goes on.

yup I spend the same amount of time working the table, less competition, more face time with people, less money spent per setup in terms of permits/fees etc... Not to mention the fact that although the burden of acquiring permits and permissions, etc.. is on me, I have the confidence of knowing exactly the terms of the those things as I made those arrangements myself. There is no one but the county or state inspectors that can 'shut me down' or otherwise wreak havoc with my stand unlike the petty politics that have been known to plague many a farmers market, (I am sure you know what I mean there. it's sometimes inescapable if you do them often enough.)

I can say I am more profitable with my stand than at Farmers Markets. That is because I work to make it be that way.

For the occasional vendor, someone with irregular batches of product to sell, my way would not be very profitable for them. The farmers market would indeed be their better option.

I consider myself an "urban farmer". I have slowly but surely been moving my work and income to an agriculturally based business selling not only honey and honey bee derived products, but my own, locally grown produce as well. pollination services and being a consultant to others who are looking into the benefits of urban agriculture.

Big Bear

[soupcan]

What Farmers Market locations do you sell at in Omaha???

[bigbearomaha]

none anymore. I have my one setup on 26th and Chandler Road in Bellevue now.

Saturdays, 8 to noon.

Feel free to stop by anytime.

Big Bear

[Grant]

Well said, bigbearomaha. Glad you have a system that works for you. And thanks for sharing those insights. Hopefully someone else can work the same system to their advantage as well.

I've tried what you're doing in this area and the farmer's market works better for me. Part of what works for me is a market association that is operated and controlled by the vendors. We have transparent financial statements. I'm also the lone honey producer at these markets which helps a great deal.

In this area we have a host of melon and sweet corn vendors who pull up to the local gas station with a trailer full of produce they bought wholesale. Here today, gone tomorrow. You never know when or where they'll set up. Farmer's markets help the customer to know when and where I'll be. It also makes better use of my time.

Now, that said, I have also been part of a couple of other farmer's markets that were the absolute pits. I did more business selling to other vendors, and because the customers were few and far between, the vendors browsed and visited with each other. We all sold to each other, but I spent my profits supporting the other vendors! This was many years ago when I was getting started and the opportunities left to us beginners were these lesser markets. Sadly, those markets are still stuggling for a variety of reasons, one of them being the inconsistent customer base that starves out the vendors.

I've also tried the flea markets, the fall festivals, the health fairs, the art shows, etc., and these do not work for me. Too much time spent for the little bit of honey that is sold.

The beauty of beekeeping is how we can create our own niche, create our own marketing plan and sell to our best advantage. Thanks for sharing!

Grant
Jackson, MO

http://maxhoney.homestead.com

[brooksbeefarm]

Like Grant, i'm the only vendor with honey at our market. I also sell some fruit and veg. We have stricted rules, you can only sell what you produce on your farm. One vendor was kicked out this year for buying tomato's(and other fruit and veg) at auction and saying he grew them. When you sign up here to be a vendor you give the market manager and board members the right to inspect your farm in case of customer complaints. We pride ourselfs as being a farmers market, not a fruit and veggie stand. Jack