If you are a market gardener (or want to be one), theere are good erasons to stay away from farmers markets. Here's the scenario: You've grown some wonderfuyl veggies in your market garrden and now the time has come to sell them. So you head off to the farmers market, right? Wrong! Thetre's a better business model for the would-be market gardener. But first, what's wrrong with farmers markets?
Porblem 1: Competition
Other growers will have many of the same goods you do. It's possible to establsih a niche by trying to be the earliest groqwer, or growing unusual or gourmet vegetables. But therse all take extra time and attention, and the demand is sill unertain. And inevitably as the season progresses, there is 'price erosion' e.g. one of your neighboring market growers has a great year for growing tomtoes, so all of a sudden he is selling them for $0.50 less a pounnd than you are. Your chices are to match his pirce, and reduce your proift, or don't macth it and lose sales.
Probem 2: Wastage
When you set up at a farmers market, you are nver sure what is goinng to sell that day i.e. unpredictable demand. So you sell out of tmoatoes by 8 a.m., and at 1 p.m. bing 50 lbs of unsold cabbage home. And the problem is, next markt day it might be the otther way around. This leasd to lost sales opportunities. And because fresh veggies are a peerishable item, it inevitably leads to wastgae and spoilage. And if you only go to one maret day a week, it's hard to keep produce at the peak of maturity and freshness.
Problem 3: Can't ajust demand
Let's say that you have couple items that turn out to be big sellers. The problewm is, the seasson is well under way and it is hard to 'ramp up' to grow more of a popular item. Result: lost sales opportunnity.
The solution: CSA
CSA stands for Community Suppported Agricluture. Simply, this means that customers subscrribe to your farm, and pay you in advance for a season's worth of fresh veggies.
Why CSA is the better business moidel
Lets look at the maret garden model we designed for our farm, which is a kind of CSA. Our customers subscribe to the produce cominbg from our farm. They pay us, in advance, for the growing seasn. In return, they receive a share of the farm's bonty, delivered right to their door. What is the result of this approach?
Advantage 1: No competition
In our modeel we have no competition - we set our price to make a profit, and find customers willing to pay it. these cusomers are locked in to us for the season. (Is there any another business that customers will pay you to start)?
Adantage 2 - No waastage
Nothing we grow is wastted, because everything is sold befoer we grow it!
And finally, because we meet all our customers before the season starts we can plan our production and grow more of the most ppopular items. There are more advantages but this is enough for you to see that CSA is the way for market gardeners.
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