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AGRICULTURE
NORTH COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL
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SPRING 2016
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sdnedc.org
As far as farmers are concerned, without these
markets they have limited ways to sell their pro-
duce. They could set up a stand on their farm or
work with a wholesaler to get their product into
grocery stores. The first route brings limited cus-
tomers because not everyone can drive out to vari-
ous farms to shop, and the second route pays
significantly less than being able to sell their
product themselves.
"In the case of a farmers market, the
farmers themselves go to the market and
sell direct to the consumer, so they get the
full dollar value for the products that
they're selling," Anderson said. "That's an
economic benefit to the farmer themselves,
but also it's a benefit to the community in
that your farmers are interacting directly with the consumer
and making those connections. There's education going on –
the consumer can ask questions about how the product was
grown, where it was grown, how it was produced, what the
process looks like, what the farmers practice is on their land,
and more."
Noel Stehly of Stehly Farms Organics in Valley Center said
the farmers markets are a more stable option for farmers.
"They're a constant source of income," he said. "You know
that if you go to the farmers market, even if you have a bad
day, you know how much you're coming home with and how
many bills you can pay. Before we jumped into the farmers
markets, we used to send our fruit off to a packing company,
and six months later, we'd get a check for it. It was really
tough to do business that way."
Farmers markets appeal to consumers not just for the fresh
produce, but also for the other vendors many markets have.
For example, the Carlsbad Village Farmers Market also has
other food vendors, such as the Carlsbad Aqua Farm, and arts
Farmers markets allow growers to sell their produce
directly to consumers, creating an economic benefit.
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