Farmers’ markets in small towns generally have one big obstacle: a small customer base. In Staunton, Virginia, a town of 25,000, the market has to deal with that issue, but it also faces the problem of being in the orbit of the lucrative Washington, D.C., markets, which have lured away many of Virginia’s larger farmers.

Nevertheless, the Staunton-Augusta Farmers’ Market is a thriving market in its 11th year. The factors that have made this small market a success provide a model for others that have neither big populations nor big growers.

Location and ambiance
The Saturday morning market is in an area known as The Wharf Historic District in downtown Staunton (pronounced Stanton). It occupies half of a city-owned parking lot, with the other half available for customer parking. The area is clean and pleasant, with brick sidewalks, old-style street lamps, shade trees and flower beds. It’s adjacent to an old warehouse that has been converted into upscale shops. Unfortunately, a heavy rain one Friday evening in early August caused serious flooding in the Wharf shops, damaged a city parking garage nearby and flooded numerous cars that were parked in the open lot where farmers’ market is held. The market went on anyway the next day, and turnout was great, as people came down to survey the damage. Cleanup was quick, though, and the flooded shops reopened within a few weeks.

Nearly all vendors at the market have tents or canopies to shade their stands and the market manager keeps several umbrellas on hand for use by vendors who don’t have their own. Many vendors use the excellent promotional and point-of-sale materials that are provided free by the state department of agriculture, including attractive full-color banners proclaiming “Virginia Grown.”

The 2003 market is 7 a.m. till noon every Saturday from April 5 through Nov. 22. A Wednesday afternoon market is held at the Augusta County Government Center in nearby Verona.

Advertising
The market does an excellent job of making itself known in the community. In large part, this is the job of market master Jeff Ishee, one of the most savvy promoters in direct marketing. Jeff’s business card bears his motto: “Early to bed, Early to rise, Work like heck and advertise.”

One of Jeff’s strong suits is his Internet expertise. He produces a weekly email newsletter that tells customers what to expect that week at market – and shows them. Every issue contains multiple color photos he has taken the week before, vibrant photos of tomatoes and peaches and flowers that must surely do more to entice customers to market than any other form of advertising.

He also has created an excellent web site for the market. The home page lists the market’s hours and has an aerial photo of the market area as well as a map. There are also photos of what’s currently available, and news about recent events and upcoming events. Another page on the site is about the market’s history, a point of interest to history-loving Virginians, and it includes photos of Staunton’s markets in the 1800s. The market rules are also posted on the web site for the benefit of prospective vendors as well as customers. The web site is www.safarmersmarket.com.

Jeff’s market manager job dovetails nicely with the other jobs he has made for himself. He created “On the Farm Radio”, with programs about agriculture that air in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and North Carolina. It’s the perfect venue for touting farmers’ markets.
He is also the host and producer of Virginia’s only weekly, locally produced farm television show. “Virginia Farming” is broadcast by WVPT in at least 27 counties in Virginia and West Virginia.
Jeff has been involved in direct-market farming for many years, including running his own farm and selling at the Staunton market. He is the author of the book Dynamic Farmers’ Marketing ($22.50 postpaid from the author, PO Box 52, Middlebrook, VA 24459).

Jeff recently announced that he would be leaving the Staunton-Augusta Farmers’ Market at the end of this season because of the demands of his radio and television programs. “We’re all disappointed,” said Deirdre Armstrong. “He’s been wonderful.”

Fun at market
The farmers’ market board of directors tries to keep the atmosphere at market lively. This year, the market got a grant from the state Department of Agriculture for a program called Eating Well, in which chefs demonstrate how to cook with fresh food and vendors hand out recipe cards for their products. Other events are just for fun, like this summer’s Great Tomato Contest. The rules for the contest are lighthearted: “The tomato will be judge by one factor only – weight. Ugliness (of either the tomato or the grower) will not be a consideration. The tomato must not contain bird shot, slugs of lead, injections of any fluid or any other substance unnatural to a regular, normal, homegrown tomato. 1st Prize: $3 in gold coins…and a handshake with a big old, hearty ‘atta boy’; 2nd prize: $2 in gold coins…and a handshake with a sincere ‘aaawwwwwlmost!’ 3rd Prize: $1 in gold coin…and a consoling pat on the back.”

Selection
Customers find a wide array of products at the producer-only market. Fruits and vegetables are abundant. Flowers are available from several vendors, and there’s a beautifully appointed stand selling culinary herbs. Bedding plants are offered even in midsummer. One vendor sells herbal body products. Others sell baked goods, eggs, and frozen meats. In all, the market has 33 vendors this year.

Market rules require that all vendors provide a producer certificate documenting that all products to be sold will be grown by the producer, his or her family, employees or partners. Cooperatives may sell, with prior approval from the Board of Directors, but every participant of the coop has to submit a producer certificate. All goods sold at the market must come from within a 100-mile radius. Arts and crafts are not permitted unless they are made from agricultural products and have received prior approval from the Board.

Money matters
When the market opened in 1993 with six vendors, sales were $37,000. The market has blossomed since then, and in October 2001, the cumulative sales total since it opened passed $1 million. Last year, sales per vendor per Saturday averaged $250 over the eight-month season. This year, sales were slow because of the rain that has bedeviled farmers all over the East Coast. In Staunton, it rained nine of the first 11 Saturdays of the season.

The market is able to keep tabs on sales trends because vendors pay 5.5% of sales in market fees. That’s the only required fee, but if a vendor wants to reserve the same space for the entire season, he or she must pay $45 for the first space and an additional $110 for an adjacent space, if available. Space reservations are based on attendance at market the previous year. Market fees are used to pay for advertising, events and the market manager’s salary.

Hidden benefits
“This has been a great little market,” says market manager Jeff Ishee. “We’ve seen it act as a business incubator for a lot of people. They’ll start with an idea, and that idea may not take off but they’ll figure out what people want. It’s also encouraging for the community at large, because you see local people doing successful things.”

He cited the example of a vendor who wanted to be a greenhouse grower and sell plants, but found that her sideline of jams and jellies was extremely popular. Now the focus is on jams and jellies.

Deirdre Armstrong, a first-season vendor at the Staunton market, said that vendors’ relationships with one another have helped make the market great. “I’ve been very happy with it. I was very warmly welcomed” by other vendors. “I had gone as a customer last year, and I really felt there was a great camaraderie there.”

Randy Martin, a cut flower grower whose business Buckingham Blooming sells to 22 florists, comes to the market every Saturday even though flower sales are not particularly strong there.

“I don’t look for the farmers’ market to make me much money, but it creates other markets,” Randy said. “Just this morning, I hooked up with a real estate agent who wants 20 bouquets a week to put in open houses she’s showing. I also sell to B&Bs, which I kicked up at farmers’ market.”

Market insights
Market president Hugh Westfall recently arranged for marketing students at Mary Baldwin College to help survey customers at both the Staunton and Verona markets.

Here are some of the results:
•The majority of customers surveyed at both the Staunton and Verona locations were female (65% in Staunton and 82% in Verona). Most of the people fell in the 30 – 60 year age range
•On Saturdays in Staunton, 24% of people surveyed came with their families. This compares to 9% of people surveyed in Verona who came with family members
•At the Saturday market in Staunton, 52% of the people surveyed live in the city of Staunton, with 20% living elsewhere in the immediate area. Another 28% of the Saturday shoppers lived elsewhere in Virginia or outside Virginia
•In Staunton, about half of the shoppers said they come to the market every week. This compares to just over 20% of customers in Verona who shop every week
•Freshness of the products (40%) and social aspects of the market (30%) were the two leading reasons people shop at the market. 10% of people also mentioned they like to support local farmers
•The survey indicated most shoppers are willing to pay more for fresh, local products. Almost all respondents said current market prices are fair.
•The issue of having a market open year-round was evenly split with 46% in favor and 54% opposed to a year-round market.. Several respondents said they would like to see certain products available year-round, while other respondents said that if the market were indoors, it would spoil the atmosphere
•Many customers on Saturdays said they come to the market because of the historic atmosphere. Respondents who wanted a year-round market would like to see it indoors, or outside with weather permitting

The survey concludes, “Overall, it was evident that the majority of people we surveyed were happy with both of the markets as they were. This, however, does not mean that no action should be taken to try and improve the market. As with anything in life, there is always room for improvement.”