Gail Feenstra and Christopher Lewis: “Farmers’ markets offer new business opportunities for farmers.” California Agriculture.
One of the most important concerns farmers have is how to get their products to market. Farmers' markets are one option, but the model doesn't work for everyone.
Because of super markets and large brands coming into the food market it has been extremely hard for the small local farmer to get their product out to the consumer. In my opinion i do not undestand why. The farmer has the best quality product because it is always in season. They never have watermelon in February, and their produce is usually the right size not jacked up on nutrients or water. "[...]The competion with the grocery stores is a large obstacle faced by farmers."(Farmer's market offers new businees opportunities for farmers). It is because the grocery stores sell shelf space to producers and which ever company is willing to pay the most gets the best spot. A small local farmer cannot compete with those prices because they need it as a source of income to continue to farm. The farmer's also do not have the amount of workforce as these large corporations. Farmer's markets do allow farmers to specialize in different crop production. By specializing in a certain crop gives an advantage to a local farmer. Another way I have seen local farmers markets being very succesful is by local restaurants supporting their farmers and buying produce from the farmer directly. People should be more aware of when Farmer's markets are becasue if people continue to go to the super markets to purchase goods they are hurting the environment and their community by supporting the stores. GO FARMER'S MARKETS! BW
BWoods, Once when I was working at Sprout Creek Farm in New York, a woman from Indiana called and said that she wanted to buy a local turkey from us (and have it shipped to her). Of course, the bird would not be local to her. Conceptually, though, it carried the local guarantee of quality. Local Harvest is an interesting website that offers to have farmers from around the country ship their produce to you. I am not sure if I think this is the best model...http://www.localharvest.org/. --Brent W.
THe whole concept of shipping a local product is strange to me in the fact that you are creating a carbon footprint for that item that should have to exist. THese products hat are made locally should be kept local to uphold the concept of products being local. once they begin to travel beyond a days trip, i feel that the product is no longer local. i state this but at the same time disagree with it in certain situations. One of those is that lays at a time recently was looking to label a portion of product local which would be distributed to the local area. This does not agree with me because they are using gmo potatoes that may be grown locally, but grown with methods many local farmers do not use, including pesticides, and especially larger technology to grow, harvest, and produce the product. all of these items add to the carbon footprint as well as make i not local. (in my opinion)
Gail Feenstra and Christopher Lewis: “Farmers’ markets offer new business opportunities for farmers.” California Agriculture “The market environment provides a healthy forum for managers as well as growers to share marketing and production information with other vendors.” (Gail Feenstra and Christopher Lewis, pg. 5 of 6) This quote is important to me because it shows that growers are working together and are sharing information about marketing and production information. Farmers are able to communicate what works best for them and inform managers and other farmers. By finding what they can do to be the best, they will only attract more customers by working together. I was unaware that farmers’ markets were organized by someone that manages many aspects of the markets. I see from this article that managers are finding new ways to market the products of the farmers’ like going to schools and hospitals. The managers are trying to find the best locations and times for the market to make them more easily accessible for customers. As we can see there is a huge expansion of farmers’ markets within the past 30 years and with the support and determination I believe we will see more and more. I think the key to finding a way to better market themselves is just by finding loopholes and seeing where they can fit in. The farmers’ markets can be lucrative for farmers and with the growing popularity I don’t see why within a few years farmers will be facing different issues other than marketing. Sigrid K.
3) McCalla and Johnston, “Whither California Agriculture: Up, Down, or Out?”: “But California agriculture was not settled by small homesteaders intent on feeding themselves first and then possibly producing small surpluses of basic commodities – grain, milk, eggs, and meat. California agriculture started with big farms and ranches producing much more than could be consumed by the farmers directly.” McCalla and Johnston support Mazoyer’s theory about the rich getting richer. California’s agricultural system was designed from the outset to turn a profit. They found their niche in specialized produce in a climate that is so diversified, that almost anything is able to grow there. They produce far more than even some countries produce, and their profitability potential seems to be on a steady increase. I thought that juxtaposing this quote with the quote from Mazoyer’s book, while cross-referencing my senior thesis at BU, provides a very interesting picture of California’s growing potential and the probability of overrunning the world’s markets with California-grown produce. The pistachio industry is certainly a prime example of how powerful California’s growing power is. McCalla and Johnston say that California “established a pistachio industry from nothing.” That is quite a powerful statement, considering the size of the pistachio industry today. Look out, world! California is a bona-fide agricultural heavyweight! בס״ד Avrohom S.
2. “It is important that farmers' markets be able to communicate to policymakers the range of benefits they offer to communities.” While this may seem like an odd quote to choose, I think it has power behind it. For many people the idea is that the government should be sweeping in and radically changing and supporting our local farmers, but here they are holding for a brief moment the farmers themselves responsible. They understand they are sitting on a health goldmine but until they reach out to their polities or create a community to help do so we won’t see change. It is all possible that change will come and it will be amazing but not until the people who are active in creating it take it to those who have more authority to make a difference. --Liz V.
This is a practice comment to make sure all students can access the posts.
ReplyDeleteBrent W.
Because of super markets and large brands coming into the food market it has been extremely hard for the small local farmer to get their product out to the consumer. In my opinion i do not undestand why. The farmer has the best quality product because it is always in season. They never have watermelon in February, and their produce is usually the right size not jacked up on nutrients or water. "[...]The competion with the grocery stores is a large obstacle faced by farmers."(Farmer's market offers new businees opportunities for farmers). It is because the grocery stores sell shelf space to producers and which ever company is willing to pay the most gets the best spot. A small local farmer cannot compete with those prices because they need it as a source of income to continue to farm. The farmer's also do not have the amount of workforce as these large corporations. Farmer's markets do allow farmers to specialize in different crop production. By specializing in a certain crop gives an advantage to a local farmer. Another way I have seen local farmers markets being very succesful is by local restaurants supporting their farmers and buying produce from the farmer directly. People should be more aware of when Farmer's markets are becasue if people continue to go to the super markets to purchase goods they are hurting the environment and their community by supporting the stores. GO FARMER'S MARKETS!
ReplyDeleteBW
BWoods,
ReplyDeleteOnce when I was working at Sprout Creek Farm in New York, a woman from Indiana called and said that she wanted to buy a local turkey from us (and have it shipped to her). Of course, the bird would not be local to her. Conceptually, though, it carried the local guarantee of quality. Local Harvest is an interesting website that offers to have farmers from around the country ship their produce to you. I am not sure if I think this is the best model...http://www.localharvest.org/.
--Brent W.
THe whole concept of shipping a local product is strange to me in the fact that you are creating a carbon footprint for that item that should have to exist. THese products hat are made locally should be kept local to uphold the concept of products being local. once they begin to travel beyond a days trip, i feel that the product is no longer local. i state this but at the same time disagree with it in certain situations. One of those is that lays at a time recently was looking to label a portion of product local which would be distributed to the local area. This does not agree with me because they are using gmo potatoes that may be grown locally, but grown with methods many local farmers do not use, including pesticides, and especially larger technology to grow, harvest, and produce the product. all of these items add to the carbon footprint as well as make i not local. (in my opinion)
ReplyDeleteGail Feenstra and Christopher Lewis: “Farmers’ markets offer new business opportunities for farmers.” California Agriculture
ReplyDelete“The market environment provides a healthy forum for managers as well as growers to share marketing and production information with other vendors.” (Gail Feenstra and Christopher Lewis, pg. 5 of 6)
This quote is important to me because it shows that growers are working together and are sharing information about marketing and production information. Farmers are able to communicate what works best for them and inform managers and other farmers. By finding what they can do to be the best, they will only attract more customers by working together. I was unaware that farmers’ markets were organized by someone that manages many aspects of the markets. I see from this article that managers are finding new ways to market the products of the farmers’ like going to schools and hospitals. The managers are trying to find the best locations and times for the market to make them more easily accessible for customers. As we can see there is a huge expansion of farmers’ markets within the past 30 years and with the support and determination I believe we will see more and more. I think the key to finding a way to better market themselves is just by finding loopholes and seeing where they can fit in. The farmers’ markets can be lucrative for farmers and with the growing popularity I don’t see why within a few years farmers will be facing different issues other than marketing.
Sigrid K.
3) McCalla and Johnston, “Whither California Agriculture: Up, Down, or Out?”: “But California agriculture was not settled by small homesteaders intent on feeding themselves first and then possibly producing small surpluses of basic commodities – grain, milk, eggs, and meat. California agriculture started with big farms and ranches producing much more than could be consumed by the farmers directly.”
ReplyDeleteMcCalla and Johnston support Mazoyer’s theory about the rich getting richer. California’s agricultural system was designed from the outset to turn a profit. They found their niche in specialized produce in a climate that is so diversified, that almost anything is able to grow there. They produce far more than even some countries produce, and their profitability potential seems to be on a steady increase. I thought that juxtaposing this quote with the quote from Mazoyer’s book, while cross-referencing my senior thesis at BU, provides a very interesting picture of California’s growing potential and the probability of overrunning the world’s markets with California-grown produce. The pistachio industry is certainly a prime example of how powerful California’s growing power is. McCalla and Johnston say that California “established a pistachio industry from nothing.” That is quite a powerful statement, considering the size of the pistachio industry today. Look out, world! California is a bona-fide agricultural heavyweight!
בס״ד
Avrohom S.
2. “It is important that farmers' markets be able to communicate to policymakers the range of benefits they offer to communities.”
ReplyDeleteWhile this may seem like an odd quote to choose, I think it has power behind it. For many people the idea is that the government should be sweeping in and radically changing and supporting our local farmers, but here they are holding for a brief moment the farmers themselves responsible. They understand they are sitting on a health goldmine but until they reach out to their polities or create a community to help do so we won’t see change. It is all possible that change will come and it will be amazing but not until the people who are active in creating it take it to those who have more authority to make a difference.
--Liz V.