Growth of farmers markets shows going small can pay off

Outdoor farmers market season is here. Kirsten Bansen Weigle, who grew up on an Oregon farm, has been the manager of the Maple Grove Farmers Market since 2008 and a director of the Minnesota Farmers Market Association. A onetime public policy analyst, Bansen Weigle decided to stay home and raise her children in recent years, and rekindle her connection to farming through the growing grower-to-consumer farmers market business. She calls farmers markets increasingly popular common ground where "people can gather to connect with friends, build new relationships, and enjoy the community. We see great satisfaction and pride on the part of both shoppers and vendors on market day."

Q: How did you get into this business?

A: I've been managing the farmers market since 2008. I am a several-generation farm kid with a degree in political science, and I did some work in public policy and affordable housing in the mid-1990s. Then I took a job as manager of a small dairy co-op in southern Minnesota. I just have a passion for growing things, serving farmers and creating community. I'm a micro farmer. I sell some vegetables to my neighbors. Farmers markets are a great match for me.

Q: How do you quantify the growth of farmers markets/small growers?

A: In Minnesota, the number of markets has grown from 58 in 2004 to more than 176 in 2015. This comes from Minnesota Grown, the branding organization of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. Here at the Maple Grove Farmers Market, we are fortunate to have a continual influx of small-scale producers. Most have off-farm jobs but are seeking a way to pursue a farming lifestyle while feeding themselves and their neighbors. The same is true of our small-scale bakers, canners and other artisan food vendors. Farmers markets are a great way to test and refine a business idea or engage in creative culinary pursuits.

Q: How does your business compare to the large farm/industrial market?

A: The number of farms of 1,000 acres or more in Minnesota grew slightly between 2007 and 2012. I'm not sure about small growers. Most large farms grow commodity crops, such as corn or soybeans. They are not diversified. Farmers markets are usually supplied by specialty growers of vegetables. We are kind of a gateway for small, diversified farmers. Farmers markets are kind of a showroom floor and a community builder.

A: I think there are several important factors that explain the growth of direct-to-consumer food sales. Prominent writers such as Michael Pollan have drawn attention to the industrial food system. Monoculture crops. And a steer raised on a feedlot, fattened with corn and pumped with antibiotics compared with a diversified farm with animals raised over a long period and with some room to roam. It's not just "inputs in a factory." All of this discussion can become heated very quickly. I want to feed my family chicken that I know where [it] has been raised and how it was raised. You can get that at a farmers market, as well as locally grown produce. Of course, we have a short growing season. But we get a lot of questions about why our tomatoes smell and taste so good. They don't travel hundreds of miles to grocery stores where the priority is shelf life.

Q: Are farmers markets necessarily organic?

A: No. There is a misperception that farmers market vendors are USDA-certified organic. The financial and structural barriers to certification are significant for many growers, half of whom do not own or have long-term access to their land. Our market is fortunate to have a couple of USDA-certified organic growers as well as many growers who follow organic and sustainable growing practices. We round it out with quite a few growers who use conventional practices.

Q: What role do ethnic growers play, such as Hispanics and Southeast Asians?