A limit to what farmers markets can produce

As the summer community farmers market season begins, two factors have helped drive the expansion of these retail experiences in New Jersey: growing interest in locally grown produce, and the high costs associated with agriculture in New Jersey.

As the summer community farmers market season begins, two factors have helped drive the expansion of these retail experiences in New Jersey: growing interest in locally grown produce, and the high costs associated with agriculture in New Jersey.

The number of markets has grown from 35 in 2001 to 143 last year, an increase of more than 300 percent, according to state Department of Agriculture statistics — but some expect that wild pace of growth to cool, like Kurt Alstede, owner of Alstede Farms, who said the market is becoming saturated.

“The bottom line is profitability — and in New Jersey, it’s a very expensive state to operate an agricultural business,” he said.
Alstede has been selling directly to the public since he started his business in 1982, starting with a market at his Chester farm. He’s been selling at community farmers markets for 14 years, and no longer sells any of his fruits, vegetables and flowers wholesale. He also allows customers to pick their own produce and takes part in community-supported agriculture, in which participants receive regular packs of produce in exchange for supporting a farm’s budget.

It’s not hard to see why municipalities are so welcoming of farmers markets, which are seen by city planners as a way to revitalize neighborhoods, ranging from rural villages to urban central business districts. Agriculture Department spokeswoman Lynne Richmond said the growth in community farmers markets frequently is driven by local interest, with many towns looking to add a market when they see the success of a market in a neighboring town.

“There’s no one formula,” Richmond said. “Many times, the hosting municipality will allow the farmers market to take place in a park or a parking lot of a municipal building. Farmers love it because it gives them the opportunity to direct market their produce, and it allows them to cut out the middle man.”
And the economic benefits spill beyond the agriculture industry, said Peter Furey, executive director of the New Jersey Farm Bureau, the statewide farm association.
“The market becomes an attraction for the other downtown retail businesses,” Furey said.

But Alstede said towns are moving too quickly to add markets.
“The customer base for the tailgate markets is not growing as quickly as the new markets, and there seems to be a little bit of dilution that’s occurring,” he said.
He said community markets should be careful to only add farm vendors once the customer base can sustain them, and said market sponsors must invest in marketing and advertise in a range of media.

Community leaders in towns with long-established farmers markets point to the business impact the weekly ritual presents. Collingswood’s farmers market, open Saturday mornings from May to November, is heading into its 11th year, and it offers “so many levels of good things,” Mayor M. James Maley Jr. said.
“It brings people from all over for a great reason, a reason that makes them feel good. When those people come, they stay, go grab breakfast, and go grab lunch.”
As business and return customers have benefited neighboring businesses, two Collingswood businesses — Tortilla Press, a restaurant, and DiBartolo Bakery — have opened their own stands in the market, Maley said.

Suzanne Lee, manager of Morristown’s farmers market, noted that the markets attract many businesses beyond the farmers, including cheese makers, honey producers, and meat and seafood vendors.
Morristown Partnership, a special improvement district funded by downtown businesses, sponsors the market.

“I also think it’s very important to have a good and very-connected sponsor,” Lee said of the partnership, her employer. She added that the 21-year-old market benefits from being open on Sundays from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., when many residents attend nearby churches.

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