farmer's markets

This last Tuesday night, August 5th,  my husband, Shannon, came along with me to sell at the Ely Farmer's Market. What a  fun night we had.  It was so busy and festive.  All the vendors are cheerful and friendly as are the customers.  The customers are year-round locals, seasonal locals, and lots of people just up for a vacation! It's fun to explain what we do and why we do it to new folks and see returning customers and get their feedback. Nothing beats hearing a voice in the crowd say to someone, "Ooo! I tried her chicken (or pork) last week, and it was great!" I always leave the Ely Market fired-up about what we are doing here on the farm.  It was Shannon's first time coming along, and he really enjoyed it.

Tuesday night, when we got home and looked at what was left in the freezer, we realized we had no pork left to sell at Market! I think that the next batch of chicken is all spoken for by folks who pre-ordered. The last batch of chickens we raise won't be ready for 10 weeks, and I imagine the Market may well be closed by then.

We just plain underestimated the interest in local meat. It was great seeing that right here on The Range there are lots of people who are behind what we do. And that they want and need a local farmer they can get good clean meat from. Of course, I'm disppappointed that I missed out on a least another month of sales. And I'm disappointed because I was just starting to get to know the vendors and customers as friends.   I'm sure going to miss seeing the great folks I met in Ely and Virginia the last couple months - especially our Ely Market Manager, Marcia Mahoney. What a  great lady with a great smile. She is a terrific promoter for our Market and Bear Creek Acres. I can't wait to work with her again. She and the Board Members took that Market to new heights.

We still are taking orders for October chicken. We will be offering pork by the whole and half a few  times starting in November. That list is filling up - so call the farm (218-984-3235) if you are interested and to ask questions. You can also read more about that here.

We plan to have individual cuts of pork at the Farmer's Markets next year. Next time we'll have more of everything. We may expand our sausage offerings as well. We are considering bringing beef, too.

We are truly sorry if we have disappointed any of our customers by running out of meat. Please remember that it's always available at the Natural Harvest Food Coop in Virginia. 

We started showing up at the Virginia Farmer’s Market on Friday, July 18^th.  What a beautiful day to be visiting with people under Kunnari’s big tent!  In addition to Kunnari’s strawberries and vegetables, there was a sweet mother and daughter selling caramel corn and candied nuts, the Yoder family had their tasty baked goods, Cherry Greenhouse really perked up the place with a wonderful selection of plants,  Louise had a lovely display of  her baked goods and jams and such, a nice lady was selling crafts – dishtowels and the like,  and then there was me - selling pork and chicken. 

I had a successful day of sales. A few times, while I was talking to a new potential customer, a previous customer would chime in with a rave review of our meat.  That helped seal a couple deals! There’s no advertising like a satisfied customer.

The Market is open from 11-6.  I plan to attend every Friday (except for County Fair week – that week gets pretty busy so I may not make it).  Stop by and say, “Hi!”

                            

                      The  Ely Farmer’s Market   

 I have had the pleasure now of selling pork twice at the Ely Farmer’s Market in Whiteside Park. The first Tuesday night, May 27^th, was just picture perfect – sunny with no wind.  There were a bunch of vendors with everything from home canned tomatoes, jams and jellies, fresh lettuce to pork! I didn’t even get to visit all the booths. There were oodles of home-baked treats, dog biscuits, a woman showing her biodegradable disposable dinnerware and the Dorothy Molter folks were peddling bottles of root beer kept cold in a metal pail full of ice! Paul’s hydroponic heads of lettuce were so eye-catching.  I bought two - and they were wonderful.  There were lots of customers, and the atmosphere was so festive!  It was fun. The time flew by. It’s only open from 5:30 until 7:00.  We are on our word of honor not to sell any items until the bell signals our official opening. Customers are welcome to browse and get in line at a booth but no early sales are allowed.  Of course, I’ll probably never sell out of pork, but my fresh eggs went within 10 minutes.

The second night was cold and windy. Although it threatened, the rain never came. There were fewer vendors, but I actually sold a bit more meat. I was pleased to see returning customers as well as someone who bought pork chops on one of last week’s customer’s recommendation!   I am becoming a little more comfortable at salesmanship – a bit more outgoing.   I am still uneasy asking for people’s attention – but I find that if I am a little more forward, I do sell more.  I just don’t want to be obnoxious, you know?  Our problem is that until we buy a fancy display freezer for Market days, it’s difficult to display meat.  So I have to invite people to peek in the cooler I have set up so that they can see the great stuff I have.  Then I climb up into the box of the pickup and take cuts of meat out of the chest freezer we have.

We plan to take part in the Ely Farmers Market on a regular basis. I hope to see you there!  Did I mention that my new camera should be in soon ? The Chicago warehouse was out…so now it’s coming to Hibbing by way of San Francisco!  I hope to have pictures from the Market next week! Cross your fingers.    The Camera arrived! Here I am at the 4th Market night.  My youngest came along with me and snapped a photo.  

I had the pleasure of meeting some really neat people recently. It was an organizational gathering of the Ely Farmer’s Market which is getting ready to open Tuesday, May 27^th, 2008 at Whiteside Park at 5:30.  This will be its second year. Last year they had a half dozen vendors. This year there are over two dozen folks involved.

  I had hemmed and hawed about joining. It is a lot of work for us to load a freezer into the truck and then load that freezer full of meat. The drive of 40 minutes, each way, and the cost of gas all for just 90 minutes of sales, made us think twice.  After reading the conversations on email that the organizers were having amongst themselves and seeing their enthusiasm for getting this thing off the ground, we decided to give it a try.  Sunday, the 18^th, I went to my first meeting and met some of the people involved. I found a bunch of excited, welcoming faces. We had a lively discussion and yummy potluck. I hope the Market will be well received. The organizers have worked awfully hard and the vendors have their hopes up!

In addition to our meat there will be jams, veggies, sprouts (which I need to read up on) and lots of fresh homemade baked goods. Of course, not everything is available each Tuesday night – but that’s half the fun. Shoppers show up and take advantage of what’s there each time...it's like a treasure hunt!

If you come on the 27^th, stop by my truck and say, “Hi!”