I hope everyone is a member and everyone avails themselves of FMC’s webinars. This spring they are focusing on insurance issues for markets, for vendors and for the host organization.
What about Kansas?
Kansas Rural Center is doing great work, keep an eye on them! They have a weekly eblast you can subscribe to:
WalMart and healthy- two words now seen together…
This sort of story is why I often caution markets on their message. Many markets talk only about the healthy, local food shoppers can find at their markets. I think that message is easily co-opted and instead a balanced message about 100% good food, social space, farmers and fishers regaining dignity and respect, innovative programs and wealth generation for the region is a better message for markets to have.
2 (green) thumbs up
All In This Tea takes us into the world of tea by following world-renowned tea expert David Lee Hoffman to some of the most remote regions of China in search of the best handmade teas in the world.
Hoffman is obsessed; during his youth, he spent four years with Tibetan monks in Nepal, which included a friendship with the Dalai Lama, and was introduced to some of the finest tea—that golden nectar with which we can taste the distant past.
Unable to find anything but insipid tea bags in the U.S., Hoffman began traveling to China to find tea for himself. In the process, he discovered the rarity of good, handmade tea, even in China, where the ancient craft of making tea has given way to mass production. This craft cannot be learned from a book, but has been handed down through generations of tea makers for thousands of years.
Hoffman tries to convince the Chinese that the farmers make better tea and that their craft should be honored and preserved. He drags the reluctant tea factory aficionados up a lush, terraced mountainside in their blue suits and bring them face to face with those “dirty” farmers. In an ironic twist, Hoffman reintroduces them to their own country and one of its oldest traditions.
All In This Tea trailer
Budget templates on their way…
Just handed the 4 budget templates to our print designer. They will be ready by next week and uploaded on our marketshare page.
These templates are for 4 different market types (different staff size, vendor fees and organizational structure) and forecast a 3-year budget forecast for each market.
I am also working on a budget for a token system and one for an earned income for beverage sales for a market. Those 2 scenarios will be ready by the end of the month.
Once we finish those, we will be adding a formula worksheet to create your own budgets. This tool will be available for free like our other tools. We hope to get the budget tool done by March.
If the budget sheets are useful to you, do let us know and if we can schedule other Share subjects…
Australian flooding
A little background-Staff at marketumbrella.org were honored to be invited to the Australian Farmers Market Conference in 2009, where our ED was the keynote speaker and we also presented our 4M management structure and learned loads of new ideas to bring back. While there, we met some amazing market managers and farmers and saw markets and gardens galore…
The Australian markets were started about 12 years ago by Jane Adams, who came to America to study the open-air market system, chiefly the DC markets. So, a lot of similarities…
As you can imagine, our thoughts have been with the folks we met since the catastrophic flooding in Queensland and now in Victoria (where Melbourne is located). Here is the response from Sophie O’Neill, food activist in Victoria:
Dear Darlene
Thank you and Richard for your message. I have passed it on to the girls in the VFMA Office.
Whilst the floods in Victoria haven’t been as widespread and catastrophic as those in Queensland they still have certainly done considerable damage to several Victorian towns and producers. In fact Miranda was telling me on the weekend of one producer that was hit by the bushfires only a couple of years ago that has now been wiped out by floods at almost the same time of year – cruel and crazy times indeed. But as you know, farmers are made of tough stuff and will soldier on.
I hope you guys are all well and thanks again for your thoughts.
Cheers
Sophie
Federal government spends millions on hoop houses – Yahoo! News
This sort of program can be combined with incentives for shoppers to increase “supply” and “demand” at the same time.
Federal government spends millions on hoop houses – Yahoo! News.
A take on the ‘Beyond Organic’ movement
I appreciate this point of view, but I’d like to know where she sells, whether its at farmers markets, through CSAs, a U-pick-em or wholesale.. By the way, the link is at the bottom…
I think what is not clear in this snippet is an explanation of why the move to one federally run program was deemed necessary, rather than leaving it the community-level organic certification it had been. I remember that when it became a federal certification in 2002 or so, that it benefited big farms and big retail outlets like Whole Foods, as they were ready to market their organic labels. It is also true that we need to reward more good stewardship of land among farmers, so programs that encourage that are a good idea. I am not so sure that is still true that the new laws still benefit the big guys and also wonder whether farmers now have more or less availability to sustainable practices because of the change.
Photos from winter indoor farmers market-Burlington, VT
Got in town in just enough time to make the twice-monthly Burlington Farmers Market in the winter. Very active, good number of vendors. More and more of the markets here are thriving in the winter- for example, Rutland’s market sounds like a huge success and goes all year now.
At NOFA-VT conference…
Listening in on the Vermont Farmers Market Association annual meeting while at the NOFA-VT Direct Marketing Conference.
Professional, really covering a great many topics and a diversity in farm stands, markets and CSAs represented.
Saw a bit of the round table on emerging farmers market questions, and sat in on the SNAP at farmers market talk. Seems like they have 30 markets in the state doing tokens, and a mini-grant program for new markets to start EBT. Very detailed talk and an obvious, great partnership between the Department of Children and Families rep and NOFA.
Lunch is coming, local ingredients galore.
Local apples and apple ciders on the table all morning have been delightful.
South Royalton is a charming little town; the picture postcard of Vermont it seems. The conference is being held at the Vermont Law School campus.
Should I buy books? there are a lot of farmer business planning books for sale. I wonder if our farmers would use it…
Genetic Engineering for Good — Emerging Ideas — Utne Reader
Fascinating and necessary article for all food activists to read:
Genetic Engineering for Good — Emerging Ideas — Utne Reader.
Helping Farmers Markets Grow 