Farming Matters!
Farming Our Future

Bishop's
welcome

New ways of marketing produce are needed. These include Farmer's Markets, direct selling and use of the internet.

The traditional route by which farmers have sold their produce has been through a wholesaler to the shops and then to the consumer. The wholesaler and shops take their cut from the profits at the expense of the farmer, and a high number of food miles are added. By selling through Farmers' Markets and the internet the product can go direct from the producer to the consumer. No-one else is taking a cut and less food miles are needed.

Conference
index

The Future
of Farming
- where are
we going?

At Farmer's Markets the producers sell food which they grew, reared or created. Producers from within a given radius (40 miles at Cullompton) attend. Only food, plants and flowers are sold and only producers with quality products are invited.

At Cullompton there is also entertainment provided by musicians and the local church is involved. Some markets include craft stalls.

Agricultural
Policy
- a personal
view

Land and
community
- developing
links

As a result of selling at a Farmer's Market other opportunities arise.

• One farmer selling pork through the market then opened a farm shop and then moved on also to selling via the internet. Pork/sausages were sold initially and other specialist butchers have now joined in.
• One orchard moved from selling apples and apple juice to selling chutney, preserves and soft fruit. This enabled the stall to run all year. They now also run a farm shop and orchard tours. They no longer have to suffer the frustration of the supermarkets rejecting the crop on the grounds of 'size'
• A broiler/breeder farm was being left with misshapen and double-yolked eggs. They started to sell at car boot sales for themselves. They now sell also for other farms. In addition to selling the product they have removed the problem of disposing of the eggs as waste.

Green
options

• The rent of a stall is £20 - £40 per market.
• The stall holder gets feedback on the products sold
• Farmers meet and learn from one another about direct selling
• They can build up a loyal customer base. This can lead to mail order, promotion of a farm shop, PYO or box scheme.

Farming, Faith
and Hope

Questions:
Personal
Stories

With Farmers' Markets the consumer has to:- live nearby; be free to attend on market day; remember the day; have transport; be ready to make cash purchases and to carry the produce away.

With internet sales all that the consumer needs is a computer with internet connection and a credit card. There need not be any geographical limitation. Potentially the producer can reach millions and can create an 'image' relatively cheaply. People can make contact and sales can take place day or night. A website shows that the producer is dynamic. A list of farm shops and other information can be found at tasteofengland.co.uk

In conclusion:-

The producer needs to build up direct selling slowly, investing a lot of time and energy.
Now is the time to go into direct selling