Farmers' markets harvest new business

In Indiana, farmers' market business is booming

WEST LAFAYETTE, IN—Something fresh is growing in Indiana. The number of farmers' markets in the state has increased at double the rate of other U.S. states; between 1994 and 2004 the number of farmers' markets in Indiana increased by an impressive 222%. Researchers at Purdue have published an insightful study that identifies the reasons behind this unprecedented growth.

Christa Hofmann, Jennifer Dennis, and Maria Marshall from the Department of Agricultural Economics at Purdue University published their findings in a recent issue of HortScience. "Although Indiana's farmers' markets have grown at twice the rate of the nation's markets, the factors that influence participation in such markets were unknown. The purpose of our study was to examine factors that influence vendor and customer participation at Indiana's farmers' markets", explained Dennis.

For the 2006 study, an Internet and mail census was sent to market masters (the person identified as being responsible for the daily operation and supervision of a farmers' market) to assess operational procedures and factors that influence both customer and vendor participation in the market.

According to the study, paying fees and the number of customers present at markets were the two variables that had a significant, positive influence on vendor participation. The fees vendors paid to take part in farmers' markets was a factor, but rarely was the fee high enough to discourage participation in the market. In fact, the amount of the fee could be perceived to add to the sophistication of the market because markets that charge more often have more money budgeted for advertising and promotion.