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Maine
Federation
of
Farmers'
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w w w . M F F M . o r g
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Dependent vs Independent Markets |
Limiting Market Membership?
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The Augusta Farmers' Market is looking for growers. Email Terry Johnston or call 549-5112 for more info. (10-Mar-05)
The Orono Farmers' Market is looking for new members. While applications are open to anyone who would like to apply, for 2005 we are especially seeking a poultry vendor, cow dairy, additional bakery items, honey, eggs, seafood and more fruit.
The Winslow Farmers' Market is looking for more members. The market meets Thurdays from mid May to Mid October at the Johnny's Selected Seeds warehouse parking lot on the Benton Road in Winslow. For more information contact Ben Wilcox.
AGRICULTURAL TRADES SHOW - FARMERS' MARKET SESSION
Thursday, January 13, 2005, 11:00 - 3:00
Here are the notes of that meeting as a web page and as a downloadable document.
During the Farmers' Market Session, a list of Maine Dept. of Agriculture regulations pertaining to farmers' market vendors was mentioned. Here it is as a web page and as a downloadable document. At the bottom is a link to all the forms you might need.
We want to make this website into an even better resource for Maine Farmers' Markets and market members! It can be with your help. Here's some of the ways, and perhaps you can think of more.
Send your market info and ideas to the webweaver.
The Turkey Farm has a good article in their Summer 2002 The Turkey Times newsletter on An easier way to food security. It's about half way down the page, and talks about how small local farms make for better food security than large distant farms.
The New Farmers' Market, by Vance Corum, Marcie Rosenzweig & Eric Gibson. And if you'd like to see what the book is like, go here for free chapters.
Grower's Guide to the Internet, by Eric Gibson & Gregg Banse.
Growing for Market, "the national monthly newsletter for direct market farmers." They have a good list of books at their online store.
What do farmers do in the winter? Here's an article by market members Joe & Dennis Fisher we found on the Belfast Famers' Market website about The Dormant Farmer.
Open Air-Market Net, "the World Wide Guide to Farmers' Markets, Street Markets, Flea Markets and Street Vendors". A nice site with lots of links to markets and market resources.
Organic Volunteers is a website where workers looking for a farm, or farmers looking for workers, can add their information. The site can be searched by many criteria.
Many people use the terms "Rules" and "By-Laws" interchangeably. They are similar, but have basic differences. You might think of the difference this way: By-laws are like the constitution, and rules are like the laws.
Rules (sometimes called "guidelines" or "regulations") are for the day-to-day operation of the markets. They are often changed a little bit each year during the market's winter meetings.
By-laws define the structure of the association of farmers which operates the farmers' market, and once in place are rarely amended. By-laws generally include a definition of officers, job descriptions, general purpose of the association, and what to do with assets upon dissolution.
Most markets have rules; many have by-laws, as well. Those few markets that are incorporated always have both.
There are several example of market rules and by-laws accessable from the links at left.
Please send us your market's Rules and By-Laws so we can post them here (preferably via email).
Go to the archives for 2003 or 2004 for new market announcements from previous years.
A good set of hanging scales can be hard to find. Some of the best brands are Chatillon and Detecto, but there are others. However Hanson seems to make no hanging scales that are legal for trade, so although they are less money, they are not worth it.
Two websites where scales can be purchased online are www.scalesgalore.com in Brooklyn which carries a wide range of scales of all brands and types; and Ohio-based www.chatillon.com which is the actual manufacturer of the most popular hanging scales for farmers' markets. From either site, the model 0723TG, rated "legal for trade", runs about $215 to $230 with galvanized pan. Shipping is about $8.00. It has temperature-compensated springs, which means your mess of beet greens will weigh as much in June as in October.
Each of these sites also has portable digital scales, and more other types of scales than I knew existed. You can enter "scales" and your favorite brand name into any search engine to find more websites offering scales online.
The Maine Department of Human Services and the Maine Department of Agriculture cooperate to sponsor the Maine WIC Farmers' Market Nutrition Program. Using federal funding, these special WIC checks are given to folks who already qualify for the regular WIC checks, which are redemable in stores for specified products. The Farmers' Market WIC Checks will begin to be issued in May this year.
Farmer's Market WIC Checks are spendable only at farmers' markets and farm stands and can be used only for fresh, unprocessed fruits, vegetables and herbs. This year they will be in denominations of $5 and, like a personal check, they get signed by the user when the purchase is made. The farmer then deposits them like a regular check after stamping them with a unique number issued to each farmer by the WIC program.
For all the details of the program, go to www.WICforME.com/farmers.htm or call 800-437-9300 and ask for Dawn Mulcahey. There is now no deadline during the year for joining.
A list of Maine statutes relating to selling agricultural products is available at http://janus.state.me.us/legis/statutes/7/title7ch101sec0.html which is at the Maine legislature's website of Maine statutes.
Another site which is somewhat easier to access is the Maine Department of Agriculture's site on Statutes and Rules which has links to the same statutes, but organized a bit differently.
For a list of downloadable permits go to http://www.state.me.us/agriculture/qar/permits.html to find permits in .pdf format.
The Maine Federation of Farmers' Markets (MFFM) was organized in the spring of 1991 by farmers' market members to help meet the mutual needs of Maine's farmers' markets and market members and to promote the establishment and popular use of farmers' markets in Maine.
As an organization, the MFFM is currently dormant, except for this website.
From 1992 to 1996, the Federation sponsored a booth and a presentation about farmers' markets at the Agricultural Trades Show in Augusta in January. Published from 1991 to 1998, our quarterly newsletter Selling Outdoors spotlighted various markets and issues and in general serves as a information sharing resource for Federation members. A compilation of the best articles will be published in the Spring of 2000. To buy a copy of The Best of Selling Outdoors, contact Tom Roberts, 3645 Snakeroot Rd., Pittsfield ME 04967, phone 487-5056, email tom@snakeroot.net
Other Federation projects have included a co-operative hanging scales and jar order and a "Vendor Exchange Program" where small or new marketers work as helpers at the stands of larger farmers as "apprentices" to learn the ropes.
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Last updated 3-Feb-05.
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