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Whether you're a farmer, maker or market manager, if you have a team, providing them with feedback will make their work life and yours better. It doesn't have to be awkward or uncomfortable to discuss workplace performance. (OK, sometimes it can be.) If you've provided employees with expectations and the tools to meet them, this is just a checkup. We're talking today about how we make these chats productive for everyone involved, including:
Giving people a chance for self evaluation Hire in a hurry? It's never too late to share job descriptions. We're all motivated by know the why behind processes Bosses can benefit from feedback too: listen! -
What could be a more fitting fundraiser for a market organization than a dinner featuring local chefs and farm fresh ingredients? Organizing a farm to table dinner or a cultural food festival is a little different than coordinating a farmers market. Kasi Haire of Nolensville Farmers Market in Tennessee assures us that much of the skill set is the same: planning, staffing, renting equipment and marketing. Listen in to hear how and why her market keeps finding new ways to help people do good by eating well, including: The pros and cons of serving dinner on a farm What to consider when budgeting for your event Why fundraising is just one of the goals How to use special events to incubate new vendors
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Bookkeeping is yet another of the many hats that farmers market managers wear. There are so many formulas for setting space rent at markets and, especially post-Covid, a whole variety of ways to manage calculating and actually collecting those fees. Do you use a market management program with built in invoicing? Are you adding up percentages of sales and handling cash at the market? Either way, there's plenty to consider and to communicate to make sure things run smoothly. Let's talk about: Pros and cons of flat fees and percentage of sales rates Calculating processing fees vs labor costs Reimbursing for nutrition incentives Understanding penalties for missing markets or late payments Building trust with clear communication
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How do you learn and grow in your farmers market career? We met Jessica Mullen of South Carolina's Travelers Rest Farmers Market when she traveled to San Diego for InTents, the national Farmers Market conference. In this episode of Tent Talk, Jessica shares what she finds valuable about InTents and other conferences and networking with other market professionals. She's all about learning, and also about offering educational opportunities at her market.
Listen in for Jessica's tips on:
Interactive programming for kids Simple cooking classes at the market Using data to educate your community Funding education for farmers and vendors
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What's new and exciting, and what's comforting and familiar about InTents, the multinational Farmers Market Conference? Join us for a quick look ahead to what's in store in March 2025. What's NEW: 2025 Theme: Speak Up for Farmers Markets! Brand new venue with rooms and meeting spaces under one roof Central location with shops and restaurants and the beach nearby Break out tracks for new and experienced market managers Special sessions for market farmers and vendors What's FAMILIAR: Speed-friending session lead by Cara Mae Wooledge Making your market or business financially sustainable Tons of networking time with people who get you Local food, inspiring talks, (mostly) sunny San Diego
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While working for a cheese maker at New York City farmers markets, Peter Henry started thinking about ways producers could expand their reach and increase efficiencies. Now, Ten by Ten Logistics serves more than a dozen farmers at markets throughout New York. Peter continues to explore and refine systems of transporting goods to market, managing inventory and using staff based closer to the market than the farm. Listen in to hear what kinds of coordination help farmers sell at more markets and still have time to farm. Separating packing and driving from farming, setting up and selling Palletizing so the tent weights are on the truck and the Square is charged Training farmers' own city-based employees on best market practices Creating compensation models that benefit everyone involved
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It's another Ask the Pros episode this week, with a mix of topics based on listener questions. We always find that discussing one person's question helps others that are pondering some variation of the same thing. If we don't necessarily have THE answer, we have ideas and experience and those might inspire your handy solution. There's nothing quite like the hive mind. This week we're talking about these questions and more: • Where can farmers find online tutorials for building effective marketing displays? • How do market managers control political campaigners at the market? • Can we help farmers kick the plastic bag habit? • What does it actually cost a market to facilitate EBT use? And last but not least, could a chicken salad donut be a thing? We'll have to check with the sourdough wizards at Slow Rise.
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The fourth quarter rolls around every year, but somehow we often forget what to do to prepare for it. Listen in as we chat about moving past the September slump. We're looking forward and making plans to make the upcoming season more productive and less stressful. How are you getting ahead of things? Reminding farmers and vendors that this cycle happens every year Planning ahead for necessary off days Using slow days to experiment with new displays and systems Recognizing that you can do anything, but maybe not all at once #farmersmarket #holidaymarkets #popupmarkets #marketvendors #smallfarmers #marketmanagerlife
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Managing a farmers market is just like managing a craft fair or fall festival, right? Yes. And no. There are similarities and there are big differences between coordinating vendors on a weekly basis and once a year. When experienced annual event managers Patricia and Brett Keller took over a local farmers market after the sudden departure of its founding manager, they learned a few things. Are you a large scale event coordinator thinking about taking on a farmers market, or a market manager planning an annual fundraiser? Listen in while they share those lessons, including: • Ease into changes to an established market to avoid mutiny • Relationships are key to both kinds of events • A permit is a permit is a permit, right? Not always • Recruiting help once a year is different than weekly staffing Today’s episode of Tent Talk, the Farmers Market Podcast, is supported by InTents, the National Farmers Market Conference.
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This week we're sharing something a little bit different: a podcast episode where Catt Fields White is the featured guest. Enjoy this conversation from the Fresh Take podcast about the importance of supporting local farmers, small businesses and of course farmers' markets. If Catt doesn't convince you over the next 45 minutes that farmers markets will save the planet, you might want to listen one more time. 😜 Follow along as Catt and Lana over at Fresh Take discuss:
The transformative impact of farmers markets on communities and local economies Challenges farmers are facing today Navigating regulations, pricing, marketing, and community engagement Preserving healthy food options for future generations -
Market participants are a generous bunch, so how do you make sure your farmers and vendors don't give away the farm, so to speak? Freebies and discounts that are shared with market managers, staff and fellow vendors are fun. Still, some guidelines are important. Gifts from the market to your community's worthy causes are the same. Keeping your heart and your business mind aligned is important to keep your whole market family financially healthy. Join us as we consider: Appreciating generosity while watching out for farmers' well being Developing guidelines to avoid conflicts Balancing the costs and benefits of donations Using donations and giveaways to build loyal shoppers
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When The Food Corridor offered a Shared Kitchen-101 workshop at the 2023 InTents Conference, it was a sell out. It's no wonder. In a survey of food businesses operating out of shared kitchens, farmers markets were the most commonly used sales channels, with over 50% responding that they sell at one or more farmers markets. A shortage of kitchens ultimately means a shortage of food vendors at farmers markets, so many markets are exploring developing their own incubator kitchens. Join us as we chat with Food Corridor CEO Ashley Colpaart and discover: • How to find a shared kitchen that has what you need • Like market managers, shared kitchen operators' jobs are weird • Why swim goggles are required while making habanero hot sauce • The excitement about the Shared Kitchen Summit being back in person
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Selling farmers market gift certificates are a great way to help dedicated customers introduce friends, relatives and associates to the world of fresher food and local community. Now kick that idea up 350,000 notches. Maine Federation of Farmers Markets proactively sells employers on using market dollars as part of their workplace wellness programs and farmers markets statewide are harvesting a bumper crop of sales and shoppers. Listen in as we discuss that program and other topics including: • The power of cooperative marketing • How tough is tracking and billing? (Not as hard as you'd think.) • The key selling points for big buyers • Don't miss a little tangent about possible changes to SNAP at markets
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With election season upon us, managing free speech issues at farmers markets is top of mind. This week we're chatting with Wendy Chen, of the Center for Agricultural and Food Systems at Vermont Law School for a quick update on court decisions that might affect how you manage free speech at your market. And we're spotlighting an episode originally broadcast in 2021, with Lihlani Nelson, also of Vermont Law School, home of the Farmers market Legal Toolkit. Topics today include • Limiting your farmers market's liability with clear guidelines • Whether speech outside the market can be regulated • How your governing structure might affect your decisions • How to access the Farmers Market Legal Toolkit resources
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We know you're busy this week. Us too! Catt's on the road speaking at conferences and visiting Midwest markets. Brijet's rocking National Farmers Market Week in San Diego. You're doing the same, right? So take just a minute and tune in while we chat with Erica Meadows of the Mt Washington Farmers Market in Kentucky. They gained the most votes in America Farmland Trust's 2024 America's Farmers Market Celebration and scored the big prize. We also hear from our friend Sagdrina on Farmers Market Week, National Black Business Month and the latest Farmers Market Coalition initiatives. Super Early Bird tickets for InTents, the Farmers Market Conference is live now with big savings: don't sleep on that. Use the link in our bio and save your seat.
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We have a mixed bag of topics in this month's Ask the Pros episode. With hot weather advisories, fires and floods becoming more common, we've been getting a lot of questions about when closing a market is justified. Weather or not, farmers need to move their produce so it's not a decision managers take lightly. We're chatting about that and a variety of other questions from our listeners and our online community today Listen in while we chat about these quandaries and more: • Balancing safety, comfort and farmers' and vendors' need to make a living • What to do when you're selling out mid-market • Managing vendor to vendor conflicts that go public • Listening closely to find the source of customer complaints Remember, Super Early Bird registration for InTents, the National Farmers Market Conference 2025 starts THIS Thursday. Watch this space and our email newsletter for all the details and save.
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Join us for a report from Catt's trip to the World Farmers Market Coalition's second General Assembly, in Rome, Italy this month. Delegates from some 70 countries and organizations gathered, representing hundreds of farmers markets and policy making bodies. They heard about the international coalition's current projects and contributed to its visions for the future. Maybe most importantly, they shared perspectives, broke bread, and formed and renewed bonds, market operators from a multitude of places sharing the community that is common to farmers market culture.
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We're about to share so much news about 2025's InTents: the National Farmers Market Conference. Today, we're starting with the announcement that the Request for Proposals opens in just a few days. We're adding a special farmer and vendor track in 2025, so possibilities abound.
Are you ready to share your expertise about a topic with market managers or participants from throughout the US, Canada and beyond? Submit that proposal!
Do you have a need that you're hoping a speaker or panel will address? Pop us an email or a DM and we'll add it to our targets.
Listen in for some tips on how to create a successful proposal, then stick around as we look back on attendees at the 2022 Conference sharing what makes them keep doing this important work.
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Volunteers are the lifeblood of many farmers markets and we know that even market managers are sometimes labeled as volunteers. That labor of love is admirable. Is it legal? That depends, and it's complicated. Wendy Chen joined us at InTents, the National Farmers Market Conference earlier this year. Her work at the Center for Agricultural and Food Systems at Vermont Law School includes the newest section of the Farmers Market Legal Toolkit, specifically focused on the role of volunteers at farmers markets. Listen in as we discuss the answers to these questions and more: What kind of organizations can host volunteers? Do the market bucks you give volunteers put you at risk? Who is responsible if a volunteer is injured at the market? Can a full time manager be a volunteer? What penalties come with misclassifying team members? Find the new volunteer resource and more at farmersmarketlegaltoolkit.org
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It's hard to believe that we've produced 300 episodes of Tent Talk, the farmers market podcast, since we started almost five years ago. You'd think we might run out of things to talk about, but nope! There are so many ideas to explore, questions to ponder, and issues to delve into. We love creating opportunities for market businesses and operations to change and grow. We appreciate the endless number of interesting people doing amazing things that generously share their stories with us and our followers. We appreciate you for listening and subscribing. Join us today as we look back and look forward and have a few laughs. Stay tuned, we're just getting started.
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