How You Can Increase Farm Market Sales [Opinion]
July 8, 2014 
Rosemary Gordon
It was about a month ago when USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service rang the bell to officially open the USDA Farmers Market for its 19th season on the National Mall. The market, like so many of its counterparts across the country, will feature a variety of vendors selling vegetables, fruit, baked goods, and so much more.
Also like other farmers markets, the USDA market will be open through November, so the season of selling fresh, locally grown produce has just begun. As many of you participate in farmers markets or have a farm market on or near your farm — or both — you know the importance of getting the customers into the market and then giving them a reason to return, again and again.
, Here are five things you can focus on to sell more produce.
1. Highest quality produce only. Period. Let’s face it, people shop at a farm market or farmers market because they know that’s the place to get the freshest locally grown produce possible. If they are disappointed even once, they’re not coming back.
2. Help them focus on health. You know you have the freshest sweet corn and the tastiest tomatoes around and you have signage on the roads near your market that says so. Provide your customers with something extra by offering them different ways to prepare the food you sell via recipes that include nutrition information and calorie counts. This is one way to keep them coming back for more.
3. Deliver variety. Frank Giles, editor of our sister publication, Florida Grower, shares some other pointers on how to continue to engage consumers in his article, “5 Breakthrough Farm Marketing Tips For Florida Growers.” (Go to bit.ly/1kYy5fq to read the article.)
In addition to having high-quality, and tasty produce, he says growers, especially small producers, need to offer variety, and make sure they stand out from the competition by finding opportunities in new crops or new partners.
4. Offer other activities. We know agritainment options such as a corn maze or U-Pick strawberries in the spring and early summer and pumpkins in the fall will get people in the door, keep people on the farm longer, and encourage them to spend more money.
5. Engage your customers. Another point to remember is the power of social media. Establishing a Facebook page alone will help you get in touch with thousands of potential customers. Remember the famous line from the movie Field Of Dreams: “If you build it, they will come”? It definitely rings true for the use of Facebook and your farm market business.
Do you have any farm marketing tips to share? Please send them to me at [email protected].
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