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Why Customers Come
To Farmers’ Markets
“Sixty percent or more of consumers shop at farmers’ markets for better quality and/or lower prices,” said Donald P. Lacy, Virginia Tech Extension specialist in community resource development.
“Fresh produce is the major advantage of farmers’ markets,” he said. “In a really good market, many of the farmers will harvest the produce in the morning or just the day prior to bringing it to market.”
In a study by Virginia Tech Extension specialists, about 14 percent of the farmers’ markets customers said they shopped there for lower price. Price at such a market, however, is often affected by other factors. For example, if the market is located near retail grocery stores, the farmers may set their price in the same range as the groceries.
But farmed hthrttet i&ust6ftie«"often ar£ seeking other aspects that only the farmers’,market can provide. Once the customers get to know the farmers and the produce, they make special requests such as asking for a large quantity of the produce on a day they want to do preserving.
It is often this kind of friendly atmosphere that makes the farmers’ market a popular place to shop, said Lacy, who is a member of the faculty of Virginia Tech’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Consumers And The
Farmers’ Market
It is the old-time atmosphere of the farmers’ markets that attracts customers and because of that atmosphere, dickering about prices is accepted and expected at some farmers’ markets.
Jeffrey Gaffne, Virginia Cooperative Extension agent in Fairfax, said farmers who are selling their produce directly to the consumer are often willing to let the prices fluctuate with the
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