Washington State
Farmers Markets Association

Services & Market Info

WSFMA Handbook

This handbook offers samples of articles of incorporation, by-laws, rules governing. markets and market vendor agreements. They are from different markets around the state. Information has been gathered from various sources, including the Washington Dept. of Agriculture Regulations for Farm Direct Marketing handbook and the Montana Organizing a Farmers Market handbook. The market rules, by-laws and articles of incorporation are only included as samples. These are not the only forms these can take. Markets differ in organization. Some offer only farm produce; others have seafood, poultry, crafts and baked goods. Your organizing efforts should reflect what your community needs and can support. The WSFMA urges new markets to plan, not only for the immediate future but for your market in years to come. Consider what can happen as your "little, friendly, informal market" begins to bring in customers and dollars. Consider the impact future market growth will have upon your market's public and private benefactors, the local business community, the site owners, consumers and your market's farmers. Most of the farmers' markets in this state depend on their volunteers. Remember: volunteers burn out, catch them while they're hot! It was impossible to include in this handbook every bit of information that would be helpful. For further information about the Washington State Farmers Market Association and for help in starting a new market please contact Jackie Aitchison, Administrative Director at info@wafarmersmarkets.com or by phone at (206) 708-5198 (answering service) or her cell at (360) 649-0274.  Or by mail to: PO Box 445 Suquamish, Washington 98392.

Who We Are and Why We Do What We Do

This handbook was put out by the Washington State Farmers Market Association, an independent nonprofit trade association dedicated to furthering family farms and regional agriculture in Washington.

We have a particular interest in the continued growth and success of the state's farmers' markets. The association arranges insurance for member markets and publishes a directory of member markets and distributes it to chambers of commerce and other organizations. We also participate in promotions to bring farmers' markets and the concept of direct marketing of agricultural products to the attention of the public.

To help new markets get started we have put together this handbook of suggestions, tips and sample by-laws, rules and information sheets from markets.

The WSFMA can offer only guidelines, no hard and fast rules. Each market is a distinctive entity and must decide for itself what to do. The WSFMA does encourage a tight market organization with written regulations that are consistently and fairly enforced.

Washington State lacks the massive public-funded infrastructure that has formed California's successful certified farmers' market system, or the "direct market - buy local" programs in many eastern states. It's interested people like yourself who make our Washington state farmers' markets work and the WSFMA is here to help you.

An Idea Whose Time Has Come Again

Volunteers get to the market early and put out the banner and signs. The nylon canopy is erected. The farmers set up their tables, unload their trucks and arrange their displays. A few early customers mill about until precisely at 9 a.m. the market master rings the bell and the farmers market officially opens.

There is a flurry of activity as a small crowd of senior citizens shop and talk. The seniors, many of whom are on fixed incomes, can remember what fresh produce used to taste like and they are pleased to be able to buy it again at bargain prices. The regular customers know to come early and soon the sugar snap peas, early spring carrots and new potatoes are all sold. The farmers greet their regular customers by name and spend a moment to talk briefly about the weather and such. "The strawberries are just beginning to come on," one farmer says, "I should have several flats by next week."

John, the market master, goes around to all the stalls collecting the market fee and chatting with the vendors.

A middle age couple is attracted by the sign but they are dismayed by the lack of variety at the market. Where are the mushrooms, bananas and avocados? A grower patiently explains that this is a farmers market that offers seasonally available produce. The man goes back to his car shaking his head. His wife politely buys a head of lettuce.

The noon hour brings out a small crowd of professional people who buy what remains of the beets, spinach and asparagus. A bluegrass trio attracts passersby. The scene is almost irresistible. The sound of the banjo, guitar and fiddle drifts across stalls of colorful produce and handsome handiwork. The warm spring sun shines through jars of amber honey.

When the bell rings at 1 p.m. to close the market, there are only a few tattered heads of lettuce left on the farmers' tables. The vendors load their crates, tables and other paraphernalia into their cars and trucks. The banner, signs and canopy come down and are loaded into the market master's van. Volunteers pick up the few scraps of paper that litter the site. By 1:30 the farmers market has disappeared for another week.

A farmers market is nothing more than a semi-organized opportunity to buy and sell. The emphasis is on informality and direct consumer-producer interaction. The non- profit groups that generally run farmers markets are low budget, volunteer associations (although the market master who collects fees and handles other administrative chores is sometimes paid). The volunteers are either busy farmers or citizen activists already involved in a dozen or so other causes. Nevertheless, they find the time to organize and promote a farmers market.

Farmers Markets, A Little History

Farmers markets predate written history. Farmers bartered with artisans in ancient villages in Mesopotamia and Mexico. By the middle-ages the Saturday market was an established institution which featured music, dance, drama, arts and crafts, as well as food.

In 1634 Massachusetts Governor John Winthrop officially established the first colonial farmers market. When William Penn designed Philadelphia a farmers market was included on the main thoroughfare. Colonial governors established rules to protect buyers and sellers at the markets. No transactions were permitted until the market was officially opened by the ringing of a bell. All producers were allowed equal access to the market. Monopolization was prohibited, as was reselling produce.

By the mid twentieth century direct marketing was largely supplanted by a very efficient and highly centralized food distribution system that relied on cheap transportation. Farms became larger and more specialized, growing food for markets that might be across the continent or the ocean.

The diversified truck farms that once surrounded most cities were replaced by shopping malls, housing developments, highways and factories. Supermarkets were able to offer a cornucopia of produce year round. Strawberries in January, asparagus in December, a tomato or head of lettuce whenever the consumer wanted it. By the 1970s most city people were at least one or two generations removed from the farm; food to them was just something you bought at the supermarket.

In the 1970s though, increased food exports, poor weather and bad agriculture policy combined to drive up the price of staple commodities. The food crisis was almost simultaneous with the energy crisis. People began to realize that their food supply lines were very fragile and could easily be broken.

Yet while this was going on many people found time to appreciate the better things in life -- such as good food. Increased diet and health consciousness led to increased consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables. In 1975 the Senate Select Committee on Nutrition recommended that Americans eat more whole foods and reduce their intake of sugars and saturated fats. Similar advice has come from the American Heart Association and other leading medical researchers and nutritionists. Americans seem to be listening. Since 1976 broccoli consumption is up 169%, cauliflower 100%, spinach 80%, strawberries 41%, cucumbers 38% and sweet peppers 24%.

Markets Benefit the Farmer

Meanwhile, for the first time in half a century, the number of small farms began to increase. This development took the experts by surprise because there seemed to be little economic justification for the trend. People, it seems, were becoming farmers for non-economic reasons. They wanted to work outdoors, to be in charge of their own lives, to raise their children in a cohesive social and economic unit. They wanted to be part of the Jeffersonian vision of America.

Farmers markets meet the needs of both the consumer and the small farmer. Selling through wholesale channels a farmer receives less than 30 cents of the dollar a shopper spends on fresh produce. A direct market farmer gets the whole dollar. Even though marketing costs may be higher for the direct market farmer, the net income can more than offset it.

Farmers markets are often the only marketing outlet for beginning farmers who may not have access to other marketing channels. The fees at farmers markets are quite reasonable, usually only a few dollars or a small percentage of the farmer's gross sales. Markets handle promotion for the farmer and garner quite a bit of publicity from the local media. The markets give farmers some flexibility. They can sell twice one week and not at all the next, although many try to develop a steady clientele by being present every market day.

Markets Benefit the Consumer

For the consumer, farmers markets offer high quality produce. The quality of most fresh fruits and vegetables begins to decline as soon as it's harvested. Broccoli, for example, loses a third of its vitamin C in two days. By the time Mexican asparagus gets to Seattle it has lost two thirds of its vitamins. University of California-Davis researchers tested some supermarket cabbage and Brussel sprouts for vitamin C. They didn't find any even though fresh brassicas are ordinarily excellent sources of this vitamin.

The average grocery item travels 1300 miles to get from field to table. A large wholesale produce grower is looking for uniformity and shipability from his crops. Flavor and nutrients are secondary at best. Most produce is harvested slightly immature so it will withstand the rigors of travel better. Some fruits and vegetables are treated with ethylene gas to look ripe but will never develop the full flavor that comes at the peak of ripeness.

Imported produce is particularly suspect. It may be grown under health and safety conditions not allowed in the United States.

You know the produce is fresh at a farmers market. Most is picked within just a few hours of arriving at the farmer's stall. A consumer can ask how his food has been grown, what chemicals, if any, have been applied to it and may also pick up a hint or two on how to prepare it.

The consumer may also save considerable money at a farmers market. A national survey of 15 cities found that 91 percent of the time food items were cheaper at a farmers market. Other surveys have shown that consumers can save from 8 to 50% by buying directly from the producer.

When a consumer buys directly from a farmer he is helping strengthen the local economy. A dollar spent at a chain store is divided among distant managers, stockholders, produce brokers, trucking companies and way, way down the line, and far, far away, a farmer.

A local farmer though will most likely spend her dollar in the community. She will need seeds, fertilizer, equipment, parts, fuel, and sometimes extra labor. She will buy clothes, a car and go to the movies and restaurants in her hometown. Most likely, some of that dollar will get back to the customer who spent it on food.

Farmers markets are an idea whose time has come again.

Rules establish the day(s) and hours the market will be open; how much it will cost the vendor to sell at the market and any other regulations that will be appropriate to the welfare of the market, farmer and consumer.

Incorporation and Bylaws

It may be in the best interests of the market to incorporate as a nonprofit organization. Incorporation generally protects board members from liability. A corporation can enter into contracts, incur debts, accept grants and contributions and qualify for a bulk mailing permit from the post office.

Incorporation is fairly painless. First, draft articles of incorporation. These articles define how the corporation is organized and what its purposes are. The articles in Appendix I are fairly standard. File the notarized articles with the Washington Secretary of State, Ralph Munro, Corporation Division, 505 E. Union, Olympia, WA 98504, (360) 753-7121, and include a $20 filing fee.

For nonprofit tax status contact the local Internal Revenue Service. The IRS will provide relevant information and form 1023.5 (C)3. The purpose of your organization, as defined by the articles of incorporation must conform to the requirements of the law. It is important that your articles of incorporation are worded correctly so would be wise to consult an attorney or other expert.

Becoming tax-exempt does not free you from filling out forms or from paying other taxes. Again an attorney or CPA will help you determine which are applicable to you.

Insurance

Markets should have insurance and most sponsors and those who let you use their property for farmers' markets will insist on it.

The WSFMA obtains a group policy for its member markets. In 2003 the insurance consisted of $5 million in general aggregate liability, $1 million per occurrence, $1 million for personal and advertising injury liability, $300,000 fire damage and $5,000 medical expense (any one person).

Other Obligations

Depending on what your market vendors sell there may be dealings with the local health department. Processed foods such as baked goods must meet certain requirements and their vendor must have a food handlers permit. A listing of county health districts is included in this handbook. Contact your local office for what requirements apply to your vendors.

Farmers are not required in Washington state to obtain city or county vendor's or business licenses to sell their own produce (RCW 36.71.090 Revised Code of Washington), but craftspeople, food vendors and the like will be subject to local business licenses. Oftentimes one permit for the entire market is sufficient. Find out what is required of your situation.

At this time the B&O tax is being charged to businesses grossing over a certain amount per quarter. Most farmers markets do not fall into this category, but vendors may need to arrange for their own resale certificates from the Department of Revenue. These are regional offices; look for yours in the white pages of the phone book under Washington State, Department of Revenue.

A few years ago the Washington State Department of Agriculture published a very good handbook on regulations for direct farm marketers. At this time it is out of print but we hope it will be back in updated form soon.

Scales used are supposed to be inspected by the state and in some cases, city or counties for accuracy. Many vendors choose to sell by the bunch, box or by the dozen, thus avoiding having to use scales.

There are many more regulations covering specific products such as nursery products, dairy products, meat and poultry, but don't get discouraged. Contact the Department of Agriculture if you have any questions, or the WSFMA will be happy to find the answers to specific questions you may have.

Advertising

An identifiable design for the market may be used in the advertising campaign. This design can be used on posters, ads and shopping bags.

All available media may be used, starting for example, with an early newspaper campaign to encourage sellers to order and purchase seed and to start early spring work. Markets have usually experienced enthusiastic editorial support, special radio and TV programs and a wide variety of human interest stories and photographs. Once they know what a farmers market is, people are supportive.

Tying in special events can provide additional free advertising. A scarecrow contest, a master gardener to answer questions, live music will all be newsworthy.

It is important to maintain a steady advertising campaign. You will get some free advertising, but your media contacts will be more helpful if some of it is paid too. Radio stations often will broadcast information about the availability of special and abundant items as the market progresses, often at no cost.

Nonprofit status provided farmers markets with a place among public service groups. Businesses, banks and local organizations have all contributed to assist farmers markets.

Posters, directional signs and banners on streets leading to the market are helpful. Some communities have restrictive sign ordinances. Find out what your local laws are. Advertising display areas have been made available to farmers market sponsors in bank and store windows.

Selling Tips for Vendors

What do you need to participate in a farmers market? How to Sell Display tips

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