Market Days

"I don't want to look at your stuff in this weather! Why are you here?"

I heard that and similar comments from at least twenty people at the Burlington County Farmer Market in Moorestown last Saturday. 

On the days I go to the market, my alarm clock wakes me at 5:00 a.m. After taking care of the alpacas and Whippets, I load my car with tables, a chair, suitcases with my products, and display baskets. A quick breakfast, shower, dress—and off I go. 

At the market, it takes me almost an hour to unload and set everything up. The end of a long morning starts the entire process in reverse. While I normally clean up dung in the pastures in the morning, on market days I do so after I return to the farm. By the end of the day, I have easily spent twelve hours outdoors, no matter what the temperature. Luckily, my booth at the market is in the shade. 

Tallying and recording my sales—as well as the tax for my quarterly filing with the state—is done indoors after farm chores are completed. It is not very lucrative to sell alpaca products during the summer. So... why am I there?

I believe in the concept of a community farmers market. My vendor fees support the market. I am there because a farm must produce something, and I want to show the public the end products of my labor. Selling my products helps support the fiber artists who created them; among them is a stay-at-home mom who knits socks for my business. I am there because, on a small farm, all income—however modest—is needed to make things work.

There is another reason —  no, make that hundreds of reasons —why I am at the market in 95 degrees. Here is my message to the vast majority of market visitors:

I thank you for your purchases but also for your cheerful smiles, your kind remarks, and your interest in my animals. I enjoy the stories you tell me about the family members who will be wearing my hats and scarves. I love to see the clothing you knitted from alpaca yarn and the photo of your tiny niece clutching her alpaca doll. I appreciate the concern in your voice when you ask how the alpacas are doing in the heat, and I can tell you that they are hosed down from head to toes several times each day.

I could sell my products over the Internet, but I prefer to meet people and talk with them—face to face—at a bustling market. See you at the market!