5 ms·

The margins on a grocery store are very low, it would be crazy to try to haggle there. In a farmer's market, they probably throw away half the produce, the mar

The margins on a grocery store are very low, it would be crazy to try to haggle there. In a farmer's market, they probably throw away half the produce, the margin is more in the quantity of goods than in the price, so it would always be better to try to get more goods for free than to put price down!

david38 5y ago
They don’t. That would be a wildly stupid thing to do. They sell at multiple markets.
foepys 5y ago
> In a farmer's market, they probably throw away half the produce, I don't think that any modern farm can sustain itself on farmers markets alone except when it's a hobby farm. Everything not sold there will be sold to supermarkets in bulk. Farmer's markets are just a nice cherry on top where the margins are higher.
- jtc331 5y ago
  I think you’re assuming industrial agriculture? Smaller farms can and do survive on markets. Just because they might only be an acre doesn’t mean they’re a hobby farm; some of these are grossing well into 6 digit income.
  - codingdave 5y ago
    I think arguing the definition of "hobby" farm is drifting from the point. Whether or not unsold food gets wasted is the more pertinent question, and I know the small farms I live near, as well as our own hobby farming, has very little waste. Between eating our own food, canning it, or recycling it to the chickens or livestock... not much gets thrown away. Put into that context, there is absolutely a bottom to the price it is worth selling at. If you are offering less than its value as chicken food, we won't sell. Admittedly, that is still pretty cheap.
- dmans0n 5y ago
  I worked on an organic vegetable farm for 5 years. 90% of their income came from direct farmer's market sales. We had the benefit of being able to remember what we sold last week, last year, etc. at farmer's market. We just planned based on that, and rarely ended up throwing away a substantial amount of produce. Lots of vegetables can be returned to cold storage and brought to a market the next day, too. Carrot & beet bunches with greens on them get topped and sold in 5lb bags. Onions, garlic, squash, potatoes, etc don't suffer from going to and from different markets. Salad greens can be more sensitive, but it depends on the weather and how they're displayed. Also, a box of veg that was made well and truly unsaleable by a day at market would be thrown in the compost to be turned into next year's fertilizer. The place I worked had ~10 acres in cultivation and grossed $200 - 300k. Their kids have college funds.

david38 5y ago

They don’t. That would be a wildly stupid thing to do. They sell at multiple markets.

foepys 5y ago

> In a farmer's market, they probably throw away half the produce, I don't think that any modern farm can sustain itself on farmers markets alone except when it's a hobby farm. Everything not sold there will be sold to supermarkets in bulk. Farmer's markets are just a nice cherry on top where the margins are higher.

jtc331 5y ago
I think you’re assuming industrial agriculture? Smaller farms can and do survive on markets. Just because they might only be an acre doesn’t mean they’re a hobby farm; some of these are grossing well into 6 digit income.
- codingdave 5y ago
  I think arguing the definition of "hobby" farm is drifting from the point. Whether or not unsold food gets wasted is the more pertinent question, and I know the small farms I live near, as well as our own hobby farming, has very little waste. Between eating our own food, canning it, or recycling it to the chickens or livestock... not much gets thrown away. Put into that context, there is absolutely a bottom to the price it is worth selling at. If you are offering less than its value as chicken food, we won't sell. Admittedly, that is still pretty cheap.
dmans0n 5y ago
I worked on an organic vegetable farm for 5 years. 90% of their income came from direct farmer's market sales. We had the benefit of being able to remember what we sold last week, last year, etc. at farmer's market. We just planned based on that, and rarely ended up throwing away a substantial amount of produce. Lots of vegetables can be returned to cold storage and brought to a market the next day, too. Carrot & beet bunches with greens on them get topped and sold in 5lb bags. Onions, garlic, squash, potatoes, etc don't suffer from going to and from different markets. Salad greens can be more sensitive, but it depends on the weather and how they're displayed. Also, a box of veg that was made well and truly unsaleable by a day at market would be thrown in the compost to be turned into next year's fertilizer. The place I worked had ~10 acres in cultivation and grossed $200 - 300k. Their kids have college funds.