On Saturday (March 7) the North Dakota Farmers Market and Growers Association membership held a strategic planning session for the future of our organization. As a member of the board of directors of that organization, I am very pleased with how things turned out.

We have a number of benefits going for us and we have some issues. Perhaps the No. 1 issue we face is finding more vendors. This was indicated on a survey we looked at during our annual conference in January and it came up yesterday.

There are certainly enough people in North Dakota who raise produce, bake breads and pies, put crafts together, etc. For whatever reason some of them don't want to be associated with a farmers market, some of them could take it or leave it and some of them would like to but think maybe it would be too much work or they're not good with the public or something.

If we could talk to those who think they might be interested, I believe we could convince them that farmers markets are profitable, they are a lot of fun, you meet customers you would never otherwise know, you have the backing of a state association and after yesterday, you may be eligible for professional training.

My wife and I started gardening in 2004 and created a local market in 2005. That small market turned out to be the social event of the week during the summer in this small community and it continues to be. In 2007, we started a second market in a much larger community and that market is turning some dollars. There is now interest toward us to get a third market going on the regional Indian reservation.

As our economy continues to deteriorate, consumers are going to be looking for cost cutting measures and farmers markets just might be the ticket. In North Dakota we often have to travel, sometimes up to 40 miles to the nearest grocery store. In most cases, there is a farmers market in your back yard and as customers continue to seek them out, that will be more economically beneficial to the vendor and the customer.

Whether you grow garlic, potatoes, cabbage or fruit trees, you can become a successful famers market vendor in North Dakota. Our January survey indicated that customers tend to visit the markets with more vendors more frequently simply because of greater variety. Kind of a no-brainer, but the survey proved it.

During the depth of the Great Depression in 1932, President Herbert Hoover said two things that will never fail no matter how bad things get, will be the food and liquor industry. We are in the food business and since you need food to survive and not liquor, I would assume growing produce is a pretty good bet.

If you live in North Dakota, you grow produce, bake items or build crafts and you are reading this blog, please contact me at ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ) and we can talk about your local market and how you can help it and yourself. We'd love to have you on board. It is a lot of fun