05/17/2026
Well said and couldn't agree with her more!
People are noticing there are fewer farmers at farmers markets or wondering why many farmers no longer attend multiple markets every single week. Honestly, for a lot of us, the numbers simply stopped making sense.
And before anyone twists this into something it’s not, this is NOT me attacking bakers, food trucks, artists, makers, resellers, or anyone else trying to build a business. Everybody is trying to survive right now. Michael and I understand hustle culture probably more than most because we’ve tried just about every avenue possible to keep our farm afloat over the years.
But farming is different. People see a farmer standing at market for 4-6 hours and think- man, that’s the job. In reality, that market booth usually represents weeks or months of labor before we even arrive.
If a farmer drives 20 miles to market and 20 miles home, that’s already a 40 mile roundtrip. Then add:
• seeds
• greenhouse costs
• soil amendments
• irrigation
• water
• fertilizer
• equipment repairs
• fuel
• booth fees
• trailer maintenance
• insurance
• harvesting
• washing produce
• refrigeration
• packaging
• labels
• bags
• ice
• coolers
• loading and unloading
• payroll or labor
• taxes
• Square fees
• crop failures
• weather losses
• unsold produce
• and months of physical labor before a single dollar is ever made
And the truth is, when you honestly break down the cost of attending ONE market, many farmers probably have several hundred dollars tied into that day before customers even start shopping.
Then after all of that, we’re competing for the same customer dollar against prepared foods, baked goods, drinks, crafts, imported products, and every grocery store people passed on the way to the market.
Again, that is NOT me saying those vendors shouldn’t be there. That’s not my point at all.
My point is that farming margins are razor thin compared to the amount of risk involved. If a farmer loses a crop to hail, flooding, drought, insects, disease, or Oklahoma wind and heat, that can wipe out MONTHS of work and thousands of dollars.
And produce is perishable. If it doesn’t sell, farmers often absorb that loss too.
I think that’s why you’re seeing more farms shift toward:
• CSA programs
• preorders
• on-farm pickup
• self-serve farm stands
• delivery routes
• wholesale
• or fewer, more intentional events
Not because farmers suddenly hate markets or community. But because many of us are trying to figure out how to keep farming without completely running ourselves into the ground financially, physically, and mentally.
And honestly, I think there are solutions:
• lower booth fees for actual growers
• producer-only sections
• better transparency about who grows versus resells
• smaller curated markets
• incentives for agriculture vendors
• stronger community support for direct farm sales and CSA programs
Because I still believe farmers markets matter deeply.
But I also believe if we want actual farmers to keep showing up, we have to start having more realistic conversations about what it truly costs to grow food and bring it to market
