It seems much longer than three
months since I have hit the road to visit farmers and crafters, maybe it’s
because winter seems like it will never end. I am getting an early start this
year since we have had so much interest in how to become a vendor at the City
Market. We have received numerous new applications for the Sunday and Wednesday
afternoon market and many of these vendors have products that are ready now.
I have people ask me all the time
if I work during the winter months. My job never slows down no matter the time of
year. The winter months are spent on getting everything lined up for a new
year. Which means sending out contracts,
attending conferences, promoting the City Market and lots and lots of meetings.
I am always glad when I can get back to being out of the office, visiting
vendors and enjoying the bustle of the farmers market.
Last weekend I attended the
Missouri Farmers Market Associations www.missourifarmersmarkets.org
annual conference which was held in Saint Louis, Missouri. I figured I might as
well visit a few farms and an artist/crafter vendor on the way there and back.
We have received two new applications from farmers who live in or near
Columbia, Missouri. The Grow Bros. Natural Farm is located in Sturgeon, MO
which is about 20 miles north of Columbia. Hubert and Nathan Shaw along with
their business partner Christopher Edwards grow oyster mushrooms. They
currently sell at the Columbia Farmers Market www.columbiafarmersmarket.org
but are looking to expand their operation so have searched out an additional
market. I met with Hubert who showed me the mushrooms they have growing in
their basement. All of their mushrooms are grown in straw bales which have had
spores implanted, trust me Hubert did a much better job of explaining the
process. They hope to add a new barn very soon to increase the amount of
mushrooms they can grow to better keep up with the demand. I think their
product will be a great addition to the farmers market.
I miscalculated a little so had
to backtrack to get to Tutt’s Farm Fresh in Columbia. I met Kevin and his wife
at a conference I attended a couple weeks ago in St. Joe, Missouri. During the
summer months they operate a roadside stand located next to their farm fields
and greenhouse. I was amazed when I walked into their green house and saw 2,600
pepper plants which were covered in beautiful red, green, yellow and orange
bell peppers. What a difference a greenhouse makes. They also had a few radishes
ready to harvest and sweet potatoes stored over from the fall. The trick with
holding sweet potatoes is to not wash them until you are ready to eat them. In
this case a little dirt is a good thing. I will be stopping by the Tutt’s farm
again in the spring once they have their other crops in but for now they will
be bringing peppers, sweet potatoes and radishes to the Market. www.tuttsfarmfresh.com
After a wonderful three days in
St. Louis, great information to get me excited about the upcoming season and a
chance to visit with other market managers and vendors from the state I headed
home but had some time to visit with two other new vendors on the way.I had to take a slight detour to
get to Sedalia but it was worth the time. I found a great place to have lunch
and got a chance to meet Carol Jasper. Carol has been soaping for the last twenty
years but has started making soap full time the last three years. Her soap
operation has taken up the majority of her kitchen and the back room of her
home. I was so impressed with the list of soaps she makes and how organized she
was. When visiting a craft vendor I am always looking at their supplies and
work area, Carol did not disappoint. Carol has her soaps in local shops, does a
nice mail order business and sells at the Missouri State Fair. Since her
schedule is a little busy she will be selling at the Sunday Market off and on
through 2017. Carol said this shouldn’t be a problem since her soaps lasts a
long time. www.jasperleesoapworks.com
I am so glad I saved Hemme
Brothers Creamery for the end of my trip, you will find out why a little later.
The Hemme family has been farming in Saline County since 1848. The farm is
still a family operation with David’s four sons splitting up the responsibilities;
crops, heifers, cows and cheese making. David gave me a tour of the creamery;
they will not be making cheese until Tuesday so it was pretty quiet. What a
beautiful spotless operation. I was really impressed with their product and
facility. I was able to try “Quark’ for the first time, I had no idea what it
was. It is a spreadable cheese which is very popular in Europe and is pretty
much a staple on every table. I am now a fan, I tried it on an English muffin, so
good. The creamery also makes various flavors of cheese curds and apple wood
smoked cheddar, their cheese has a very distinct taste. I left the creamery and was just in time to see
the cows being milked. David had me follow him into the milking area which is
below the cows so the milking machines can be attached to each cow. It was
amazing to watch the cows walk in, on their own, in a row, angle themselves and
back up into position. You might be guessing where this story is going, one of
the cows let loose and I got a little splattered, thank goodness there was a shield
or I would have had a cow pie on my head. I must admit this city girl had to
swallow hard. If David is able to get all of his Kansas City permits lined up
by Saturday he plans to be at the Market on the 28th.
This winter has been much colder
than last year so we have all of the farmer market vendors in the third pavilion
located on the north side of the market on Saturday and Sundays, they will
spread back into two pavilions in a couple more weeks. The vintage sale is
taking place in the first heated pavilion on Sundays during the winter. The Farmer
Market hours November through March are 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. both Saturday and
Sunday. The Wednesday market will kick of on June 7th from 2 p.m. to
6 p.m. In a couple weeks you will start to see the farmers market vendors start
trickling back in, I can’t wait.
