Local vendors were not quiet about their enthusiasm for continued growth of the Dane County Farmers’ Market and its positive impact on small Wisconsin farming as it made its annual spring return to Madison Saturday morning.
“It’s been a great experience,” said Jenny Anderson of Artesian Trout Farm, which has sold smoked rainbow trout at the market for the past 13 years. She said the market’s impact on her individual farm has been remarkable.
“It’s a really good outlet, and it has helped our farm a lot,” Anderson said. “We get a lot of restaurants and regular customers here. People are more familiar with us.”
Farms, Inc. vendor Sally Murphy of Soldiers Grove also addressed the benefits of the market for the small farmer. She has sold bakery goods and cheese curds at the market for 10 years.
“This is a wonderful market,” Murphy said. “We do milk cows, but this is how we survive. This market is our way of life.”
Vendors also talked about the market’s changes during its 32-year run on the Capitol Square, during which it has grown to become the largest outdoor market in the nation.
Eugene Woller, beekeeper for Gentle Breeze Honey, said that the regulations for maintaining the integrity of the market have increased over his 18 years of selling honey.
“Because of the size of the market, it’s gotten more political than before, in the sense of more rules,” Woller said. “The market’s been nothing but good. The people are good, and the customers always seem to be in a good mood.”
“There are more vendors, more customers and more activities than before, but the rules are still the same,” Murphy said. “Everything still has to be grown or produced by the farmer. You can’t buy or sell here.”
Artesian Trout Farms’ employees also noted the growth of the farmers’ market and its impact on small agricultural business.
“Things have changed. There’s a different variety now,” Anderson said, adding that the diversity of products has attracted more publicity and customers to the market.
“We sell twice as much as we used to,” she said.
The Dane County Farmers’ Market runs every Saturday, from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., until Nov. 8.
