So you have some land. Maybe a large backyard. And think “I could grow things and sell them at farmers’ markets!” Making a bit of cash on the side.

If you’re a well-seasoned visitor to farmers’ markets you’ll know that the booths you see there aren’t strictly vegetables. And there’s good reason for that: profit. Growing and selling just fresh vegetable doesn’t give you much of a profit margin. Adding some value to what you grow can nicely increase the profit you’re making off of your sales.

Value Added Products

So what do we mean by “value added”? It’s when you do some extra process on the raw product before selling it. Pickling, canning, drying, baking, etc. are all ways to add value to raw products to increase their selling price.

Let’s take beets as an example. Raw beets, freshly dug from the garden, can usually fetch $2 to $5 for a bunch (3-5, depending on size), depending of location and variety. Not too bad for planting and tending your garden. But if you wash, cut, and pickle them you could sell them for $2-$4 for a typical pint sized jar, which maybe holds 2 large beets.

Yes, you do have to factor in your labor of changing the raw product to something more special. So keep track of your time. But value added products will also offer something not available from other vendors. Maybe you have a special, spicy recipe you use for canning those beets. Maybe you have some unique packaging that makes it a nice gift for someone.

Value added products may also give you a longer shelf life, extending your selling season. Your canned, or pickled, or dried products could last you through the whole winter farmers’ market season. Whereas fresh veggies have a very limited shelf life.

Non-Edible Products

The other big thing we’re beginning to see at farmers’ markets is crafts and crafty things. Sometimes this can be overdone, IMO. But if crafts can be more in line with the things you can grow on your farm they could fit in very nicely.

Some examples: grapevine wreaths, simple rustic baskets, wheat weavings, bunches of indian corn, decorative gourds and squashes, mini straw bales, and bunches of corn stalks.

The big upside to making and selling these sort of items is not having to get liability insurance. If you grow and produce something for people to eat you’re always going to have to get liability insurance for your business. With these sort of non-edible, decorative things that won’t be an issue.

Ideas for my Farm…

So after brainstorming some of these ideas this is a list of potential products I came up with for my farmers’ market booth.

Edible Things:

• herbs in small pots
• gourmet mushrooms
• cookies shaped like mushrooms
• pickled mushrooms
• other pickled things

Non-Edible Products:

• mushroom grow kits
• grapevine wreaths
• bushcraft baskets from grapevines
• seeds of prairie plants
• wheat weaving crafts
• decorative indian corn
• simple acrylic paintings of nature or farm themes
• prairie plants in pots

Sales Tax

Something to keep in mind when deciding on a product(s) for farmers’ market is if you’ll have to collect sales tax for it. Getting a Seller’s Permit from your state, collecting sales tax at market, and then delivering that collected tax to your state’s department of revenue, is kind of a pain. And that’s why many vendors just stick with edible products.

I could be wrong, but in most states (all?) food is not taxed. So if you’re selling something edible you don’t have to charge and collect sales tax. One less thing to worry about as a vendor. Anything else, even if it starts as something edible, that fits into the category of “decorative” or “utilitarian” will be taxed.

If you’re unsure if your product would fit into the taxed or un-taxed categories you can start by asking your farm market manager. He or she will likely know how many products are categorized. And if you’re selling something that’s taxed you’ll often be asked by your market manager for proof that you have a Seller’s Permit in your state.

Market Research

Do some market research by walking around the farm market you intend to sell at. What are some common items? Who has a lot of customers at their booth? What are the demographics of the customers at that market?

Another question for the market manager is how many EBT tokens that give out. Many state food stamp programs will let recipients use their food stamp balance to “buy” tokens at a farmers market, which they use to buy actual food items. If there are a lot of people using the EBT tokens at your market that likely means they don’t have extra money for decorative or gift items.

And don’t forget to outright ask the market manager what kind of vendor they’d like to have at their market. If they’ve been running the market for many years they’ll have the best handle on what sells, what doesn’t, and what customers are asking for.