Van Buren farmers seeks to expand with crafts

A local farmers market expects new business and continued growth following action taken by the Van Buren City Council this week.

On Monday (July 15), the city council approved an ordinance that would allow vendors selling hand-crafted items to take part in the city's local farmers market. According to Barbara Little, a member of the Van Buren Growers Association, the change was requested in order to grow the farmer's market.

"We couldn't accept crafters and we wanted our market to grow and there was favorable feedback."

Market Master Mitch Carolan said crafts had made a big difference at other farmer's markets across the state, so it was something he and the vendors wanted to try.

"I think it will (help). We'll just have to take a wait and see attitude. All of your other farmers markets, you know what a difference the crafts make. (It doesn't just benefit the craft vendor), it also benefits me (as a grower). Even though I don't sell crafts, you may see some produce you want. Or vice versa."

He said growth at the Van Buren Farmers Market, which started six years ago in downtown Van Buren and now finds itself in the parking lot of the Van Buren Public Library on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., has been slowed in recent years due to competition from other markets in the area, such as the Fayetteville Farmer's Market and the much closer Fort Smith Farmer's Market, which allows for the sale of hand-crafted goods.

"We've lost a couple of vendors who have left and gone to Fort Smith because of the crafts. When produce is weak, (crafts) still draw people. It's a win-win situation. We're hoping it does the same for us."

Produce has been especially weak this year, Little said, as unusually cool weather and a first-ever May snow blasted much of Crawford County.

"Our growing season started slow and (crafts) were still not included at that point. The tomatoes and stuff were not as ripe as usual. And vendors were wanting to sell crafts and because it wasn't written in (the city ordinance), we started to lose vendors."

Carolan said some producers did not survive the cold blast, which included several late freezes.

"We had the (cold) front at the first of May. I know people that lost their entire gardens. Generally by the first of May, you're picking cucumbers and stuff, but this year it was so wet and so cool, you couldn't get it planted and coming up without the frost killing it."

Wednesday (July 17) was the first day crafts could be sold and Little said there was quite a variety of goods.

"Today we had hand-made bows and arrows, we had hair bows and jewelry, some art, different things. And braided rugs," she said. "It has to be in accordance with the Arkansas state rules that govern any agriculture products for sale in a farmers market, like people making james and all of that. There's specific guidelines."

Previous attempts to grow the market from only eight vendors to today's count of about 25 vendors have included the incorporation of not only produce, but other foods.

"We have buffalo meat, cattle that are strictly grass-fed beef with no antibiotics," Carolan said.

New types of produce are showing up, as well, from farmers and gardeners who were not adversely affected by this year's unusually cold Spring, according to Carolan.

"Were getting some new stuff. I'm seeing more heirloom vegetables at our market. You're seeing that more and more. They don't want the genetically modified stuff. Another practice I'm seeing is we have very few farmers who use pesticides. Most of our people don't use any pesticides at all."

The result, he said, is better-tasting produce that keeps local shoppers coming back time and time again.

"I buy very little from the store because I know someone at the farmers market will have it. These chain stores, they ship it in and a tomato doesn't taste like a tomato. If I bite into a tomato, I want it to bite me back. I want my green beans to have some flavor to it. We had blueberries a few weeks ago. It tastes nothing like what you get in the store," he said. "There's no comparing truly fresh produce to what you buy in the store. There's truly no comparison. It's like comparing a cactus to a rose. You can't compare the two."