Farmers In Fashion As Markets Boom

Chef's Special - Issue 50 (Summer 2004)

In cities and towns throughout the country, a quiet revolution is happening in the way producers and consumers do business. Australia now has more than 80 farmers’ markets, a staggering number considering the first was started in Victoria just five years ago. Every weekend, in every state, producers set up stalls and trailers in paddocks, showgrounds and parks, bringing freshly dug spuds, beef and lamb, smoked trout, free-range eggs, sourdough bread, mushrooms, herbs and vegetables direct to the consumer. This is truly “paddock to plate”.

New England sheep farmer Mark Taylor has so much faith in farmers’ markets that he takes his Mandalong Grain Fed Lamb to 26 markets each month. He personally goes to one a week and employs three people to do the others. Between them, they cover Sydney, Brisbane and places in between, appearing at markets such as the Good Living Growers Market in Pyrmont, Fox Studios Farmers Market and the Olympic Park Market. So successful have the markets been for him that they now account for half his business.

“I initially started it so I could get rid of my secondaries, the forequarters, sausages and shoulder legs,” he said of his venture into the markets six years ago. “I was doing good business with restaurants and could sell all the racks, loins and rumps in the world but I couldn’t sell the secondaries.” While the markets have clearly been a good move for him, consumers have benefited too. “It surprises me how many people don’t know how to cook a leg of lamb,” he says. “You tell them what to do, and the beauty of it is, they come back next week with a smile on their face and you know it’s worked.”

Taylor recently embarked on another branding venture, this time in collaboration with Tamworth beef company, Blue Stripe Meats. He says the markets are terrific for gaining brand awareness. “We sell 5000 portioned packets of meat each week and you’re getting feedback from every one of them. That’s the most amazing thing.”

A driving force behind the farmers’ market movement, Jane Adams, says the most obvious advantage for consumers is that they get to enjoy fresh, natural food with flavour. The spin-offs are in sustainable agriculture, biodiversity, food security and a revitalisation of community. Since doing a study tour of farmers’ markets in the United States in 1998, she has travelled widely around Australia, helping to develop them here. She chairs the Australian Farmers’ Market Association, an informal group which provides information and networking opportunities.

Adams says the advantage for consumers buying meat from the markets is in knowing the animal’s provenance. “You can find out how it’s been raised and how long the meat has been aged. And it’s a very good way of learning about new breeds and cuts.” She cites the case of the Australian Wagyu Association, which has used farmers’ markets to introduce its beef to the public. For a list of markets, visit www.farmersmarkets.org.au

© Christine Salins

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