Page 13 - Simply Vegetables Spring 2023

Making money from your growing
LUCY HILL
Do you ever have surplus fruit or vegetables, vegetable plants or flowers? Do you like to bake or make preserves using your home grown produce? Would you like an easy market
opportunity for the sale
of regular production or
surplus from your plot
and make it financially
self-sufficient or even
profitable?
Then read on to learn about the Country Markets organisation.
INTRODUCTION
For more than 100 years
a network of about 300
Country Markets across England, Wales and the Channel Islands has been selling homemade baked goods, preserves, garden grown fruit and vegetables, plants, and handmade crafts. Visitors to these markets can buy a variety of produce – almost anything local and seasonal that can be produced in a domestic kitchen, garden, or smallholding. Alongside the home-made goods many Country Markets also sell meat, fish and dairy goods, honey,
and eggs from local producers.
Each market will reflect the locality and
the interests of its members and customers and producers pride themselves on the quality of their produce
HISTORY AND LEGALITIES
The origins of Country Markets date
back to the early 1900’s. The Agricultural Organisation Society, which was a government predecessor of Defra, was interested in promoting co-operative selling amongst farmers and, as this was wartime, in encouraging a better distribution of essential foods. The first official market opened in 1919 using the same principles as the present Country Markets. In the 1930’s the current regional Market Societies started to become separately registered and operating procedures were formalised culminating in the registration of Country Markets Limited in July 1991.
Each market will reflect the locality and the interests of its members and customers
and the friendliness of their markets.
To sell produce at a market you have to be a member of your regional market society and apply to be a producer. Markets sell on a co-operative basis, so all produce is pooled on the table for that type, for example all vegetables are on one table regardless of who produced them. This
is what makes it ideal for selling surplus items, but you can also aim to grow to supply regularly.
You receive the sale value of any of your items that are sold less a small commission which covers the costs of running the market and this is paid to you every month. You will also be covered by the Country Market insurance, so you do not need your own liability policy.
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