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| 29 AUG 2006 | |
Crops for Southland: Farmers' Market Explored
Aug 29, 2006 - 02:12
29 August 2006
Media Release
Southern Farmers’ Market being investigated
The potential for a regular farmers’ market to be held in Southland is being explored further by a local steering committee.
Initially mooted at a New Zealand Trade and Enterprise seminar, that was held in Invercargill last November to explore the potential for farmers’ markets in the south, a local steering committee has been formed to investigate the opportunity in more depth.
Two committee members, Jane Stanton from the Seriously Good Chocolate Company and local paeony grower Liz Terpstra were among those excited by the potential opportunities highlighted at the initial seminar.
The authenticity of a local farmers’ market development was the key for Southland to be successful, Mrs Terpstra said.
“An authentic farmers’ market means that the person selling the produce is the person who produces it.”
“To be successful, people should be able to walk into the market and buy all of the ingredients that they need to make a full meal, ranging from meat, eggs, vegetables, fruit and artisan products,” she said.
The local project was entirely dependent on the results of a feasibility study, but the next stage was to get potential vendors for the Southland market together to determine the ground rules for the market.
Anyone keen to attend could register their interest by emailing: southernfarmersmarket@xtra.co.nz or leave a phone message with Crops for Southland, in McIvor Road.
Crops for Southland spokesman Craig Howard said the farmers’ market was a great way of developing new local businesses by providing a market for produce.
“The Dunedin market is now said to create sales of more than $4 million a year and Crops for Southland is fully supportive of the development of an authentic farmers’ market in the south,” he said.
“We see markets like this as an excellent way of starting new local growing businesses and a local sales outlet is the one ingredient we have been missing.”
A southern farmers’ market would give local producers the confidence to start growing and selling traditional and innovative crops.
Mrs Terpstra said if the local market proved to be feasible the steering committee was looking to start the regular event in mid-November at a central city venue.
For further information:
Liz Terpstra, Crops for Southland, Southern Farmers Market Steering Committee Spokesperson
Ph 03 230 4144; email: liznick@xtra.co.nz
