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It utilizes literature related to broader themes, including discussions of the challenges small farmers face in a corporatized and globalizing agro-food system, the reemergence and function of local food systems, a review of ecological theory to put these processes in context and provide a framework for analysis, the need for concise applied research that works toward solving real-world problems, and a general summary of literature on farmers’ markets.
Chapter 2, “The Nature of Oregon’s Farmers’ Markets,” organizes basic demographic data on farmers’ markets to show their intimate ties to the natural world. Farmers’ markets connect people with the natural environment by means of their open-air adaptation and their policy of allowing only the sale of locally produced foods, thus fostering connections to the seasons and the individual agro-ecozones of Oregon.
Chapter 3, “Ninety Years of Oregon’s Farmers’ Markets: An Inventory of Markets and External Influences on Their Growth and Decline,” uses a historic perspective to examine some of the major external influences on farmers’ market growth and decline from 1915 to 2005. These influences have included economic downturns, wars, the extraordinary transformation of agriculture and the food system during the 1950s and 1960s, and the impact of political action and public policy during the 1970s. Although these influences are associated with periods of growth and decline in numbers of farmers’ markets during the past, researchers have not adequately addressed what is driving the current rapid growth of markets since the early 1990s. This research indicates that one of the influences on the current growth in the number of farmers’ markets is their use to build community.
Chapter 4, “Connecting Farmers’ Market Size and Management Organization,” examines the association between management organization and market scale. Market size categories are compared to the tools and Resources commonly used for farmers’ market management. There are significant differences in management tools used by markets of differing sizes. Findings indicate that in order to avoid internally inflicted problems that could negatively impact a market, organizers should use scale-appropriate management tools. In addition, to avoid outgrowing their management structure and to ensure the readiness of their market for future growth, organizers should plan for implementing appropriate management practices to match an anticipated market size.