Latest / Two Tools, No Clue / E12 The Evolution of Farmer's Markets

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E12 The Evolution of Farmer's Markets · Two Tools, No Clue

• Jeidan and Anna: Hey everyone! Welcome to the Two Tools No Clue Podcast. I'm Anna. And I'm Jaden. And today we have no clue about farmers markets. Ooh. How did they start? And how can we support them? We have no clue. But first, what's going on around the homestead? Well, our watermelons and our tomatoes are popping off. Yeah, they are. They're doing really well. We call our greenhouse our tomato jungle. Yes. And we haven't plucked a single what are they called? Sucker shoot off. So it's just going crazy in there. And our watermelons we have like it started with one that I had a dream about, which you know if you follow us on TikTok. Yeah. But since then, like five or six more have popped up and they're getting to be about like softball size, though No, yeah, and there's one that's even bigger than that. It's like impressive for sure. Yeah, I'm excited. And basically everything else is struggling. Yeah. Everything else in our garden is dying and Or just staying the same size. I think we ha might have a pH issue. Yeah. I think like the heat and the rain, the heat and the rain really hasn't been helpful like we thought it would be. Or maybe just the late start. I'm not really sure yet, but kinda seems like everybody's having a rough time. Although I think the garlic is gonna be a good hit. Smaller than what we're used to. Yeah. We'll have to harvest that soon. Yeah. And then, in other news, yellow jackets have moved into the homestead shed. And I told Jay about it. I saw them looking at it, sending their scouts in, and I was like, You're gonna have to do something about that, and he didn't. And now there is a nest literally protruding from the boards. Yep, in the wall. They are terrifying. They do not like me. I actually got these couches it's got like essential oils in it and spices and stuff and I literally like bombed it with five of them and I tried to stick one in the side of it and they chased me but they don't seem to care. No they don't. So I don't think we'll be using the homestead shed this year unfortunately. So yeah, a lesson learned on that, I suppose. Yeah. But on to farmers markets. I'm excited. We love our local farmers markets. Yeah, we used to be a part of our farmers market. We didn't do it this year 'cause they canceled it and then they started it randomly again, but We did it for the past two years. Mm-hmm. selling our jams and jellies and bread and whatever else. yeah. Whatever else Jay concocted and also some of my art occasionally if I was feeling spicy. Yeah, that's what we were hoping to do with the homeset shed. So once all those wasps leave. Yeah. I'll make sure they don't come back and then we'll be able to use it. Kinda bummed out, but But just like our garden, the first year was awesome. Second year wasn't as great. And it's mostly because of the state of our economy. People really don't have excess money to be spending on dessert bread and and blueberries, you know. So and the farmers markets changed hands. So we decided not to go about it this year. 'Cause it was also costing us more than we were selling at that point. It was, especially last year. Ingredients were wicked expensive. I don't think it's really come down. I mean, we have a fair amount of stuff that I'm I'm still gonna make my jams and stuff like that. I just need to figure out how to sell Yeah. But the silver lining is that we have been able to go to other markets that are on Saturdays that we would have missed because we were at our local market. So that has been fun. That has been fun. I'm excited for tomorrow too. So do you know anything about the history of farmers markets? Not really, but I have a hunch that they have been going on forever. Yeah. Pretty much. So the origins of farmers markets stretch back around five thousand years. Wow. do you wanna guess where they originated? In like Egypt or something. Say it with me, everyone. Ancient Egypt. I was right. Yeah. Wow. I ever I feel like everything comes out of ancient Egypt. Like everything and their mother. I did not know the answer before that. So vendors would gather in the Nile Valley and barter their vegetables and goods with neighboring communities. Very cool. So from what I understand, the Pharaohs controlled agriculture, so the majority of the produce was sold in temples, but then the surplus was allowed to be bartered in the Nile Valley. Cool. Okay. Fun fact, farmers actually didn't do any of the selling or bartering of their vegetables. They entrusted merchants to do the marketing L O L for them. Following the lead of the Egyptians came more open-air markets like Greek agora's and markets on the Forum in Rome. The Medina of Fez in Morocco is cited as home to one of the oldest continuously operating markets in the world, dating back over twelve hundred years. That's in Morocco. Yep. That's really cool. So now we're gonna fast forward to more modern times and in the US. So many historians Credit Lancaster, Pennsylvania, as home of the very first farmers market in America. I believe that. When the city was being planned in 1730, they designated a 120 square foot parcel of land for a central marketplace. that's really cool. And at its peak, it held upwards of 400 vendors. Whoa. Can you imagine that? Our local market had seven vendors out. Yeah. On a good day. Yeah. So four hundred. I can't even imagine. I mean the the the Bratterboro one is like bustling. Yeah. Probably what? Like fifty vendors? Yeah. Around there, I think. Not even, probably maybe like twenty five. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. So while Lancaster is the Oldest continuously operating farmers market in the US. It's not technically the first. The first formally recorded European style farmers market was actually held in Boston. A farmer's market at the harbor. In sixteen thirty four, thanks to Governor John Winthrop. Holy crap, that's sorry. That's like before America was even technically born, right? Yeah, like a like a like a hundred years. Like a hundred and fifty years. That's wild. Yeah. Sorry. I was just gonna say apparently John Winthrop was kind of an ass. Yeah. He kinda was an ass. But hey, farmers markets are good. So at least you got one good thing on your belt there, Chief. And I mean, if you're a guy, a white man in power, are you really gonna be doing good? That's true. Just do better. We're looking at you white guys in power. Looking at Other markets started popping up in Hartford in 1643, New York in 1686. So that's a big leap right there. Yeah. And Philadelphia in 1693. Wow, cool. By the late 1800s, cities had grown and transportation had improved. And this is when the quote unquote importance of produce markets started to decline. However, with that being said, between the 1900s and 1930s, most US cities with 30,000 or more people had municipal sponsored markets. That's really cool. I wonder if they profited off of it. yeah, that's a good point. I mean, I don't see why they wouldn't. You know, like in some big farmers markets, like you don't pay dues, you pay a percent of what you make. Yeah, that is kind of and I mean a portion of it must go back to the town in some way. municipal sponsor just means it's authorized or maintained by the city, municipality, or federal government. Just for those who don't know. In nineteen thirteen, the USDA established the Bureau of Markets, which operated until nineteen twenty one when it was reorganized into the Bureau of Markets and Crops. And just a year later in nineteen twenty-two it merged again to be the Bureau of Agriculture Economics. And today it's called the Economic Research Service. Do you want to guess when the United States first self-serve grocery store opened? Self serve. Well a weird way to say that 'cause, you know, I know no different. Right? Exactly. You know, but god. Like the eighteen hundreds. It was nineteen sixteen in Memphis, Tennessee. Wow. The self-served grocery store was the first time customers could select items off the shelves without having to ask a clerk over a counter. And I've been to many a living history museum in my time. And I've always seen like the little grocery stores with the little Clerk's counter and all the goods behind it. And I always thought like that's just cause we're in New England, small town, this tiny little area. I'm sure the bigger cities are self served. But no. No. It literally wasn't until nineteen sixteen that you could pick shit off the shelves by yourself. I mean, work security. Literally. Drop security, whatever it is. And no shoplifting. I think it's just too funny too though, because like In Scotland when I was a kid, like I remember going back and, you know, there's still like butcher shops and and bakery shops where you can go in and buy fresh product, like in Greg's, like that you that started as like a bread like a a bakery shop, you know, where you would go get your breads and your desserts or whatever other fancy treats would be on the side. And like those lasted a lot longer, especially on that main street. But obviously there was grocery stores too that my parents would go to. But if you wanted to get your milk delivered to you, like that shit was still happening. I remember being a kid, and this is like in the nineties, okay. So like 1998 probably is probably the first time I remember going back after we moved to America. And we would go stay at my aunt's houses and they would get their milk delivered to them. A little six thread. And at the end of it you would put it back in and when the milkman would come and get your milk, they would literally they would drop it back off. That lasted a while. You know, it it probably didn't it probably stopped like early two thousands or something like that, but they were still getting their milk delivered like that. If local farms had services like that, I would pay for that. Yeah. One hundred percent. We go through milk like it's water. So Why not support local? And that's not like the thing deliberate. You I'm not ancient. I'm only thirty six years old. That was in my time. Yeah. I think that's really cool. So between nineteen thirty and nineteen forty six, farmers markets saw a small rise in popularity as more families sought financial and food security during the world wars. In nineteen forty-six, four economists is that how you say that? I think so. collectively counted four hundred and ninety-nine farmers markets across the country. And by nineteen forty eight, markets were officially defined as quote, places where farmers congregate to sell their own products. So basically in nineteen forty eight is when they were dubbed farmers markets. Interesting. In the US. Right. However, by the nineteen fifties, the invention of refrigeration, improved roads and transportation, and Western irrigation infrastructure led to the rise of the supermarket and the overall decline of farmers markets. And decline of produce. goes hand in hand with that. Is that the Dust Bowl? No, I just mean like the decline in like When was the Dust Bowl? That was like I think that was before World War One. okay. But I mean I just mean like the downhill in produce and like quality, you know? Like our blueberries are way better for us. They taste better just because we literally picked them and then ate them compared to you go to the grocery store right now, the majority of blueberries that you get in America are coming from Peru. Yeah. Or Spain. The what? How long are we traveling to get here, friends? You know? So just stuff like that. Like I bet that's when it started. Better in the nineteen fifties than it is now though. Because it was probably still more local. Yeah. Yeah, you're right. Global at that point, probably. But I mean, who knows? Definitely the start. By the nineteen seventies, national estimates determined there were only around three hundred of and forty farmers markets across the country. And of the vendors at those three hundred and forty markets, many were resellers and not even farmers. Which next week in our mini sode, we're gonna do farmers market Reddit stories. And there's a couple that will be like, This farmers market is shit, and here is why. I love it. One of the things that was This is why it's shit is like people will just grab stuff from frickin' Walmart or the local supermarket, like new seasons, and just like sell it as if so there's like this is how you can tell you're at a good farmers market. So stay tuned for that one. Crazy. my God. fortunately, farmers markets saw a rise in popularity as health consciousness began to emerge and people sought out higher quality foods. So that's what you were talking about with Peru. Yeah. Like blueberries from Peru. People are like, No, I want my blueberries from Ma my neighbor because they're healthier and have more nutri they're not dead nutrients. Yeah, by the time you eat them. Today, do you want to guess how many farmers markets there are today? Like 200. Today there are more than 8,700 farmers markets across the country. Do you want to guess which state has the most farmers markets? Texas. California. God dang it, I should have known it was California. New York is in second place. New York. Other states with a high concentration of farmers' markets are Massachusetts, Michigan and Wisconsin. Yeah, Mass does love their Farmers markets. Yep. Nevada unfortunately ranks dead last when it comes to local food accessibility with the fewest farmers markets out of any state in the country. How many do they have? I'm not sure, but a big reason for this is that the arid climate just isn't very suitable for growing food. They were what they sell. Very limited viable farmland due to it. Yeah. And when we did The Cottage Food Laws episode, way back in episode two, for our OG listeners who know what I'm gonna say. I mentioned that Nevada just voted in a new version of their cottage food law, but it won't go into effect until twenty twenty seven because they're currently creating programs and regulations around it. That's really cool. There's hope for Nevada. Yeah, because I mean, yeah, we bring our our fresh blueberries to the market when we would go, but We still baked a bunch of stuff, you know. You don't have to grow stuff to go to the farmer's market. People love fresh breads and stuff like that are just as good for you, even better, because there's less ingredients. You know, that's why half of the half of the older people in our community they would come, like, yeah, I'm not saying our blueberry dessert bread is good for you. No, it's not. It's full of a bunch of sugar, but it had five ingredients. It didn't have any fillers, it didn't have any things to preserve it for a long time. So they could at least be like, okay, these are the five things that I'm doing today. Right. Like and so that I I think is still better than you know, going to Walmart and getting a sweet loaf. 'Cause that stuff, who knows what they put in that. Definitely corn syrup, like you were saying. That's like one of those loaves you can put on the counter for a year and a half and it still hasn't molded. Yep. So I got into like statistics. So we're gonna talk stats now. Beep. According to Escoffier.edu in an article titled Best and Worst US States for Access to Locally Produced Food, quote, the US is one of the top agricultural producers in the world producing. Five hundred and forty-three billion dollars in twenty twenty two. End quote. The majority of that food will either enter the market for global export or be used for non-edible purposes, meaning things like animal feed, biofuels, and other industrial applications like soaps, lubricants, inks, etcetera. they were curious how much of that food was actually being consumed in the communities where it was grown. So they set up an extensive analysis of every state to determine just that. Quote, our research incorporated data on direct-to-consumer sales. Community supported agriculture programs, aka C SAs, farmers markets, and other metrics to paint a comprehensive picture of local food ecosystems across the country. They took into account a variety of categories, including quote, the number of farms selling food through various local and regional channels, the availability of locally produced food at the county level. As well as the value of local food sales compared with overall food expenditures in each state. End quote. Each state received a score in each category with a potential maximum score of 100 points. gosh. Only one state got a perfect score of 100 out of 100 points. New York. Do you want to guess which one? New York. I'm guessing New York. I can't wait to see your face. Vermont. Fuck it, I knew it was gonna be Vermont. God damn it. Fucking Vermont, my dude. They placed first in a frickin' landslide in every single category. At least they're doing something right. I have been waiting to tell you this. I'm trying to be kind right now. We have we went to the Brattleboro farmers markets after I did these notes and I was just like jittering, being like, my god, I can't wait to tell you they got a hundred out of a hundred. I can appreciate the things that Vermont does to a certain extent, but I just I as a whole, I don't think the state really takes care of its people. Mm-hmm. And I hate the way they drive, I'll say it. That's it. god. You know, I just I I worked in rural communities up north in Vermont and it was just really sad, like the poverty levels, you know, just like the different types of workforce, the lack of educational resources for somebody that is such a I you know, I'm liberal. Like I'm sure you guys know this by now. I'm liberal as fuck. And so like in Vermont is to a certain extent, but there's just a lot of stuff where I'm just like, What are you doing? Like, take care of your people. And you know. New Hampshire's not any better. Right. America as a whole. But good for you, Vermont. I should have known you're all about those CSAs. Yeah. I'll call out Brattleboro a little bit because as you're driving through, it's a beautiful town. But if you stop just for a second, you see a lot of unhoused people who are really struggling. But God forbid if those fucking flower pots aren't Absolutely perfect. You know what I mean? It's just the resources. Yeah, the resources just are just they're just not used correctly. It's frustrating. Yeah. It's really frustrating to see because it could be and it is a beautiful town. But I think the people of the town could have been could be treated better. Mental health is a huge problem in America. And when you go in downtown places like that, it's very, very Prevalent. It's right there in your face. You you can't ignore it. so yeah. good for you, Vermont. Yeah. But you got a hundred out of a hundred, so we have to bash you a little bit. We gotta roast you a little bit. We love you, but that's crazy though. Like that's pretty I I honestly thought it was gonna be New York because like, you know, a lot of people just think of New York City, but n upstate New York, like they're cranking farms out. Like it upstate New York is farms and Amish and definitely farmers' markets. Like Yeah. So that's why I kinda thought it would be New York, but I mean New York is in the top five. Okay. That makes sense. We'll get into that a lot. I've I've always wanted to go to a upstate New York farmers market. Maybe we could try and do that this summer. So we got time. One state that I was surprised wasn't in the top five is Pennsylvania because of their Amish community. I figured it would be a little bit more community based. Yeah. I feel like Pennsylvania just as a state is struggling. You know, I feel like they're one of those states agriculture states especially like factory states that once that once the industrial revolution kind of cranked out and they have all these like AI things now, like I really feel like states like that suffer because of that. So that's probably one of the reasons they they need they need basic resources, you know? so I don't know. It it's sad. But yeah, I I would expect Pennsylvania up there as well. Yeah. Well back to praising Vermont for their perfect score. we mentioned the Brattleboro farmers market. That is the only farmer's market I've been to in Vermont. But yeah, Putney. I went to the Putney, Vermont one. Okay, well, I don't even remember it. So it obviously didn't even compare to Brattleboro. Brattleboro's hands down the best farmers market I've ever been to in my entire life. It's like the the stalls are permanent all year and there's just like they are. There's this huge open space, plenty of parking. Yeah. You get down there and you have to go through this archway to get in. There's like a whole section for food trucks, but it's mostly like there's not kitschy shit. You know what I mean? It's like vegetables. Yeah. There's no AIDS. Yeah. Graphics. my god. Don't get me started on the AI bullshit. And there's tr there's there's frickin' live music in the middle with people who have fiddles and there's frickin' huge maple trees that just reach their branches down and tickle you as you walk by. Like it's just fucking massive. You tell that it is a community experience because, you know, there's families there. There's like a little playground in the middle of it where these kids like get to play. And you can definitely tell that it's community oriented. And I I wish when people thought of Bratterboro, that's what they would think of without rolling their eyes. Because You know, there's been d Anna and I have lived in New Hampshire, especially like right on the border of of Vermont for a very long time now. And I have driven by that farmers market so many times rolling my eyes because just the traffic, the line to get in, silly people holding up the road. But once you get in there you realize why, they're so smiley and we gotta get in because it's a cool place to be and you know Spending that time there instead of going to the grocery store to begin your week on a Sunday. my god. It's really nice. It's like it's it's there's not sterile lighting. You know? It's a spiritual moment that you get to have. You get to connect yourself with a community. You get to pay a farmer instead of freaking Walmart. Yeah. For your poop lettuce. Can we just talk about how the the owner of Taco Bell? Shut that shit down, but the owner of this poop lettuce is like, keep it going, folks. It was it Taylor's bars. Yeah. Yeah. It's like umbrella companies. Talking about like it wasn't gross. That's greed. Yeah. That's just gross white man greed. And again, no nutritional factor. So what's even the point of eating that lettuce? Back to Vermont. Direct to consumer farm sales make up 2.07% of grocery spending in Vermont, while every other state was well under one percent. Isn't that crazy? So sad that's not even that much. No, it's not. Some people may say it's just because Vermont is such a small state that they got this. Perfect 100 out of 100 score. But our smallest state, Rhode Island, came in 27th. Yeah, like you know, when it also episode two, homesteading, Anna was talking about how Rhode Island hasn't even had access to stuff. That was Rhode Island right now. That was New Jersey. yeah, New Jersey. Never mind. Rhode Island, you have no excuse. Sorry. If you haven't listened to that episode, you should. But New Jersey just got their cottage food laws set in stone it by twenty twenty one. Yeah. So now you can actually in enjoy like, you know, the Italian grandma's cookies, you weirdos. Like what have you been doing? Literally. Only five years ago. If if I lived in New Jersey, that'd be the first thing. I'd be like, what's missing on this side street? Where's grandma and her Italian cookies? I don't have to wait till Christmas. Sorry. Anyways, I was gonna say it's not about size, it's about attitude. Heck yeah. Second place. Do you want to guess? Or do you want me to just tell you? Just tell me. Went to Oregon with a total score of 69.19. A huge gap from Vermont's perfect score. Wow, Seattle. Not looking very crunchy now, are you? Looks like the East Coast be winning that. Wait. Well that's in Washington. I was about to say. Whatever. Oregon, get it together. Third place went to Maine. Hmm. California apparently has the most markets, but it came in fifth overall. I believe that because like let's be serious. I bet half of California's is some hoity toity like Beverly Hills mom bullshit. Right. You know what I mean? It was like, look at this perfume I made. Like, bitch, you did not make that perfume. Some child in China made it and now you're selling it here at your pop up. Right. Exactly. Yeah. do you want to guess what place New Hampshire came in? No. Like twenty. Twelve. okay. Good job, New Hampshire. With a score of 45.9. That's not as bad as I thought it was gonna be. And the bottom three states are Utah, Mississippi, and good old Nevada. With Nevada's bottom score is 7.62. Yikes. A huge jump down from Mississippi's second lowest score of 22. point four five like poor Nevada. Nevada's in the desert. What's your excuse, Mississippi? Honestly, you're not wrong. They also noticed the top producing states for global agriculture exports actually ranked amongst the lowest in direct to consumer farm system. I believe that. That's what I'm saying. Like the entire what do they call it? Bible belt. Like y'all are tripping. You guys have been robbed your entire life because it's all going elsewhere. Order some cows, order to make some corn syrup. Congratulations. Yeah, seriously. These states include Nebraska, ranked 36th, Illinois, ranked fortieth, Kansas, 41st, and Texas, 47th. Is it all corn? Probably. They said it's likely because the focus is primarily on exports, so there's not a lot of usable land for food grown for local consumption. For example, around sixty five percent of Kansas's cropland is used for commodity crops such as corn. Oops. Oops. I don't know why I said it like that. Soybeans. Etcetera. C Meanwhile, Vermont only uses around four percent of its cropland for those same crops. Kansas and Vermont actually have almost the same amount of acreage devoted to direct to consumer local crops. Isn't that crazy? With three thousand nine hundred and fifty-nine acres in Vermont and four thousand two hundred and seventy-five acres in Kansas. I wonder what the total is. Even though Kansas is approximately nine times larger than Vermont. Yeah, that's I mean and like it's not Kansas' fault. It's greed. Yeah. It's what the heck? I don't even want to say their name. You know, I I'll always remember watching this documentary on god, what is it, Monsoya? Monsanto. Monsanto. I I remember watching this documentary about Monsanto and you go and you know, they do like a drone out view of these fields and they go for miles and miles and miles and miles and it's one family that owns all this corn and you're like, wow, I can't wait to see their beautiful farmhouse. And then it crops into where they live and it's a literally like double wide trailer. Yeah. And they're living and they're living in poverty and they literally are in debt at this point because they have one bad crop season and they owe them money. They don't own that land. They're they're owned. They are owned. We're gonna do sorry. We're gonna do an episode on Monsanto and get canceled. Don't you guys worry. Fuck you, Monsanto. Anyway, J Dan, you don't have to go off like that. What am I here for if I'm not going off? Make it your own episode. I'm trying to spit facts about farmers' markets. Monsanto. Fuck them. Yeah. Vermont also has three thousand one hundred and thirty six acres of orchard compared to Kansas's five thousand three hundred and sixty-one acres, which means orchards make up thirty-eight times more acreage in Vermont than in Kansas. That's incredible. All right, so that's it for Vermont versus Kansas. Good for you, Vermont. Escoffier.edu gave a little report card for each of the top five states so I'm just gonna read out their little stats and I apologize, I misspoke. New York is not in the top five. The top five is Vermont, Oregon, Maine, Hawaii, California. I mean I guess that makes sense. They're an island. They gotta make their food. Right. Can't rely on us. We're not reliable. So CSAs per a hundred thousand people. Vermont had four point three two. Oregon one point four. Maine two point zero six. Hawaii point seven six. California points one nine. Yeah, see, like I don't take California on this list seriously, no offense. Farmers markets per a hundred thousand people. Vermont twelve point zero three. Whoa. Listen to these other ones. Oregon, two point eight six. Maine three point zero six. Hawaii point eight three. California one point four eight. Okay, Vermont. I think I have a new appreciation. Yeah, Vermont. I thought you would up there. It's like making me wanna throw up. I'm like so prejudiced against Vermont for no reason. I think it's because I be I'm like a born again New Hampshire. I wasn't born in well, I wasn't born in America, but like I grew up in Connecticut, but man, when I moved to New Hampshire did I get that pride. Just like I love it here. Yeah. And I just instantly was like, Wow, I hate Vermont because that's what we do. They're the same shape as us, just upside down. What's wrong with you? We're the same we're the same people. Anyway. We are. But they're doing it better than us. So good for you, Vermont. Because our people suck. I love the land. Hate the people in New Hampshire. Not gonna lie. Sorry, guys. Get over your gun bullshit, please. Yeah. Get over a lot of things. Let's just say that. Just grow some more crops. How about? Total farms. Vermont. Six thousand five hundred thirty seven. Holy shit. These numbers don't make sense to me. Six thousand farms in Vermont. Yep. Wow. And I it must be for export. Because Oregon is thirty-five thousand five hundred and forty-seven, yet all their other numbers are so low. So it must be for export. Yeah, that is crazy. Maine, 7,036. Hawaii, 6,569. So they have like 30 more farmers markets per 100,000 people than Vermont. And they're still crushing it. Listen, quality over quantity, my friend. Or sorry, these are farms, not farmers markets. Yeah. So six thousand they have thirty more farms than Vermont. That's great. I knew you were talking about farms. Total farms for California, sixty-three thousand one hundred and thirty-four. Do you think that they consider like non-edible farms in this as well? Like flower farms? Yeah. Marijuana farms. Probably. Okay. I'm just I was just curious. I don't know if it was all produce or I don't Median farm size. Vermont, 73 acres. Oregon. Average. Median. Yeah, sorry. Oregon, 20 acres. Maine, which is crazy for the thirty-five hundred farms that they have. Yeah. The median farm size is only twenty acres. Anyway. Maine's median farm size, 58 acres. Hawaii. Five acres. That makes sense. I 'cause I like how can they fit that many farms in Hawaii? Right. They're tiny. Yeah, you I feel you don't have to be that big to be a farm. California, twenty four acres. So you might be asking, why are farmers markets so significant? And why is it important for people living in states like Nevada to have more access to them? Farmers markets allow communities access to fresh produce that is often cheaper than what you would find at the supermarket. It's often more nutritious and tastes better too because it spent much less time traveling. the average piece of produce travels 1,500 miles to get to a supermarket in the US, Whereas at your local farmer's market, it was probably harvested that morning. Or picked the day before, like we would with our blueberries. Exactly. And traveled like fifteen miles tops. Mm-hmm. So which would you rather? By sourcing your food from your local market, you can put a huge dent in your carbon footprint as well as avoid the excessive plastic and unnecessary packaging. And poop lettuce. Yeah, seriously. It's just so crazy. to think how far produce really does travel. I work for a supermarket for by whatever means we'll call it it's a supermarket. we have three distribution centers. We go all the way out to I think the farthest we're out now is like Texas. Wow. We have three distribution centers, and they're all on the east coast. I just found this out like two days ago. We had we always have a like quarterly Zoom call with every important motherfucker in the company, right? And we just have to listen to what they're saying. And I remember sitting halfway through this this conference call and I'm just stuck on the fact still that they just opened up one of these distribution centers. So that means all of this food and all the other states, like that are literally like some of like Texas is like five hours away from us. Okay. That means it's yeah, right. But you're thinking about all this food that's coming through these distribution centers that are going elsewhere. Like our distribution center is thankfully only like two hours away, right? What about every other store? Like it's so far away. Like we They have these like weird tracker things they put in produce trucks and there's different levels to it, right? But the ones that we have are fairly fancy. You can scan a QR code on it, right? So you scan your phone and it'll tell you all the temperatures for the entire time that it's there. And if it drops underneath it, it means that the the produce is not good. I just think it's really cool the things that they have to do. Just because of how long these things are traveling. Right. I remember the first day I pulled one of those out, I was like, what the heck is this? And the produce guy was like, scan it, it's gonna blow your mind. And it did. It it blew my mind. Wow. but yeah. And that's not to say travels far. There's stuff that you get that you have to throw out because it got to you moldy. Mm-hmm. And that's not to say the frickin' vegetables and fruits that don't make it because they're ugly. Yeah. Quote unquote. Like because they grew around a branch, God forbid. Yeah, and and you know, produce is still coming from Peru. So it's coming to Peru, then to that distribution center, and then to us. Don't get it twisted. They're not growing blueberries and produce at distribution centers. So yeah, I just don't know, I don't know. Farmers markets are definitely important. Yeah. And just a PSA for anyone who didn't know, Thousands of farmers markets across the US accept SNAP and WIC and EBT benefits for produce, dairy, meat, bread, seeds, and non-alcoholic beverages. our town did. Yeah. I thought that was really And our town's small. Yeah. Yeah, they do a lot of cool programs like that. you know, ours did a veteran program where The conservation people, like the rich people of our area, they do a program every at the end of every year and at every week, if you're a veteran, you would get twenty dollars in vouchers to use at the farmers markets. And that alone is awesome. Yeah. we don't help, we don't care about our veterans like. It's disgusting. And so that was always my favorite part. My favorite time of free and money to go towards local food for veterans. It would end up to us, you know? And so like it was a win win, you know. Like true. We would always make extra bread so that we knew that all these guys could get their blueberry bread how they wanted it, however many they wanted. You know, we'd do deals for them so they could get two and still have five dollars left over, like to do whatever with it. programs like that, they do exist in these markets. You just have to go to see, it it it does feel like elitism sometimes. You know, you went to the Brattleboro and like I said, you don't look crunchy, like you could be intimidated. there's a lot of people there that that's their life, that's where they get all their stuff. but not judging you. They're just happy you're there too, So use those benefits, Take the time. It it you don't have to go for the full day. Just go get what you need. That's what Anna and I do. Like we don't really like being around a lot of people, but it it's nice to support those people. It's nice to have the small conversations that you do get to have. And it's good to put money in, your neighbor's pocket rather than Santo. Yeah, seriously. So anyway, to find a market that accepts those benefits near you, you can visit the National Farmers Market Directory and I'll put a link to that in the show notes. Mm-hmm. That's really cool. Thank you for doing that. Yeah. So of course. So beyond the food, farmers markets bring communities together socially. So much knowledge can be passed from vendor to customer and vice versa, usually unprompted and unsolicited, as we can attest. Yeah. I know I learned a ton about everything from blueberries to local ATV trails from the people who would visit our booths. Yeah. At the market. Uh-huh. It was just really cool to get a bunch of just random information. And a lot of our regular customers were the older people in town who came to see us just for a conversation, like just as much as they were there for our bread. Yeah. And it was really nice, you know. They were getting something out of it and you could tell. You know, had this one guy, his wife rarely came with him. But he would always come down to the farmer's market checking in on Anna and I. He was a veteran, so I just had so much respect for him. And the way he walked, the way he talked, you know, just how he moved about his life still was very respectful, very kind. You don't see it very often, especially across generations, where you can have that respectful conversation with a stranger, whether you know or not, you know, I remember he told us a short story once and I said, Wow, you know, I would run the other way. And I remember he just looked at me and you know, he was shocked. And I could tell he was kind of maybe even a little offended because he would never do a thing, you know, he fought for our country, but he still gave me the time and you know, he kind of just smiled and said, Really? You would? And I said, Yeah, you're a brave man. And I think because he allowed the conversation to finish, like it was a wholesome one. Right. But he always came and got his bread. He would always tell us he loved our bread. He would always look at Anna's, stuff that she had if she had it out and ask us how we were doing. And, he'd always make a joke if there wasn't enough, 'cause he would always try to get two or three at a time. He'd be like, my wife's gonna be upset. I better get another one. It's like I feel like you're eating that on the way home. Okay. You would get cookies to eat. He would always eat a cookie and like, I won't tell, don't worry. But that stuff was I yeah, I definitely miss those types of things. Just the random like How are you doing this week? Yeah. what'd you make this week that's different? I don't know. Something that we're severely lacking in our social media lives. Yeah. Just day-to-day online lives. It's not the same. Yeah. So forge.com say quote, farmers markets are essential for promoting sustainability. Community and supporting small businesses. They empower consumers about knowledge about where their food comes from and how it's grown, encouraging healthier, more sustainable living choices. As we continue to support and grow our local farmers' markets, we not only nourish ourselves, but also contribute to the vibrancy and resilience of our communities. End quote. So that's all I have for farmers markets. But I have a little bonus up my sleeve. Tell us more. So I want to give a shout out to our listeners from other countries because y'all have been slowly sneaking up in the ranks and even giving our US listeners a run for their money. So I took the top five countries. countries in the past 30 days besides the US, because we just talked about the US a whole bunch. So I want to give a shout out as a bonus. I'm gonna talk about what markets are like in our top five listeners countries. And if I get something wrong or if I don't mention something that you think is important, please email us if you feel inclined. Like if you don't want to, don't worry about it. But yeah, just tell us because I welcome it with we want to learn just as much about you as you want to learn about And that's what I think about this is so cool. not gonna lie, when Anna first started telling me that we had like all these countries looking into it, I was like, my gosh, like are are we being targeted? Like, are they gonna try to steal our identity? Like, you know, just you you hear crazy things, right? And it's just like, why would they have interest in this? But from doing just research after, it it kind of shows that. in podcasting and just learning environments, like yeah, America obviously is lacking, like you said. And a lot of countries listen to podcasts to like help them learn English and just help them learn relevant things or how people in America talk. And so I thought that was pretty cool. So I'm here for it. You know, you can make fun of me and my mannerisms all day. You just gotta keep listening. Just know I'm not normal. Yeah. So Bangladesh is in fifth place. Shout out to our Bangladesh listeners. Hello, Bangladesh. Paggling is apparently very big in their markets. Okay. I saw that they would start like 30% higher just because they knew it was gonna come down. I love stuff like that. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, I'm not really sure. modern retail, which is indoor. Air conditioned and fixed in price is emerging, but only accounts for 1% of the market share. Interesting. And I was curious if the markets were open daily, and they are not. when are they open? To manage operations, DACA is divided into seven areas, and all markets in a specific area are Closed for the whole day on a designated weekday and a half day until 2 p.m. on another. okay. So it's just like keep it fair. Yeah. Yeah. Keep it. Keep it rotating. That's really cool. Cause I bet there's a lot of vendors. If one percent of retail is only indoors, like that means a lot of people are coming to these market spaces to try and sell their stuff. So that's actually that's pretty cool. Fourth place goes to Brazil. Brazil! Shout out to Brazil! Their markets are often bright, colorful, and lively with live music and dancing. so cool. Each of their I can only imagine. What? I can only imagine. I bet it's so cool. I know, right? Each of their markets reflect the distinct identity of their regions with products like ingredients, street food, and exotic fruits. For example, the Vero Peso, sorry if I said that wrong market. offers a deep dive into Amazonian culture with native superfoods like I Akai. that's so cool. And fun fact, here I'm gonna say it again, maybe wrong. The Vero Peso market is considered the oldest market in Brazil dating back to the 17th century around 1625. Wow. Isn't that crazy? That is interesting, and I wonder if it has to do with their culture or white people invading. Mmm, interesting. Cause that is around the time that good old John Winthrop started his farmers and Cortez you motherfucker. Cortez was the one who did a lot of damage in the South Americas. Mm but same time frame. Like they were all like up against each other. But like Spain and Portugal definitely they all did some numbers on it, but definitely Spain and Portugal like they were first to get there to that location. Yikes. Singapore is in third place. Shout out to Singapore. Hi, Singapore. I've always wanted to go there. Yeah, it sounds beautiful. I've always wanted to go to Singapore. Their markets are apparently very clean and organized. Making them especially family friendly. Okay. Singapore has a 30 by 30 goal, which aims to produce 30% of their nutritional needs locally by 2030. Which is huge. Considering Vermont's perfect score and only two percent of their grocery purchases are of local foods. What are they at right now? I'm not sure. okay. But they're it's coming up. Four more years. Can't be that far away. No. 'Cause they take their shit seriously. Yeah, they do when they say so. Their markets also tend to include workshops, live cooking demos, or even farm tours depending on their location. Isn't that really cool? That is really cool. So second place goes to Vietnam. Hey Vietnam. Shout out Vietnam. Wasn't expecting Vietnam. Vietnam was in first place. But somebody came up the ranks fast and heavy. Yeah, Vietnam I feel like is probably the reason why the others even found us in the first place. So thank you for listening. Thank you for giving us a chance. So our friends in Vietnam are very deserving of the shout out because they have the coolest markets probably in the world. They have floating markets. What? And it's exactly how it sounds. Vendors sell their produce and goods from boats. that is so cool. They also have markets that hold cultural significance for ethnic minorities, which operate on weekly lunar cycles. Like how badass is we can learn. That's so cool. They often trade and sell livestocks, textiles, and local foods at these these ethnic markets. That's really cool. There's also a market known colloquially as the squatting market, and vendors will display their produce and goods on blankets and either squat or sit on small chairs. okay. And first place, blowing through the ranks. Like I said, this is the top five in the last 30 days, and Vietnam was first place. The last time I checked. And here we are. First place goes to Austria. Austria. Austria. What's up? Instead of farm to table, that's our catchy motto in the US, their catchy motto is field to plate. I like it. Many of their markets feature regional and seasonal products such as styrian pumpkin seed oil or alpine cheeses. I was wondering Thought maybe it be like sunflowers or something like that, but that's mainly Ukraine. I think Ukraine was known for sunflowers before. Yeah, I think so too. And the organic farmers market. I'm so sorry for this. I'm so sorry, Austrian Austrian listeners. Please don't stop listening. The organic farmers market. I could I couldn't I couldn't find a pronunciation online and they said the first part is fry, but I could the they said the last part is like the you in burn, but you like make your mouth different. And I'm like, that doesn't help me. So I apologize. Fry fry I'm not sure. I apologize. Anyways, It's one of the oldest of its kind in Europe and is in fact Europe's oldest exclusively organic market. how long has it been going for? Since the medieval times. Wow. It said it was officially formed and managed in the nineteen hundreds at some point, but it has been going since the one in Scotland and the Highlands. Yeah. Exactly. One in Britain. Exactly. So shout out to our top five countries. We love you. Yeah. Shout out to all of our listeners. We love you all. Shout out to Vermont. Yeah, shout out to Vermont and they're perfect a hundred out of a hundred score. And we love you guys so much. But with that said, I'm gonna end on a hot take. And this you can email me and yell at me if you want instead of Jay this time. Yeah. If you are someone who makes products like travel mugs, cutting boards, and whatever the fuck else with AI, I'm looking you dead in your soul and I am saying, Go away. Yeah, like fuck off. Nobody wants you here. We don't need your fucking AI slop in our farmers markets. Go to a craft fair and bother those people. Even there, don't go there because You're literally killing the environment. Yeah. Like nobody wants you here. Do something meaningful with your hands or don't do anything at all. Yeah. Thank you. Yeah. That's all. Thank you. You look stupid. That's it. Yeah. Goodbye. I agree. So if you want to yell at me too, you can. I'm used to it. And on to our farmer salmanac. And away we go. So today is July 30th. Seth Barnes Nicholson discovered Hovian moon Carmi, Jupiter six in nineteen thirty-eight. Jupiter six. Is there six Jupiters? I think Jupiter has quite a few moons. So I think it's one of Jupiter's moons. Must be the sixth one. It says Xi. Okay. So I'm assuming six. And today is the best day to perm your hair and castrate animals. Don't cut it. Don't dye it. Just perm it. And cut cut your animals' balls off. Yikes. I love when those two are the like it's just a Thursday thing, apparently. Perm your hair and castrate your animals. So shocking. Anyway, you can follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok at TwoTools No Clue Podcast. You can subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com slash two tools no clue and email us so you can yell at Anna this time at TwoTools No Clue Podcast at gmail dot com. If you're from Bangladesh, Brazil, Singapore, Vietnam, Austria, let me know how I did. Yeah. With your little facts about your farmers markets. Or just say hi. We really appreciate you guys listening to us. Yeah, and we love you. Even if you don't love us, we love you. Well, that was awesome, Anna. Thank you so much for you know letting me know how great Vermont is. They are If you guys can't see me, I'm rolling my eyes. I rolled my eyes like seven hundred times during this episode. just kidding. We love you, Vermont. You're a great neighbor. Good job being green and shit. I guess it's not you know, at least they're not posers. Yeah. That was so like that's why I kinda get mad about Vermont half the time. I'm like, are you or are you just a bunch of posers? But you know what? You win this time. You're not. Good for you. You know, at least you good for you. Yeah. So yeah, stay safe out there everybody. We love you. Yeah, we do. Bye. Bye bye.