Growing Pains for Farmington Farmers' Market
Serving the Four Corners Area and San Juan Basin of NW New Mexico
Sep 15, 2009
Under the shade of towering cottonwoods beside the Animas River, the City of Farmington Farmer’s Market opens twice a week: Saturday morning and late Tuesday afternoon from July into October. It is a small, intimate farmers' market with professional and avocational growers showcasing their foodstuffs but often not selling out their produce. And that is the problem.
Controversy Among Farmington Vendors: Comfort or Income?
For growers making a living from selling fruit and vegetables, the isolated position of the market in the Animas River Park does not provide enough drop-in custom. Most of the shoppers are long-term, committed locals who have the market on their summer schedule. What are missing are the tourists and casual shoppers who ply Main Street. One professional grower said he sold out when the market was previously located on San Juan Boulevard, whereas since the move to Animas he only brings a fraction of the produce to the market and takes half home again.
The economic argument for moving the market yet again to the Gateway Park site on Main Street is unassailable, as detailed below. Especially in this financial climate, where food miles as well as food security are a concern, people want to buy locally grown food when available. But if the market is hidden away where only aficionados know of it, then both producers and consumers lose out.
For those growers who don’t want to move from Animas Park, the argument pivots around shade. Those big cottonwoods provide a wonderful and comfortable setting. Who wants to spend hours on end manning a jury-rigged shaded stall on tarmac in Gateway Park, as at the Farmers’ Market in Aztec 12 miles away? An avocational grower bemoaned that his produce would shrivel up and die being so exposed.
Before considering the future of the Farmington Farmers’ Market, look at the past and what is at stake here.
The Origins of Farming in Farmington: Chaco Canyon Heritage
The San Juan Basin in northwestern New Mexico where Farmington is located was initially developed by Anasazi Indian migrants from Chaco Canyon, a major New Mexican archaeological site occupied from AD 850 to 1250. The National Park Service, which maintains the Chaco Culture National Historical Park and World Heritage Site, describes Chaco as a “hub of ceremony, trade, and administration for the prehistoric Four Corners area — unlike anything before or since”, including Farmington!
Anasazi farmers, who subsisted on corn, beans and squash, migrated from Chaco Canyon to the central San Juan Basin during the late 12th century, but a century later their occupation of the area had ended. Anasazi cultural remains can be seen at Salmon Ruins in Bloomfield and Aztec Ruins in Aztec.
After the Anasazi demise, Navajo, Jicarilla Apache and Ute tribes occupied the area, and to this day the Navajo carry on the farming tradition by being the exclusive growers of potatoes for Campbell’s soups.
Farmington itself was settled in the 1870s and soon became the centre of major fruit-growing enterprises, as the local place name Fruitland suggests. Apples were the main crop, accompanied by peaches, plums, apricots and grapes. Other foodstuffs produced in 1893 were wheat, oats, corn, potatoes, onions, tomatoes and honey. Between 1905 and 1968, much of this produce was transported north by the Red Apple Flyer train to Durango, Colorado, to be trans-shipped further east.
Except for the grains, all of these crops, including sweet yellow and ruby red corn-on-the-cob and much much more, can still be bought at San Juan County’s various farmers’ markets — enough, in fact, to stock your kitchen.
Four of New Mexico’s Fifty Farmers’ Markets
Almost all such markets in the state are among the fifty members of the New Mexico Farmers’ Marketing Association (NMFMA). Most of these markets are concentrated in the north-central part of the state, from Taos to Albuquerque. The northwest is served by only four markets within spitting distance of each other: in the adjoining cities of Farmington, Aztec, and Bloomfield, and then Shiprock on the Navajo Reservation — one of five tribal farmers’ markets in New Mexico.
According to the NMFMA, the average number of vendors at markets is around 20-25, though Santa Fe with over 100 far exceeds this. According to the chart below (photo), Aztec is far out-earning Farmington in proportion to city population, and recently Aztec has instituted a chef/grower collaboration whereby fresh produce is cooked up at the market to garner interest. No wonder some vendors feel Farmington Farmers’ Market is not fulfilling its selling potential.
Many vendors participate in more than one market. There is no undue competition or friction between professional and avocational growers, ostensibly because different crops and varieties are offered. But Farmington vendors hold strongly divergent views as to whether the market should be moved. Sunshine does take a toll on the produce in Aztec, but customers seem to adjust and the quantities sold far outweigh this disadvantage.
Watch this space to see what happens next season. In any case, San Juan Basin residents are blessed with four market days a week in season, and two to choose from on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Each market has its own charms. If you are in the area, give them a try!
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