Battlefield Farmer’s Market, which opens Saturday in Walker County, has been designed to showcase fresh produce grown locally — that is, grown here or in one of the nine surrounding counties in Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee.

“Unless it is grown in Walker County or one of the surrounding counties, it will not be sold at the market,” said David Matteson, adviser for the Walker County Young Farmer’s Association.

The market gives a guarantee that the produce sold is not brought in from another market.

Verification of the origin of the produce is just one responsibility of the market manager, Alex McGregor of Signal Mountain, Tenn.

McGregor will ensure that the produce is grown locally by visiting vendors’ homes to confirm that what the vendor is selling is, indeed, what the vendor is growing.

“We want to support local farmers, not merchants,” McGregor said.

A farm visit is arranged only if the market manager suspects the vendor of dishonest sales. The suspected vendor is given notice before McGregor comes to check the farm or garden.

According to McGregor, his job as market manager is made easier by the relationships the market already has with each farmer.

He might suspect a farmer who brings in a trailer filled with corn, but knows only has a half-acre of farmland, an insufficient amount of land to produce such a large amount of produce.

McGregor’s other duties range from collecting fees to helping the vendors sell their products.

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What: Battlefield Farmers Market

Where: Walker County Agricultural Center on U.S. 27 in Rock Spring.


When: Opens Saturday, June 18. Will open each Saturday through Oct. 29, from 8 a.m. to noon.
Cost: $5 per booth each Saturday, plus one-time membership fee of $10.
Phone: (423) 886- 6743 or (706) 638-7739.
Website: www.lvrcd.org/bfmkt.html


What will be available: Produce grown locally; also, some arts, crafts and canned goods.

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Preplanning

Battlefield Farmer’s Market, whose original opening was set back by a May frost, will be open only on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon, through Oct. 29, Matteson said.

Thirty-five vendors who are interested in participating in the market attended a workshop on June 7.

At the workshop, Matteson discussed tips for how to sell fresh produce. McGregor, drawing experience from his participation in the farmers market in Chattanooga, also contributed to the workshop.

Matteson expects 10-12 vendors each Saturday. Though the vendor count may seem low, he said, the amount of produce will not suffer since some vendors have acres of extra produce.

In addition to these bulk vendors, anyone with a home garden may bring any surplus produce — as long as it is homegrown.

The cost of renting booth space is $5 each Saturday. In addition, there is a one-time $10 membership fee.

Yearly booth reservations are available for vendors who can commit to setting up at 75 percent of the markets.

In a vendor misses a Saturday, an absence fee of $15 is charged. Vendors have until the Thursday before the market in which they are participating to inform the market manager of their absence.

Since the vendors will be setting up under a pavilion, weather — whether intense heat or heavy rain — will not be a big threat to the market’s success, Matteson said.

According to Charles Lancaster, coordinator for Catoosa County Extension Service, a booth can be anything from a display table to the bed of the vendor’s truck.

He said that hopefully the booths will be “more than dropping a tailgate,” but they can be that casual.

Lancaster estimated that the pavilion at the Agricultural Center can provide enough space for as many as 50 vendors.

“There is potential to have a lot of people selling and buying,” he said, especially with the growing subdivisions in that area.

Battle-field Farmer’s Market is funded with a $10,000 grant from the USDA’s SARE program. Limestone Valley, a liaison between Congress and state governments with 14 counties as members, has provided the farmers market with a website (www.lvrcd.-org/bfmkt.-html) that will be updated with each week’s upcoming produce.

Many people worked together to make this event possible, Matteson said. “It takes a lot of cooperation from different people.”

Arts, canned goods and other foods, too

Though the focus of the market will be fresh produce, some arts and crafts will be available as well.

Matteson also expects fresh egg vendors. Wool, honey, and baked goods are other possibilities.

Meat vendors may also be introduced to the market, but many stipulations are put on how the meats can be sold and prepared.

Vendors must have the approval of the USDA for the meat itself and the packaging containers.

Another alternative is for vendors to give out free samples of their meat and take orders to fill at his or her place of business.

Similarly, anyone planning on selling canned jellies or jams must meet health regulations by preparing the food in a certified kitchen. Selling canned items and meat is possible, it is just tougher to meet regulations, Matteson said.

Some special events are also planned for the market.

Cindy Caheely, a chef from the Ivy Cottage in LaFayette, will perform cooking demonstrations once a month at the market. She will cook with produce that the vendors donate to her. According to Caheely, her first demonstration will be June 25.

“If you don’t want to buy anything, come have fun and possibly learn something,” Lancaster said.

Other special events will be announced as they come up, Matteson added.

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