The Dexter Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Producing profits at the produce markets
By Edward Freundl, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: July 31, 2008
Kathy Fusilier races to unload the truck and trailer packed with produce picked that morning at the family farm outside town.
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It's 3:15 p.m. on Thursday, and even though the market doesn't officially open until 4, customers are already beginning to gather on Adrian Street to eyeball the selection.
"The market opens at 4 and is open until 7, but like all markets people come early," Kathy said.
"They block off the street at 3 p.m. to set up, and as soon as we set things out people are ready to buy."
It's only one day a week, and only one of a dozen community farm markets within a 75-mile radius that carry the Fusilier Family Farm's fresh produce.
"This is the third year for the Manchester market, and we've been here since the beginning," Kathy said.
"It's a small market but it's close to home and we don't have to spend a lot of fuel to get here - and it supports the community."
Because it is so close to the Herman Road farm, Kathy said she usually works this one, along with an assistant.
The other markets during the week are staffed by Kathy's husband Mike, their parents, their kids or family friends.
Adam Colvia, who went to school with the Fusilier children, is lending a hand today as a refreshing change to working in the fields.
"It's fun dealing with the people," he said. "It gets me off the farm and gets me a few more hours a week."
Colvia, who is in his second year of working at the farm, also works the Dearborn market every Friday.
"I fill in at the other markets where I'm needed," he added.
The Fusiliers are just one of about a dozen vendors at the Manchester market, but they are by far the largest vegetable purveyors.
Even this early in the season they sell more than 20 varieties of fruits and vegetables.
The Fusiliers get the fruit from orchards elsewhere in Michigan, with three varieties of cherries from Old Mission Peninsula in the Traverse City area, and peaches and blueberries from Kent City, near Grand Rapids.
"The growers do a really nice job for us," Kathy noted.
The dark sweet cherries are a deep crimson-purple, almost black; the tarts are a bright red; and the third variety, Rainier, are in the middle in terms of both appearance and taste: yellowish-pink skin, not as sweet as the tart but not as tart as the sweet cherries.
Changing customers' minds
Adam and Kathy move non-stop from one end of the tables to the other, waiting on customers, making change, restocking the displays.
Kathy sees her role as educational as much as it is entrepreneurial.
"People are used to going to the grocery store for everything. They come to the market in May and ask, 'Where are the watermelons?' and we tell them we'll be planting them next week," she said. "A lot of what we do is educate them about how things really work."
Most people are three or four generations removed from farm life and no longer understand the concept of growing seasons, Kathy explained.
The progression of seasons also dictates the amount and variety of items they can bring to market, and gauging the right amount to bring can get a little tricky.
"You don't want to run out too quickly - when we started at Garden City we brought 25 dozen ears of sweet corn and sold out in an hour; next time we brought 50 dozen and it was gone in an hour and a half," Kathy recalled.
"We don't have as much available now, but when we have more we'll bring more, even though we might bring one or two things home."
Charles Coulter of Manchester was buying some sweet corn and other produce from the Fusilier booth.
"They've got better vegetables than anybody," he said. "I've gotten stuff from them ever since the market opened."
Customer traffic in Manchester was steady but, according to Kathy, their busiest market is in Ann Arbor on a Saturday during cherry season — "The kids go crazy," she said - yet during the fall that shifts to the Farmington market.
"It depends on what time of season it is, but Saturdays are always busier," she said.
Thank you for your support
Kathy Fusilier noted that the farmers markets were a business venture for the host communities as well as the vendors.
Rent for booth space can vary widely depending on the community, she said.
"This market (Manchester) charges $85 a spot for the whole season," she said.
"Some markets don't charge much, others quite a bit: Dearborn only charges $25, but Jackson's is more than $800."
The Ann Arbor farmers market costs about $1,000, but includes parking fees and operates year-round.
It is also important that city leaders and Downtown Development Authority officials invest in the success of farmers markets because the markets bring people into town, Kathy said, but that support also varies by community.
"If you don't have the support of the city, you might as well kiss it goodbye," she said.
"Some cities do what they need to do to promote they farmers market because they understand that the city benefits from it, but not everyplace does that."
A successful market also needs a variety of vendors, Kathy pointed out.
"You can't have too many farmers or none of them makes any money," she said.
"Like in Birmingham, they go by number of customers. They won't allow another farm stand until they get a certain number of customers to make it worthwhile.
"I'm not going to get up on a Sunday, load everything up and go all the way to Birmingham just to make $200."
Another day, another market
The Jackson market, located on the banks of to the Grand River on the north edge of the central business district downtown, is a larger space so the Fusiliers can offer a larger selection than in Manchester.
Run by Kathy's parents, Kay and Daryle Heselschwerdt of Napoleon, they were joined recently by granddaughters Abbey and Morgan Jacob of Batavia, Ohio.
"The cousins are best friends," Kay explained. "Everybody's hearts were broken when they had to move because of their father's job."
The girls were in town for a few days before a family reunion, and working the farm market gave them a chance to spend some "quality time" with their grandparents.
"We're here until Sunday, and I'm always excited when we come here," older sister Abbey said.
"My favorite part is working with the people - most of the time."
While Abbey liked the customer service aspect, Morgan had a different interest: "We always like to come to Grandma's," she said. "My favorite part is doing the math for handling the money."
The Heselschwerdts have been helping out with the family business for a number of years, and they know what makes their Jackson customers happy.
"We've been working with Kathy about 13 years," Kay said.
"Everybody's always asking for corn, tomatoes and green beans - and strawberries. People go crazy for strawberries!"
Without realizing it, Kay repeated Kathy's assertion that there was an educational facet to the farm market.
"We have a lot of preschool kids come down with their teachers, we try to educate them about vegetables and good nutrition," she said.
The couple attends the Jackson market three days a week, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
"Our busiest time is about 10 to 11 or 11:30 in the morning; everybody tries to get here by noon for the best produce," Kay said.
Longtime customer Steve Collins of Jackson had high praise for the Fusiliers' operation.
"These folks are excellent, they're always here earlier in the season and stay a little later," he said.
"It's handy, it's fresh; they tell you to 'eat local,' and we're all local."
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