We started the 2017 market season in new and bigger digs, Village Pointe. It’s a good market for the reason of keeping it to farmer’s only (dot com). No face-painting or prepared foods or crafts, just tables of produce. We took our slogan with – “Best Organic Practices”. Every plant started by organic seed, rain water our primary source, our aquifer the secondary. Never any sprays or fungicides or pesticides or any sides of any kind. Our very first Saturday Linda was verbally accosted by a woman demanding “You can’t even say the word organic unless you are Certified Organic or it will be a $10,000 fine.”
Interesting loophole is Certified Organic farms are allowed to use Certified Organic chemicals. Many of which warn that the produce must not be eaten from 3-5 days after application.
My new standard. If I can’t slurp a tablespoon of it right now it won’t be in my garden.
I immediately amended our slogan. “Better than Organic”. And we spent the summer educating the buying public as to why that is a fact. Our customer base now understands the difference in quality when choosing among available options and they are as fervent and passionate about our paradigm as we.
Some customers tell me “I care not at all”. Usually the oldest, set in their ways, curmudgeons refusing to get with the times.
It was the other vendors that presented the biggest stink. How dare Bar None Produce waltz into our game and insist they are doing it better than us. Yes, the facts support the claim. But there were several that took such umbrage. Called to comparisons they had never expected, all they could do was bristle and complain. And stick to their own dated values.
We’ll be back next year with the same message. We are the Best, Bar None. And people will get it and people won’t.
Just like our running community.
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