Minnesota Farmers' Market Association - Market Prices and Field Conditions

Minnesota Farmers' Market Association

Market Prices & Field Conditions

Data is critical in order to make sound decisions. In the Minnesota local foodshed, unfortunately, that data is scarce, gathered intermittently mostly when grant funds are available, and scattered across multiple platforms. Recognizing the need and value of a local foodshed database, MFMA committed to securing those pieces that impact our farmers, farmers' markets, vendors, and local communities.

This pilot project was designed to test various systems to gather prices of farm products at farmers' markets in order to make it an ongoing price gathering tool and reporting service, long after the grants close. It is funded in part by a specialty crop block grant through the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Compeer Financial, MFMA, and a gift from the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation. Special thanks to Ryan Pesch, longtime produce farmer at Lida Farm, and former UMN extension educator, for the survey design, data analysis, and dashboard creation.

The data in the dashboard below was gathered at 61 farmers' markets in all 9 MFMA regions from 524 vendors on 39 different farm products in late summer 2025. Our survey crew visited the farmers' markets and wrote down prices of all the farm products sold at the market that day. Data was also collected on the market itself, including the number of total vendors, farmer vendors, day temperature and wind conditions.

Here's the May 5, 2026 zoominar (37 minutes) to watch for the background of the project and an explanation of the dashboard - and why prices are just one piece of the profitability picture for food farmers.

TIPS FOR DASHBOARD BELOW

There are two pages to the dashboard - note the 1 and 2 on the left:

Page 1: Analyzes prices by region, category, product.
Page 2: Pick JUST ONE PRODUCT to search on.

To enlarge the dashboard, on the bottom right, click the little [ ] icon for full screen.
If the dashboard just shows 'errors,' it's most likely because you have third party cookies blocked in your data privacy settings in your browser. You'll need to allow third party cookies.

CHALLENGES

Standardizing units. Prices were recorded as is, and pictures taken of the foods in their various containers. The issue arose when for the same produce, prices were charged by the bunch, or pound, or quart container, or oblong tray. Following the volume-to-weight protocol for grains (a bushel of oats weighs (more or less) 32 pounds; a bushel of corn 56 pounds; a bushel of wheat 60 pounds, etc.) we created the same conversion standards for every reported volume. We report prices per unit of how each product is typically sold: a dozen eggs, a bunch of kale, a pound of ground lamb.
In this pilot, our reporting tool was not robust enough to capture prices for all the varieties of apples, cuts of meats, different containers for maple syrup and honey, value-added farm products like goat milk soap, and all the fiber products.

SOLUTION: for 2026 price captures, the online input tool will have open-ended fields to allow farmers to include all their products.

Capturing prices for cottage foods or licensed foods was problematic. This pilot was focused on farm product prices and many produce farmers do make cottage foods with their produce - like canned salsas, tomato juice, jams, jellies. Those products were fairly easy to identify. Where it became tricky was when a cottage food producer or licensed food maker who was not a farmer made foods primarily from product purchased from their area farmers.

SOLUTION: still a little hazy.

The Minnesota Farmers’ Market Association (MFMA) provides services, programs, resources, and leadership that strengthen and promote farmers’ markets across Minnesota and Tribal Nations. We envision vibrant, profitable, and professionally managed markets that cultivate thriving local food communities, expand access to fresh and culturally relevant foods, support the success of local food producers, and create opportunities for all people, regardless of ethnicity, age, gender identity, or economic standing.

Contact Us:

Executive Director: Kathy Zeman (She/Hers) | KZeman@mfma.org | (507) 664-9446

Director of Communications and Organizational Development: Pa Thao, MSW (She/Hers/Paj) | Pa@mfma.org | (715) 497-9499

Director of Government Affairs: Friendly Vang-Johnson (She/Hers) | Friendly@mfma.org | (206) 276-2284

Minnesota Farmers' Market Association | 308 East Prince Street | St. Paul MN 55101