What are strawberries going for? How about scallions?
Starting in June, a Maryland Department of Agriculture pilot program, conducted in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service, will gather and report the prices of products at five farmers' markets in Maryland.
"We are working with the Agricultural Marketing Service on this," said Mark Powell, chief of marketing for the state agriculture department. "They look at this as a way to help their sister agency [the USDA Risk Management Agency] by gathering reliable data on retail sales at farmers' markets. In addition, we thought it would be a useful tool for farmers to see what average prices were at markets."
The USDA Risk Management Agency operates and manages the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation, which provides crop insurance to farmers and ranchers.
"The crop insurance is designed to help large grain farmers," Powell said. "But there has been an impetus to have similar tools available for smaller produce farmers."
The market data, which will be gathered by farmers' market managers in Baltimore City and Anne Arundel, Prince George's and Alleghany Counties, will be posted on the department's Maryland Best website, which currently lists prices paid for grain and soybeans in Maryland.
The information will also be published on the website of the Agricultural Marketing Service, which currently conducts similar farmers' market reports in nine other states. The agency also collects and publishes data from farmers auctions, food hubs, direct-to-consumer sales and retail advertisements.
Powell said that while the data-gathering program was not designed specifically with consumer in mind, he expects them to gather some benefit from having access to the data.
"We see that consumers shop at farmers markets primarily for having access to fresh and local produce and to interact with farmers," Powell said. "We don't expect that will change."
Farmers whose prices are included in the market reports will not be identified. Each market will have its average prices reported.