Tent Talk, the farmers market podcast
Whether you’re a farmers market manager, a farmer or food maker selling at farmers markets, a policy maker or market supplier, Tent Talk is the podcast for you!
How to listen to Tent Talk
Stream our most recent episodes below or find Tent Talk wherever you regularly get your podcasts. With a new episode every Monday, Tent Talk brings you new farmers market knowledge on a weekly basis. There is so much that goes into farmers markets, and so many interesting people involved, we will never run out of material!
Search by keyword, topic or guest to find the episode you’re looking for!
Episode 280: 2024 InTents Conference Preview
The 8th annual InTents Farmers Market Conference is just around the corner, starting 3 weeks from today. Listen in to hear more about this year's schedule and what's coming up here in San Diego and live online.
Episode 279: Maya Madsen: Black History Month and Beyond
From the start Maya Madsen told us she meant to create a vegan cookie empire and she's done what it takes to accomplish that. She not only makes delicious cookies, she collects tons of data. She asks for professional help to analyze trends and inform her next moves. Basically, she treats her happy, gorgeous bakery business like a business.
Episode 278: Hatching New Vendor Businesses
How can talented food makers learn to be successful farmers market vendors? In this week's episode of Tent Talk we're chatting about vendor education. Being passionate about your product is important; being fully prepared will increase sales and reduce stress. That makes small businesses enduring.
Episode 277: Chef Saeed is on Fire
Hot sauce is a fast growing category at our farmers markets nowadays, and Chef Saeed is on fire with his fermented sauces featuring unique flavor combinations. It's not just the taste that makes a food business successful though.
Episode 276: Back To Basics
With lots of new farmers markets ramping up for their first or second season, let's take it back to the basics. Experienced manager? Stay with us, sometimes a little refresher can be a great thing. Farmer or vendor? Let's see if you think this is sound advice.
Episode 275: 2024 InTENTions
It's a new year, a blank slate. January always feels like a good time to think about what's working, what's not, and create your list of things to change and things to do at your market, and personally. We're all about setting InTENTions (see what we did there?). Market managers and market vendors coast to coast, from Florida to British Columbia, join us today to share about what they'd like to concentrate on in 2024.
Episode 274: Ringing The Bell on 2024
Happy New Year! 2023 was a lot, full of changes, excitement, highs and lows. We're welcoming 2024 and looking forward to focused growth, outreach and some exciting collaborations. Unless the universe throws us onto a whole new roller coaster of course, and then we'll do what farmers market pros do: we'll make the very best of whatever we encounter.
Episode 273: A Holiday Message
Whether and however you're celebrating Christmas today, we hope you're getting a day off from at least most of your duties and chores. Farmers are still feeding animals and food makers may yet be delivering holiday orders. 2023 has been a lot: happy, sad, busy, full, and all of that has been better because we've done it together. Community is the greatest gift.
Episode 272: Christy Campli: Managing All the Events
How do you go from zero to 60, or maybe 90, in a bit less than three short years? For Christy Campli, some keys were starting with experience in local food systems, and building on an established brand.
Episode 271: The Best Time for Markets
Farmers markets are always a good time! The question is when is the best time for your market? Setting market hours is a foundational decision. There are a lot of factors at play. Whether your market lasts for two hours or six can be influenced by everything from farmer commutes to parking disputes.
Episode 270: Holiday Gifting
Tis the season for holiday gifting! Farmer, vendor or market manager, it's time to remember your employees, volunteers and maybe some of your great customers or loyal CSA members. If material gifts aren't in your plan this year, we’ve got tips for other ways to acknowledge people who have supported you this year. It really is the thought that counts, and a special thank you can go a long way.
Episode 269: Rules of Engagement
Social media is a perfect example of a blessing and a curse. Engaging with your online community can strengthen existing connections, while inspiring and educating potential new shoppers. Navigating the comments? That requires a whole different skill set and sometimes a tough skin. There's nothing more fun than conversational volleys with your followers. But as we all know, it’s not always sunshine and rainbows in the comments section.
Episode 268: Winning Websites
Whether or not you have a robust social media presence, your website is your markets' home. Whether you're a market manager, a farmer, or a vendor, use your website to tell people the who, where, what and maybe why of your farmers market business. This is a great time of year to take a look at what's there, what should be, and what might be streamlined.
Episode 267: Sounding Off On Surveys
Many of us are winding up our seasons, so why not take some time to listen, gather some data, and look at our markets from a different perspective? Opening a channel for honest feedback can help you improve, understand, and grow your market. No matter what you’re asking, surveys are one more way to communicate with your farmers, vendors, and shoppers.
Episode 266: Best of: Kathy Zeman on Effectively Advocating for Small Farmers
Ever wonder why farmers markets and small farmers don't have a bigger say in public policy? Us too! This week on Tent Talk, we brought in an expert to help shed light on the big issues that small farmers are facing. We learned a lot and it confirmed that the old addage is true: the squeaky wheen gets the cheese!
Episode 265: Best Of: The Best Time for Sponsor Outreach
In this episode we discuss the importance of budgeting for your market and why you should be connecting with potential sponsors now, rather than waiting for "charitable giving" season. We also give you some helpful tips on the most effective ways to reach out to sponsors.
Episode 264: Inspect for Success
Unpopular opinion: inspections can actually be great! Of course, as market managers, farmers, and self-employed business owners, we definitely like to make our own rules, but it’s important to remember that inspections provide value in maintaining a market’s integrity and keeping things safe.
Episode 263: Sina Pleggenkuhle: Trading Places
Say it together, folks: OUR JOB IS WEIRD! Minnesota Farmers Market Association Director of Engagement and Inclusion Sina Pleggenkuhle chats with us about how widely varied experience qualifies us for all kinds of positions in the farmers market world and adjacent.
Episode 262: The Beginning of the End
It’s the beginning of the end…. end of year planning, that is! Heading into the fourth quarter means the holidays are upon us, folks. Get planning for Halloween costume contests, thanksgiving recipes, special holiday markets and events, and if you’re lucky, latke cook-offs. It also means tackling some less exciting clerical stuff and reports.
Episode 261: Chris Cirkus: Competition or Coalition: Working with Produce Distributors
We all advocate for farmers keeping the full retail price of their products by selling at farmers markets. So are produce distributors competing with markets for chefs' dollars and sometimes home shoppers? Or are they providing one more valuable income stream for farmers?