Saunders Brothers next stop in annual farm market tour

On Saturday more than a hundred farmers from across the country will be traveling to Nelson County to learn and get ideas on how to improve their farm markets.

Saunders Brothers in Piney River is one of the bus stops for the North American Farmers Direct Marketing Association’s 27th annual convention. The six-day convention is split up into two parts, three days of bus tours where the farmers get to see how other farms operate and three days of workshops and speakers.

“The best thing is everyone shares ideas and what’s working and what’s not,” said Jim Saunders, the farm market manager at Saunders Brothers. “Each market is different because they’re all independently owned. We all glean ideas from each other. It’s a great place to get ideas.”

The convention is held in a different location around the country each year. This year’s site is Williamsburg and all of the bus stops are in Virginia or Washington, D.C. Each bus holds about 50 people and has between ten and 15 stops. People sign up for a specific bus depending on the topic they want to explore.

Three of the six buses stop at Sunders Brothers and will stay at the market for about an hour each throughout the afternoon.

The market will have apples, plants, jams, jellies, and cider on display, simulating what it usually looks like when it is open. The market is currently closed for the season.

Antique farm equipment and tractors will also be on display.

Saunders Brothers’ staff members will be speaking about the five aspects of the Saunders Brothers’ farm market: meat sales; apple and peach sales; plant sales; jellies, jams and cider sales; and the antique farming equipment and tractors.

Saunders said he was unsure how the stops were chosen, but thought the association’s national board suggested farms in the hosting area that would be good examples of trends in the industry. He said the association’s executive director visited the market about two or three times when it was open.

Saunders said he thought the market’s successful meat sales might have contributed to their selection as a bus stop. The market began selling its own meats last year.

“One thing they want us to focus on here is meat sales because most farmers aren’t selling their own meat and we are,” he said.

One of the trends Saunders expects to be discussed at the convention is locally grown food.

“People want to know the product is grown locally and they want to know the farmer that grew it,” he said. “Not just the farmer, but the farmer’s family and the farm itself.”

Saunders has attended the convention for seven years. His first convention was in Charlotte, N.C., in 2003.

“You learn something every year you go to this conference,” he said.

He said he was excited that Saunders was selected as one of the stops.

“We just feel pretty honored and privileged to be on this tour,” he said. “I never dreamed we’d be hosting this when I was on the tour nine years ago.”