Alabama has been an agricultural state for centuries, although primary commodities have shifted with time and markets. In the mid-1800s and early 1900s, Alabama was known as the “Cotton State,” growing more than 4 million acres of cotton. Today, peanuts and pecans, along with greenhouse items and conventionally grown tomatoes, potatoes, sweet potatoes, watermelon, peppers, squash, peaches, and berries top the crop list. Alabama also produces specialty items such as Satsuma oranges and shiitake mushrooms on a smaller scale.
What’s unique about Alabama is its proliferation of farmers’ markets, which have grown from 17 in 1999 to 155 today. These range from co-ops blending wholesale and retail vendors to retail-only markets, as well as small, community farm stands.
The expansion of this fresh food network has supported and benefited from a strong movement to sell Alabama-grown produce when in season. The main player in seasonal showcase is the tomato, both in wholesale and retail.
THE WHOLESALE MARKETPLACE The only major wholesale market in the Dixie State is the Alabama Farmers Market in Birmingham (officially known as the Jefferson County Truck Growers Association Farmers Market). Here, 14 wholesalers occupy the market year-round, and share the grounds with a contingent of seasonal sellers during the summer and fall. The Alabama Farmers Market is open 24/7, and is a co-op owned by the growers and the state.
“We have a long shed that we lease out to the wholesalers, and they support themselves, but mainly it’s a retail market,” comments James McAnnally, market manager. The market has been around since the 1920s, and according to McAnnally, was booming in the 1970s and 1980s but in recent years has suffered with the arrival of discounters and big box stores selling fresh produce. “Over the past generation, people have forgotten the value of fresh produce. You can go to a chain and get a four-pack of tomatoes for $4 or $5 that may have come out of storage, whereas at the market, you can get a quart of fresh-picked tomatoes for the same price.”
Mike Tucker, manager at James Tucker Produce, Inc., a wholesaler at the market, says the produce business has been challenging the past few years. “I don’t think the younger generation cooks as much as the previous ones,” he explains. “More people are going to the Walmarts and grocery stores, and to the little local summer markets. We aren’t selling as much as we used to.”
Luther Wright, proprietor at Wright’s Produce on the Montgomery Farmer’s Market handles a full line and sells to grocery stores and roadside markets. “Business has been pretty good,” he says, “but the vegetable side has been slacking over the years. I think the younger generation is going more for hamburgers than peas and butter beans.”
McAnnally, who has a long history with the market and recently took on the position of manager, says his first objective is launching a marketing campaign. “I want to get the market back in the public eye and I want consumers back at the market,” he declares.
Alabama has been an agricultural state for centuries, although primary commodities have shifted with time and markets. In the mid-1800s and early 1900s, Alabama was known as the “Cotton State,” growing more than 4 million acres of cotton. Today, peanuts and pecans, along with greenhouse items and conventionally grown tomatoes, potatoes, sweet potatoes, watermelon, peppers, squash, peaches, and berries top the crop list. Alabama also produces specialty items such as Satsuma oranges and shiitake mushrooms on a smaller scale.
What’s unique about Alabama is its proliferation of farmers’ markets, which have grown from 17 in 1999 to 155 today. These range from co-ops blending wholesale and retail vendors to retail-only markets, as well as small, community farm stands.
The expansion of this fresh food network has supported and benefited from a strong movement to sell Alabama-grown produce when in season. The main player in seasonal showcase is the tomato, both in wholesale and retail.
THE WHOLESALE MARKETPLACE The only major wholesale market in the Dixie State is the Alabama Farmers Market in Birmingham (officially known as the Jefferson County Truck Growers Association Farmers Market). Here, 14 wholesalers occupy the market year-round, and share the grounds with a contingent of seasonal sellers during the summer and fall. The Alabama Farmers Market is open 24/7, and is a co-op owned by the growers and the state.
“We have a long shed that we lease out to the wholesalers, and they support themselves, but mainly it’s a retail market,” comments James McAnnally, market manager. The market has been around since the 1920s, and according to McAnnally, was booming in the 1970s and 1980s but in recent years has suffered with the arrival of discounters and big box stores selling fresh produce. “Over the past generation, people have forgotten the value of fresh produce. You can go to a chain and get a four-pack of tomatoes for $4 or $5 that may have come out of storage, whereas at the market, you can get a quart of fresh-picked tomatoes for the same price.”
Mike Tucker, manager at James Tucker Produce, Inc., a wholesaler at the market, says the produce business has been challenging the past few years. “I don’t think the younger generation cooks as much as the previous ones,” he explains. “More people are going to the Walmarts and grocery stores, and to the little local summer markets. We aren’t selling as much as we used to.”
Luther Wright, proprietor at Wright’s Produce on the Montgomery Farmer’s Market handles a full line and sells to grocery stores and roadside markets. “Business has been pretty good,” he says, “but the vegetable side has been slacking over the years. I think the younger generation is going more for hamburgers than peas and butter beans.”
McAnnally, who has a long history with the market and recently took on the position of manager, says his first objective is launching a marketing campaign. “I want to get the market back in the public eye and I want consumers back at the market,” he declares.
There are certainly advantages to coming to the market, according to the wholesalers. “Restaurant owners will come and hand-pick their produce,” says Brian Griffin, vice president at Bama Tomato Company. “They can get a tomato that really tastes like a fresh tomato,” he notes, adding, “and there are no delivery costs.”
“At the market, you can look at everything before you buy; you can shop around on price and quality,” Tucker points out. “It’s all centralized here.”
Griffin said that faith-based groups also organize a free food-share for lower-income community members. The wholesalers and retailers contribute produce, and the groups divvy it up into food baskets that are distributed locally.
Unlike some states, Alabama does not have a major produce terminal market. The distribution of produce involves most major chains sourcing direct and supplementing with in-season local produce. Wholesalers sell to grocery, foodservice, and fruit and vegetable stands, and farm-to-retail outfits sell to restaurants and local consumers. However, what Alabama lacks in a terminal market, it makes up for in a plentitude of farmers’ markets.
A MARKET HERE, A MARKET THERE Don Wambles, director of the Alabama Farmers Market Authority and the Alabama Farm-to-School program, has been instrumental in the proliferation of farmers’ markets across the state.
“In 1999, we only had 17 farmers’ markets [statewide], but people wanted to buy fresh produce directly from the farmer,” Wambles explained. “We seized the opportunity, combined the four words ‘Buy Fresh, Buy Local,’ and created a campaign and a system for starting new markets—and it worked. We now have more than 1,000 small farms making money and thousands of consumers buying fresh produce all summer long, happy to connect a face with the food they eat.”
Wambles’ method is to go into a community that needs a farmers’ market, create a steering committee, give them a template for how to run a market (including best practices), and let the community outline the rules and run the market. One important guideline to selling produce is maintaining a ratio of no more than three to seven craft vendors to produce vendors.
Building on a successful farmers’ market expansion, Wambles’ current vision is to grow Alabama’s nascent farm-to-school program in similar fashion and bring more fresh produce into cafeterias.
LOCAL AND SEASONAL PRODUCE RULES Buying local is huge in Alabama. Even the chains source large volumes of local produce during the season. And because of its geographic location, Alabama is privy to a longer-than-usual growing and harvesting season. “You have a summer crop in every state,” explains Terry Stone, president and buyer at Stone Tomato Company, Inc. “However, in North Carolina, you only have a month and a half; in Tennessee, two months. But in Alabama, we have three-and-a-half months or more.”
In early summer, greens, cabbage, peppers, and cucumbers come to market, followed by tomatoes, watermelon, potatoes, peaches and other fruit, as well as row crops such as squash.
“Walmart buys a lot of local produce because they have a strong program to support local farmers,” observes Jerry Williams, general manager at Flavor-Pic Tomatoes and Alex Kontos Fruit Company, Inc. “We are also seeing more emphasis on local produce from the foodservice and local retail sector than ever before. Not only does this support local farms, but the locals are the ones going to the restaurants and stores. This has helped local growers tremendously, allowing them to expand their business and farms, as well as to become better operators in terms of production and coming online with some of the safety standards.”
ALABAMA FARMERS MARKET Also known as the Jefferson County Truck Growers Association Farmers Market, or Birmingham Farmers Market. An open-air facility with nine numbered sheds, the North End Shed building, and the Watermelon Shed, as well as warehouse bays, office space, and a small flea market.
Location: 344 Finely Ave. West Birmingham, AL 35204 (205) 251-8737 http://www.alabamafarmersmarket.org/
Summer hours: 24 hours/day – most vendors open 7 days per week 5:00 am – 8:00 pm
Off-season: 24 hours/day – most vendors open 7 days per week 5:00 am – 6:00 pm
Wholesalers: Flavor-Pic Tomatoes – (205) 323-7306 Stone Tomato – (205) 254-3474 Bama Tomato – (205) 252-2002 Salsa Fresh – (205) 251-8016 Graves Produce – (205) 324-5778 Ray Gilliland – (205) 294-2083 Sun-Up Produce – (205) 320-0011 Olin Bice – (205) 287-4989 Smith Produce – (205) 322-7508 James Tucker Produce – (205) 328-2460 Tommy Tucker Produce – (205) 382-2599 Farm House Produce – (205) 251-6530 Clayton Farms – (205) 919-2410 Kenneth Hicks – (205) 913-7735
The network and cooperation between different strata of food growers and handlers in Alabama is commendable, and working. “We have partnered many of our farmers with the local grocery stores that are buying from them,” Wambles says. “And this has spilled over into more local restaurants buying from local growers. Basically, we’ve built a local food system out of the farmers’ market movement.”
ASSOCIATIONS AND SUPPORT Alabama has several agricultural organizations including the Farmers Market Authority, focused on getting produce from farm to consumer; the Alabama Farmers Federation, an organization of county representatives who gather to promote farm-related economic, social, and educational interests; the Alabama Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association, a member-based group that organizes conferences for growers; and the Alabama Citrus Growers Association, a grass-roots organization looking for ways to protect Alabama commercial citrus from pests and disease migrating from neglected homeowner crops or produce arriving from other states.
“Our citrus industry is relatively small and trying to grow,” Williams remarks. “They’re trying to organize to get protection from citrus greening and mold from neighboring Florida crops, because anyone can plant a Satsuma tree there. Contamination from sick trees can destroy the industry crop. It’s a lot like when we were trying to eradicate the cotton boll weevil and people were planting cotton in their yards—if pests aren’t managed, it can be a problem.”
Alabama Fruits & Vegetables Seasonal Availability Commodity and Peak Availability Apples – June to October Asparagus – March to June Beans – May to November Bell peppers – June to September Blueberries – May to August Cabbage – April to June Collard greens – October to June Eggplant – June to October Figs – July to October Kale – October to June Okra – July to September Peaches – May to September Peas – April to October Pumpkins – September & October Squash – April to December Sweet Potatoes – June to November Tomatoes – June to October
HOT POCKETS OF ORGANICS Organic products play a small role in Alabama produce compared to other areas of the country, but the category seems to be gaining momentum. “We do some organics,” Williams points out. “It’s an area that has seen growth over the past year and there seems to be more demand. I think consumers’ knowledge and sense of health-consciousness are growing. Years ago, it was hard to convert people to organic because of the price differential. It’s not the biggest category, but it seems to be growing.”
Wambles says strong demand for organics is localized regionally in Alabama. “The Madison City Farmers Market is a 100-percent organic market,” he contends, which “works for the people in that community. Other markets are mixed with both organic and conventional to varying degrees. The biggest demand for organics right now is coming from the Huntsville area, and there are a few other small spots where people will pay extra for organic. But for most Alabamans, just fresh and local is what they’re looking for.”
Reid Barnes, general manager for Nathan Segall, Inc., who sells primarily bananas, says he does about five boxes of organics a week. “I’ve heard organics is picking up, but there’s not a lot of demand for it here in the Montgomery area.”
“We’re seeing more organic carrots on the market,” offers Griffin. “In the Birmingham area, there’s a small trend for organics connected to Whole Foods and Sprouts having stores here, but I think most people can’t afford the higher costs.”
LABOR ISSUES HIT HARD An issue that has hit Alabama hard in recent years, as well as other growing states, is the availability of skilled labor. Following the Beason-Hammon Alabama Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act in 2011, a crackdown on illegal immigrants ensued, contracting the available pool of farm workers.
“Labor is of particular concern to us,” Wambles confirms. “Some of the larger producers have gone to mechanical harvesters, and others have lost production because of the shortage of migrant labor.”
Williams concurs: “Labor is a challenge both here at the warehouse, and at the farm, as far as keeping a legal workforce in place.”
Alabama, like Arizona, took a tough stance against illegal immigrants. “Now they’re scared to come back,” says Wright, “and the people the legislators thought were going to take these jobs aren’t replacing them. It’s not working out very well.”
HIGH FREIGHT COSTS Even though fuel prices have dipped the past few months, distributors aren’t seeing much change in freight rates. Gas and diesel do affect rates, but what’s apparent now is that supply is a stronger variable in the fuel-price equation.
“You would think freight costs would have gone down because of gas,” Williams says, “but it hasn’t for at least two reasons: one, there is a limited availability of trucks, even more so for deliveries from California as the new truck requirements are being enforced. Two, freight companies are trying to make their programs profitable against long-time high fuel prices and new driver regulations. They can no longer legally turn a truck four times in a week, so it costs more as an operator to deliver loads.”
“When gas came down, rates stayed about the same,” Tucker agrees. “It isn’t just fuel prices, there’s supply and demand for trucks, and you have a lot more demand for trucks and drivers these days.”
Bama Tomato Company has its own fleet but still has to deal with both fuel costs and new requirements. “We have our own trucks that run back and forth to California, so we can manage our own logistics,” Griffin notes. Unfortunately, to be in compliance with California Air Resource Board vehicle emission requirements, he explains, “we’ve had to buy a lot of new equipment, which has been very costly. Also, it seems like gas is down, but diesel not as much. We’re adjusting to hundreds of thousands of dollars in increases to our fuel bill. We’ve had to increase our prices to our customers.”
FOOD SAFETY: GETTING THERE Food safety, of course, is an important issue for wholesalers as buyers want assurances about handling, traceability, and safety protocols. In Alabama, food safety plays an interesting role among smaller farms and in the farmers’ market model.
“As a distributor, we’re very concerned about the products we sell and follow food safety standards,” Williams comments. “Most of our customers have safety and traceability programs in place and expect suppliers to comply. We support our suppliers with the documents, certifications, and audits required. In addition, we’ve worked hard to bring the local farms we buy from into compliance with these programs, so we can safely and without liability source produce from them.”
Williams goes on to say that getting into compliance can be a financial obstacle for some of the smaller farms, and he and other wholesalers cannot source from them for commercial clients. However, the massive network of farmers’ markets in the state provides an alternative outlet for these growers.
“Right now, the farmers’ markets are exempt from some of the requirements,” Wambles stresses. “A grower does not have to be GAP [U.S. Department of Agriculture Good Agricultural Practices] certified to sell at a farmers’ market.” He does keep an eye out for potential hazards or threats occurring at other farmers’ markets, to relay the information to area growers.
“It took our customer base to push us, and our farmers, to comply with the food safety requirements,” Stone admits. “I would say 80 percent are now in compliance, the other 20 percent we can’t work with. And the smaller farms are finding out they need to come into compliance to have outlets for their produce beyond the local market.”
“The days of you and me driving down the road and buying a case of yellow squash off the back of a pickup truck are disappearing because of food safety,” Williams confirms. “And while food safety is good for all of us, it’s a costly and difficult program to put in place for the smaller farms that don’t produce big volume. I understand both sides of the coin.”
LOCAL AND SEASONAL PRODUCE RULES Yet, perhaps more than anywhere else, Alabama produce sales are a modern version of that pickup truck on the side of the road. With 155 farmers’ markets and the potential for 12 more to be added this year alone, along with a robust local produce industry and a ready-to-boom farm-to-school program, Alabama produce is looking at another promising year.
