"Growing Pains" at the SC State Farmer Market

Earlier this month, there was an article in the Post and Courier called “Growing Pains”, which is about the new location of the state farmer market. The market was recently moved to West Columbia from central Columbia in 2010, and it hasn’t been doing well ever since. Although money has been raised to make new additions to the market, many feel that the state should hold off on pumping more money into it until it becomes more stable. In this sense, the choice of what to do to improve the market is very controversial.

In terms of the purpose of this market, South Carolina’s primary interest is to promote the sales of South Carolina produce, then to aid wholesalers, and then to spur retails. Another goal of the state is to adjust the private- public partnership through this market. The market is not only bringing together the public and private sectors, but also many different groups of farmers.

So why isn’t the market making much money? The answer is competition. As the “buy local” movement becomes increasingly popular, there are many farmers markets being created all over the state. These markets are highly competitive with the state farmers market. In addition, there seems to be a great deal of controversy over who should control the state farmer’s market. Many argue that Lexington County and the city of Columbia ought to control the market since it is located in their area.

As one can imagine, it is difficult for farmers to stay at this market without generating much profit. Some farmers that sell at the state market are unhappy because they don’t agree with having to pay $15-$20 for their trucks to come onto the property to drop off the produce, which goes towards the savings for the market as a whole. Many farmers are frustrated and only stay out of hopes for improvement. Many think that new improvements to the market will draw in more customers.

As we can see through this article, the state is trying to get involved in the farmer market business in hopes that it will be a great investment for the future of South Carolina. The public has yet to see if the market will have a turn- around. Many are waiting to see if the state will intervene with the situation and decide to invest the money they have raised to further fortify this market.