Hi I’m Mike, Every Saturday during the summer and into October, Erin and I both work hard
to get ourselves to farmers market.
Okay, she works a bit harder at it than I do, but I still help.
Today we head from the ranch to farmers market, on our Wyoming life.
Diversification is key to the ranch, without it we wouldn’t be able to raise cattle and
without farmers market there would never be a YouTube channel called Our Wyoming Life.
You see, back at the very beginning.
The whole reason for us putting our very first video on YouTube was to serve one simple purpose.
I made one simple 4 and half minute video, to make Erin happy.
Back then, we knew that farmers market was key to the success of the ranch.
Cows are expensive, the profit margin can be very thin, and we originally hoped that
by putting a few videos on YouTube we could help improve farmers market sales by showing
our customers what goes into getting products to them.
From the gardens we could show how Erin chooses crops, grows and harvests them, and from the
ranch I could detail the extra work that we put in to bring locally raised beef and pork
to our community.
The first video we posted was all about feeding the cows and we were extremely lucky to find
that it wasn’t just our local customers who wanted to know more about where their
food came from but people all across the world.
Of course, that didn’t mean that our message changed, yea we modified it a bit.
But we still do exactly what we were doing when we started.
Going to farmers market.
Thanks for coming along today.
I’m just getting done in the field, quitting a little early for the day.
Farmers market is tomorrow and yes, even though farmers market is 90% Erins baby, we work
together every week to pull the whole thing together.
Along with the veggies Erin picks and washes from the gardens for farmers market every
week she also works in the kitchen all day Friday to bring a variety of baked goods as
well.
Even at market, we diversify, obviously not all vegetables are in season at the same time
and baked goods round out the most visible part of our farmers market booth along with
beef and pork.
Erin and I have been doing this long enough that we both have jobs that we take on.
Shes the brains in the operation, and sometimes I am more along the line of manual labor but
we all have our strengths and for me it’s a fun change of pace.
There are also a few perks, like taste testing new products and well, that’s the big one,
I’m sure there are more but that one sticks in my mind
So as baked goods cool, I get to one of my jobs and that is wrapping and packaging.
From Zucchini and Banana bread.
To coffee cake, to cinnamon rolls.
Everything gets packaged and labeled.
A new addition here recently, one that I personally approve of has been carrot cake.
So popular that each week this year Erin has been upping the amount she takes and its still
not enough, that we bring home any leftovers.
The curse of market, all the really good stuff sells and unless I fork over my 3 bucks early,
more fork isn’t going anywhere near it now days.
All of our baked goods are packaged into totes for easy transport.
Then its out to Erins Farmers market truck, a 1998 GMC Panel truck that has been repurposed
after a few hundred miles and fitted with freezers to hold all of our cuts of meat that
we take to market.
This week, Erin made ice cream, so we load that up tonight also.
We are no where near ready to go to market, there is still lots to load, but getting started
Friday night gives us a little leg up and tomorrow morning we will hit it again early,
because not only is Saturday farmers market, it’s a very special farmers market.
This week is national farmers market week and the market that Erin helps manage along
with Megan and Hannah was honored as being included as one of National Farmers Market
Coalitions 10 featured markets in the united states.
That’s a big deal, at least it sounds like it and its cool to be a part of it.
Even if my part included packing around hundreds of pounds of vegetables.
First though, our baked goods go in the truck.
Then we head into the shop, where the peacock is waiting for us as he does every single
morning.
From there, its into the kitchen where the market fridge awaits.
Along with Kale, rainbow chard, kohlrabi, beets, potatoes, dill and who knows what else
and so much summer squash and zuchinni that I cant help but weigh it.
123 lbs worth.
Once the truck is loaded down with everything, including a generator to run the Ice cream
freezer we can close it up, raise the lift gate and hit the road.
Market starts at 8, so we leave the ranch about 6:30 to make sure we have plenty of
time to set up and a few minutes later we arrive at the Gillette Technical College parking
lot, where market takes place.
Market is really a team effort, I can see why Erin likes it so much.
Working on the ranch, you get used to being by yourself and getting things done but here
the definite message is that we help each other out.
As tents and tables start emerging from the truck, hands appear from everywhere to help
out and soon things are taking shape.
Here we divide and conquer as Erin starts setting up veggies and I take care of baked
goods.
Price tags are put out and soon the crowd is growing, waiting for market to beginning.
Vendors cant sell until 8am to make it fair and make sure everyone is set up but right
at 8am, the bell rings and its time to go to work.
Again.
After working all week on the ranch, with only cows and myself to talk to.
Its nice to get out and hang out with people out in the real world.
Each and every week we have our regular customers, but we also have new comers, travelers and
many other folks move through our booth.
Between you and me, I think Erin loves it when someone comes in and says that her carrot
cake is the best they have ever had or that her veggies are to die for, and good for her.
When it all comes down to it, she does a lot, to make sure that not only us, but tons of
other vendors have a place to sell their products, to advertise their business and diversify
their own business, and that’s pretty special.
And when someone says they love the zucchini bread, or the rolls, or grandma betty’s
cookies, I can say that I helped package them.
Time flies when you are busy and its not long until things begin to run out, beets go first,
then turnips then chard.
Broccoli is whittled down; most baked goods also fly out of the tent and when the market
ends at 12:30 the place is looking pretty bare.
Another great thing that Erin and her cohorts have set up at market is a share the harvest
program, where unsold produce can be sold to farmers market itself, and then farmers
market donates it to food programs.
Today Erin donates 5 lbs of potatoes, 23 lbs of squash and 3 lbs of kale.
All that is left.
Left over baked good head home with us and then its time to break things down and load
it all up.
Again, the help comes out in droves as vendors help each other take down tables, tents and
load everything back up to be used next week.
And just like that another week at market is over, the culmination of a weeks’ worth
of work for Erin and a few hours of work for me but I can honestly say that weeks that
I do miss farmers market for one reason or another, I do really miss it.
Thanks for coming along with us today, the truck is home, its plugged back in and now
its back to work for me.
Those hay bales aren’t going to make themselves.
I do really like farmers market, and getting a chance to talk to customers directly is
really amazing.
I also think that giving consumers of our products a chance to talk directly to the
person that grew that vegetable or raised that beef or pork is very important.
Erin can tell you every step of that zucchinis life, what she did and when she did it.
I can tell spout off facts about every piece of beef and pork we have in this truck, maybe
its not for everyone but personally I like knowing how, when and where my food was raised
or grown.
If I see an ingredient I cant pronounce, I get a little worried and I would love to know
why strawberry flavor just cant be made from strawberries and not a mess of chemicals.
Again, thanks for coming out with us today, please subscribe you would like to continue
on with us as we explore the ranch life and escape the ordinary, 3 times per week right
here on YouTube.
Check out our podcast available everywhere you find your favorite podcasts search for
beyond the ranch.
We will be back on Tuesday, as we take another shot at the project list and until then have
a great week and thanks for joining us in our Wyoming life.