Virginia Food & Drink Tour Part 2; "Farm Markets"

And so began the second day of our Virginia food and drink tour, aboard Bus 1, the "School on Wheels". The tour was just a part of our 10 day trip attending the North American Farm Direct Marketing Association (NAFDMA) annual conference in Virginia.

By now we had finally got our heads around what Farm Direct Marketing actually encompasses and found some startling differences between the US and the UK. We'll explain in a later blog post (through one of our later stops) all about "Agritourism" which has become a very significant aspect of farm retailing over the pond, but first we'll look at how many of the American farm shops compare to the farm shops you know and love back here at home.

A great example is Marker Miller Orchards Farm Market near Winchester, owned by the Marker family. Like many such farms, the business has already celebrated its centenary and has been handed down through the generations. Also in-common with all the other farms on our tour, the business was founded upon fruit growing with the farm market (the american term for "farm shop") built as an outlet for their fresh produce and to compliment a pick your own operation.


Like all the farm markets we came across, the shop was closed until the summer when harvesting begins so a little imagination on our part was required! Unlike most UK farm shops that aim to provide a full range of fruit and vegetables, along with many more different types of food and drink, the farm market carries a much more focused selection. Marker Miller boasts an impressive kitchen (bakery) area behind the scenes where their fresh produce is used to produce an array of tasty fare for sale out the front.

As you you will from our next stop (in our next blog post), the home-made donut is king, accompanied by fudge, pies, ice cream,wine, fruit juice (cider) and apple butter, all produced in-store. The latter is quite delicious, particularly spread over bread, pancakes or scones but its a huge shame it hasn't properly caught on in the UK yet (but you can buy it from Green Pastures!". Another home made treat that was truly delicious was "apple crisp", apple crumble made from their very own mix, produced in their own kitchens.

But as much as the produce and the products have become a huge attraction, Marker Miller have had to develop other activities on the farm to attract those "townies" and compete as a leisure destination rather than as a rural convenience store. We were particularly amused by the "cow train", a procession of barrels on wheels which the kids sit in, pulled behind a ride on lawn mower! This was complimented by an impressive childrens playground to keep the wee ones happy while the parents spend money and there's even a picnic area if visitors can wait to get home to enjoy their donuts!