In the spring of 2021, the Michigan Farmers Market Association (MIFMA) embarked on a Census of MI Farmers Markets, a deep dive effort to document the farmers market sector across the state.  

 An advisory committee of market managers and market sector partners informed the survey development as well as outreach strategy, and the survey enjoyed a response rate of around 70%. Respondents were offered $50 compensation for completion. The Census aimed to understand how and where markets operate, articulate the needs and characteristics of market managers and market operating organizations, document market compensation practices, and understand how COVID-19 impacted markets, among many other topics.  The idea was that such an extensive survey would provide baseline data, and that subsequent Censuses could be briefer or focus on individual topics.  Also, many questions were triangulated– asked several ways through both closed and open ended questions– to ensure that they were getting at the intended topic, with the idea that a single question could suffice in subsequent censuses.  When practical, questions aligned with other survey tools in the field, including previous USDA National Farmers Market Manager Surveys; this allowed sharing the Michigan results in the context of/comparison to national level data. Because the previous year– 2020– had many abnormalities due to COVID-19, the Census asked both about the 2019 and the 2020 market seasons.  

The survey used the Qualtrics platform to collect responses; subsequent analysis and visualization was done in Tableau.

The Census was funded through internal MIFMA dollars, utilizing staff members, two consultants, and a graphic designer.

The results of the Census were shared in a series of briefs (2-8 page designed documents available for free download), organized around topics: Introduction, Food Assistance and Payment Processing, Evaluation, Market Manager Compensation, Market Operations, Vendors and Products, Locations and Infrastructure, COVID Impacts, and Cottage Food.

A few other state farmers market associations– including Oregon and Washington– conduct regular statewide surveys of markets, but many state farmers markets networks or associations (as well as all the states without such a network) don’t have capacity for such extensive data collection.  FMC’s new Standardized Question Bank and editable Data Collection Tools can provide a starting point at the local, regional, or statewide level.