Summary Information
Dane County Farmers' Market Records
1972-2014
- Dane County Farmers' Market
Mss 1212; PH 7085
7.8 cubic feet (7 records center cartons and 3 archives boxes), and 25 photographs and 3 contact sheets (1 folder)
Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)
Records, 1972-2014, of the Dane County Farmers' Market (DCFM), a producer-only farmers' market held in Madison, Wisconsin, that began operating on September 30, 1972. The bulk of the collection consists of applications from market vendors and membership applications, as well as market rules, brochures, member newsletters, letters to market vendors, season stall contracts, and inspection records. Also included are studies and surveys (1980-2010) related to marketing research, the wide range of produce on offer, and the economic impact of the farmers' market.
There is a restriction on access to this material; see the Administrative/Restriction Information portion of this finding aid for details. Forms part of the Organic and Sustainable Agriculture Collection. Some of the Dane County Farmers' Market vendors maintain organic certification. Others may farm using organic or sustainable practices but are not certified, while many others farm conventionally. The Wisconsin Historical Society Library holds The Dane County Farmers' Market: a personal history, by Mary Carpenter, a former market manager.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss01212 ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
The first Dane County Farmers' Market was held on Monona Avenue (now known as Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard) in Madison, Wisconsin, on Saturday, September 30, 1972, with less than a dozen vendors. By the following week, the number of vendors had increased to almost ninety in order to meet demand, and the market spilled over to the Capitol Square. It ran every Saturday in its first season from 7:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. until October 21, 1972.
The following year, the market opened on June 16 with over 200 vendors. In 1974, 300 vendors served 200,000 customers. A Wednesday market began in 1975, and a Growers' Council that acted in an advisory capacity was established the same year. In 1985 the market season expanded to an April to November schedule. Later improvements included the establishment of a rules, penalties, and appeals system (late 1980s), a seniority ranking whereby vendors arrived on Saturday morning and received spots based on their status (1990), the honing of rules regarding production and allowable categories of goods sold (early 1990s), and establishment of a winter market (2001).
Initially supported by Dane County Extension Service, the City of Madison, and the Central Madison Committee, the market became a non-profit, membership corporation with an appointed Board of Directors by the early 1980s. By 1985 the elected Growers' Council replaced the appointed board members. Members must meet a specified ownership stake in the farm/business, directly participate in daily operation of the farm/business, and be present at the market to sell and interact with customers. Seniority in turn determines eligibility and position on waiting lists for a season stall with a fixed location, and priority for daily stalls if space permits. A waiting list for new memberships began in the mid-1990s, with the wait taking up to three years. A community, cultural, and tourist attraction, the DCFM holds the distinction as the nation's largest producer-only farmers' market.
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Market Manager(s)
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Term of Office
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| Jonathan Barry |
1972-1976 |
| Dan and Judy Peterson |
1976-1979 |
| Paul and Jo Prust |
1980-1983 |
| Mary Walters |
1984-1989 |
| Mary Carpenter |
1989-2000 |
| Bill Warner and Judy Hageman |
2001-2002 |
| Larry Johnson |
2003-2014 |
| Bill Lubing |
2014-2015 |
| Sarah Elliott |
2016- |
For further information, see the DCFM website.
Scope and Content Note
Organizational records of the Dane County Farmers' Market (DCFM), primarily consisting of applications for permission to sell and membership applications, but also including administrative files such as by-laws, board meeting and annual meeting minutes, market brochures and rules, season stall contracts and lists, newsletters, and studies and surveys, as well as inspection forms, rule violation instances, and requests for investigation. While the records contain some gaps in documentation such as years for which no meeting minutes exist and a lack of early records in general, apart from the notable exception of correspondence between Mayor William “Bill” Dyke and others regarding the beginnings of the market, the collection provides a granular look at the development of the market from 1972 to 2014 through individual membership applications and permission to sell applications. Other administrative records, particularly the market manager's records, trace the evolution of market administration and regulations. Also documented is the presence of Hmong vendors and members in significant numbers beginning in the early 1990s.
Starting in 2012, membership applications sometimes include DOR registration certificates or seller's permits; DATCP licenses for mobile food operations, food processing plants, food warehouses, or nursery dealers; cheesemaker and nursery growers licenses; certificates of liability insurance; rental agreements; information on products sold and percentage of farm ingredients used. Some files also contain notices of rule violations, appeals of membership terminations, and requests for clarification of partnership status, seniority status, and other issues which affect season stall assignments and stall succession. Correspondence relating to similar issues is also found in the Market manager's files. There are no records in the collection relating to a lawsuit filed in the early 1990s concerning the expulsion of a vendor.
Photographs consist of three black-and-white contact sheets of market images taken in 1977, and snapshots of the Capitol grounds and sidewalk areas prior to the start of the market season in 1988.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Membership applications from 1991 through 2014 in Box 4-8 are restricted. Access to membership files that disclose personally identifiable information about market members is limited to use by researchers who sign the Agreement for Use of Dane County Farmers' Market Records until June 1, 2041, at which time the membership files will be available for full public access.
Presented by the Dane County Farmers' Market, Madison, Wisconsin, July 25, 2011, and July 12, 2017. Accession Number: M2014-009, M2018-060
Processed by Julia Wong, July 2018.
Contents List
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Mss 1212
Box
1
Folder
1
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By-laws and articles of incorporation, 1983, 1997-1998, undated
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Box
1
Folder
2
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Advertising and marketing, 1979, 1994, 1998
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Box
1
Folder
3
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Annual meetings, 1982-1988, 1993, 2012-2013
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Box
1
Folder
4-6
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Board of Directors meeting minutes, 1984-1997, 1999-2002, 2007
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Box
1
Folder
7
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Budgets and financial statements, 1980-1989, 1995, 2010-2013
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Committees
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Box
1
Folder
8
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Grants, projects, 1990s?
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Box
1
Folder
9
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Market, 1976, 1978-1979
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Correspondence
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Box
1
Folder
10
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Regarding establishment of market, 1972
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Box
1
Folder
11
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Regarding tax-exempt status, 1983
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Box
1
Folder
12
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Regarding rules brochure changes, 2001
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Box
2
Folder
1
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Flyers, posters, 2000
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Box
1
Folder
13
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Growers' Council, 1980, 1984-1986
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Box
1
Folder
14
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Long term goals, Mary Walters, 1988
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Market administration
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Box
1
Folder
15-32
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Applications for permission to sell, 1978-1986
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Box
2
Folder
2-7
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Applications for permission to sell, 1987-1989
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Box
3
Folder
1-2
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Applications for permission to sell, 1990
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Box
1
Folder
32
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Grandfathering of vendors, 1983
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Box
1
Folder
34-37
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Membership applications, 1989-1990
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Box
4
Folder
1-24
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Membership applications, 1991-1998
: Membership applications, 1991-2014, in Box 4-8, are restricted. See the Administrative/Restriction Information portion of this finding aid for details.
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Box
5
Folder
1-24
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Membership applications, 1999-2005
: Membership applications, 1991-2014, in Box 4-8, are restricted. See the Administrative/Restriction Information portion of this finding aid for details.
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Box
6
Folder
1-24
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Membership applications, 2006-2009
: Membership applications, 1991-2014, in Box 4-8, are restricted. See the Administrative/Restriction Information portion of this finding aid for details.
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Box
7
Folder
1-25
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Membership applications, 2010-2013
: Membership applications, 1991-2014, in Box 4-8, are restricted. See the Administrative/Restriction Information portion of this finding aid for details.
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Box
8
Folder
1-23
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Membership applications, 2013 (continued)-2014
: Membership applications, 1991-2014, in Box 4-8, are restricted. See the Administrative/Restriction Information portion of this finding aid for details.
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Box
9
Folder
1
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Membership changes, 2005-2007, 2011
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Box
9
Folder
2-4
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Season stall holders, 1979-1985, 1988-2001
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Box
9
Folder
5-8
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Season stall contracts, 2008-2011
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Box
9
Folder
9
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Seniority list, 1993, 1996
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Box
9
Folder
10
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Trash collection, 1988
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Box
9
Folder
11
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Vendor lists, maps, 1998, undated
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Box
9
Folder
12
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Wednesday market, 1999, undated
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Market manager
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Box
9
Folder
13
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General considerations, 2000
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Correspondence
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Box
9
Folder
14
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General, 1976-2010
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Box
9
Folder
15
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With growers, vendors, 1973-2002
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Box
9
Folder
16
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With members, 1986-1996
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Box
9
Folder
17
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Johnson, Larry, resignation as market manager, 2014 January
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Market rules, information
: Some years include brochures and blank application forms.
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Chronological files
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Box
9
Folder
18-19
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1972-1974, 1979-2003, undated
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Box
9
Folder
20
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Market catalog, 1994, 1995
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Box
3
Folder
3
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1978-1981
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Box
9
Folder
21
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2004-2013
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Inspections
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Box
9
Folder
22
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Baked goods, 1994
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Box
9
Folder
23-39
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Chronological files, 2003-2011
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Box
9
Folder
40-48
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Issue case files, 2002-2011
: See also Market manager correspondence.
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Box
9
Folder
49
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Garlic and botulism articles, 1986-1991
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Box
9
Folder
50
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Violations, complaints/requests for investigation, 1984-2011
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Box
9
Folder
51-53
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Member newsletters, 1991-2003, 2012-2013
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Box
3
Folder
4
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News clippings, 1972-1981
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Box
9
Folder
54-55
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Permits, 1972-1999, 2001-2014
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PH 7085
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Photographs
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Folder
1
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Market images: contact sheets, 1977 September 24
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Folder
1
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Snapshots of sidewalk areas around the Capitol Square prior to the start of the market season taken by market manager Mary Walters, 1988 April
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Mss 1212
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Studies and surveys
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Box
9
Folder
56
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"The Dane County Farmers' Market: A Case Study of an Economic Institution": paper, survey data / by David Merriman, 1980-1981
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Box
9
Folder
57
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Market evaluations (by vendors), 1980
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Box
9
Folder
58
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"Direct Agricultural Marketing in Wisconsin: A Profile of Consumers, Producers and Markets" / by John Cottingham and Larry Winchel, UW-Extension, 1988
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Grant proposals with Wisconsin Cooperative Development Council (WCDC)
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Box
10
Folder
1
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Evjue Foundation, circa 1989
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Box
10
Folder
2
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Agricultural Development and Diversification Grants Program, 1990
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Box
10
Folder
3
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Urban Foodshed Study Group, 1993
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Box
10
Folder
4
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"The Dane County Farmers' Market: Market Research Project": report / prepared by Joan Ballweg, Tom Faust, Mike Kelleher, Caryn Pochron, 1993 December 3
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Box
10
Folder
5
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"Why is the Market So Diverse? A Report on Fruit and Vegetable Crop Diversity in the Madison Farmers' Market" / by John Tuxill, 1994 April 14
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Dane County Farmers' Market Survey / by Steven LeMire
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Box
10
Folder
6
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Initial proposal, 2003 January
: Includes report and materials from previous customer survey, 1993 Fall.
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Box
10
Folder
7
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Survey data, 1993 Fall
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Box
10
Folder
8
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Report, 2003 December
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Box
10
Folder
9
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Survey data, 2003 December 6
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Box
10
Folder
10
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DCFM survey: online edition, results, 2010 Winter
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