| Expert advice |
Our in-house consultant has advised dozens of farm retail sites
from starting their diversification through to designing and opening their farm
shop and improving the effectiveness of existing local food businesses. Gareth
Jones has worked with the Royal Farm Shop at Windsor, and
many more.
FARMA's friendly staff are on the end of the phone any time when you need advice
or help. Just call or email us for advice or help on any matter related
to local direct sales: we have a huge database of suppliers and contacts with
experts - or we can put you in touch with fellow members to guide you through your
development ideas.
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| Credit & Debit Card Handling terms |
| Most retail sales are now paid on plastic. We offer a FARMA co-operative scheme
through Barclays Merchant Services. Terms for handling credit cards start at 1.625%.
Debit card handling is at a flat-rate of 14.5p per transaction. More than 200 FARMA
members are now using the FARMA/BMS scheme with over £40 million under management.
You don't have to bank with Barclays. Mobile machines for use in PYO, farmers' markets,
catering, etc. are available.
Just call (0845 45 88 420) for more information...
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| Signs, banners, bags, bunting |
Colourful temporary signage, ideal for farm retail premises and farmers' markets - A-boards, banners, bunting at great prices. Carrier bags - paper, plastic and biodegradable plastic - all can be customised to show your farm name and message … Glossy, full colour seasonal recipe leaflets from £7.00 per 100.
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| Co-operative benefits |
FARMA is recognised as the Federal organisation representing farmers' markets and local direct sales by Cooperatives UK. Members who are themselves cooperatives (such as farmers' markets groups) can have access to free legal representation, among other benefits, from Cooperatives UK. For more information, just call us!
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| Publications / Web-site |
'Retail Farmer' is published four times a year and mailed direct to you as part
of FARMA membership. Our weekly e-newsletter is also sent to you as part of membership
and keeps you up to date with news, trends and views from the sector.
All direct
sales members are listed in the consumer guide, 'Local Fare', which is promoted
editorially.
The FARMA consumer web-sites (www.farmshopping.net; www.farmersmarkets.net;
www.pickyourown.info)
carry information about farm retail members and farmers' markets with advanced
mapping & calendar technology only available through FARMA. Our sites are number
one in top search engines and get more hits in total than our competitors!
We also design and host web-sites for members, hosted through a FARMA scheme
at very competitive rates for commercial-grade web activity.
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| Price Checking |
Knowing the price of fresh fruit & vegetables in the supermarkets can help keep your offer competitive … our mystery shoppers check every Monday/Tuesday and we get you the information the same day …… pricing is from just £5 per week.
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| Checking standards |
Certification has been helpful in bringing the quality of farm shops and PYO to the fore.
FARMA continues its highly successful Certification scheme for farmers' markets.
For more information see farmersmarkets.net
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| Special terms for impulse ice cream, sugar and bake-off |
These offers won't suit everyone but … if you have high passing traffic, stocking the major impulse ice cream brands in addition to, not instead of, locally-made products makes retailing sense; sugar is great to go with soft fruit sales; and bake-off provides an easy entry-point for fresh-baked foods and simple catering.
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| …. and more special terms on tills, scales etc. |
Special terms are offered from Avery, Bizerba, Labelling & Packaging Systems - show your membership certificate to get discounts off these expensive capital items.
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| Worldwide connections |
We network and share with our equivalent organisation in the USA/Canada, as well as direct sales organisations on the continent and Australia. This means that our members are able to see the early emergence of some trends in farm retailing well ahead of others.
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| Making a noise about local direct sales: the political arena |
| FARMA is the largest organisation in the world representing farmers, farmers' markets and local direct sales to the consumer. We will continue to organise focus weeks and months for seasonal products - please take advantage of them! And please let us have your news, for Retail Farmer and to communicate to other media.
FARMA works on a national scale to promote local direct sales through PR, and is recognised as a lobby group in the political arena working for our members' interests.
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| Sharing, networking and getting together |
Last, but not least, is the fellowship offered by FARMA. It is
packed with people like you! There are many opportunities in the year to meet,
such as the November National Conference and
many other regional events. Our main conference always a great event, packed with
inspirational ideas, and we're sure you'll get more out of your membership if you
come along. We hope to see you there!
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