Rules of the Watauga County Farmers' Market
Amended, Revised And Updated Rules
Of The
Watauga County Farmers' Market 2012

1. Market Operation: The market will be open for Saturday operation on the first Saturday of May through the last Saturday in October. The hours are 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. The Wednesday market will begin on the first Wednesday in June through the last Wednesday in September. The hours of the Wednesday Market are 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon.
2. Membership:
• a. Residency requirements - Individuals living in Watauga, Wilkes, Ashe, Avery, Caldwell and Johnson (TN) Counties are eligible to become vendors. Growers from other counties may be allowed non-voting membership on a case-by-case, and year-to-year basis, by written application to the board.
• b. Dues- A non-refundable application fee of $25 is due with all applications, from current and prospective members, prior to February 29, 2012. Dues are $75.00 per year and must be paid by the Spring Cleanup Day each year. Dues are reduced to $25 if a vendor pays both dues and the full year's rent for the Saturday market by the Cleanup Day.
• c. Space rental- Rental for spaces under the shed is $16 per week and $12 per week in the open. The rate for the Wednesday market is $5 per week.
• d. Rent payments for those members who do not pay all their annual rent up-front are due on a monthly basis, by the last Saturday of the preceding month, with no provision for partial-month payments and no refunds available.
• e. Priority for membership in the market is given to growers.
• f. All new members to the market will have probationary status for the first year.
• g. Craft vendors- All craft items offered by any Market Vendor will be juried as per The Guidelines for Crafts.
3. Items to be sold:
• a. 100% of all produce (i.e. fruit, vegetables, honey, eggs) sold at the market must be grown by the member.
• b. 100% of all plants (cut flowers, shrubs, rooted material) sold at the market must be grown by the member.
• c. 100% of all processed foods (jams, bakery items) sold at the market must be made by the member.
• d. 100% of all crafts sold at the market must be crafted by the member.
• e. 100% of all meats sold at the market must be grown by the member.
• f. Vendors may sell healthy livestock weighing 100 lbs. or less, that they raise themselves for sale at the market. Animals must be kept in cages while at the market, and the livestock vendor must carry liability insurance, with the WCFM listed as an additionally insured party.
• g. No commercial truckers are allowed.
• h. All pre-manufactured, non-craft items must be pre-approved by the board on a case by case, year-to-year basis.
• i. Prepared food - All prepared food must be in compliance with North Carolina state laws. Compliance forms must be on file with the manager.
• j. Members must use only truthful and accurate descriptors (e.g. – ‘organic,’ ‘sugar-free,’ ‘natural,’ etc.) to market their products. The Board and/or Manager reserve the right to compel changes to questionable marketing claims.
• k. Organic Label- Growers using the label organic in any representation of their product must have a copy of their organic certification on file with the market manager. For those who sell less than $5,000 worth of produce the individual may use the word organic in describing their produce if they have a signed "Small Scale Organic Grower's Declaration of Exemption from Certification" form on file with the market manager.
4. Space allocation:
• a. DEFINITONS
• i) Vendor - market member
• ii) Market Day - Saturday market, Wednesday market, and holiday market
• iii) Week - calendar week; attendance at market for a week means attendance at Saturday market, or Wednesday market, or both
• iv) Market Season - all of the market days that occur within a single calendar year
• v) Assigned space - a vendor space that has been awarded to a vendor at the beginning of the year based on vendor participation in the market in previous years
• vi) Permanent space - assigned space available to a vendor throughout a given season
• vii) Unassigned spaced - a vendor space that has not been awarded to any vendor
• viii) Permanent vendor - a market member who has been awarded an assigned space
• ix) Floater - a market member who has not been awarded a permanent space. Floaters may occupy unassigned spaces or assigned spaces not occupied by the permanent vendor at the discretion of the market manager. Floaters are not guaranteed a space to vend on any given market day.
• x) Seniority - the number of years of membership of the market member plus the number of market days attended by the market member the previous season
• b. SPACE ASSIGNMENT
• i.) A vendor must attend at least 20 weeks the previous market season and have paid in full for the entire previous market season in order to be awarded a permanent space for the current market season.
• ii.) Vendors who attended at least 20 weeks the previous market season and had an assigned space the previous market season may elect to retain that market space.
• iii.) All vendor spaces not awarded to vendors meeting the above qualifications are considered unassigned spaces at the beginning of the market season.
• iv.) Unassigned spaces are awarded at the beginning of the market season to market members who participated in the market for at least 20 weeks the previous market season; market members will be given the opportunity to select a permanent space from among the unassigned spaces in the order of market member seniority. (NOTE: vendors vacating a permanent space from the previous year select spaces based on seniority with all of the other vendors).
• v.) all spaces not awarded in this process will be considered unassigned for the remainder of the market season.
• vi.) Priority for occupation of a market space is first the permanent vendor assigned to that space and second the market member who occupied the space the previous week.
• vii.) Floaters are not guaranteed a space to vend on any given market day.
• viii.) In order to use more than one market space on a given day, a vendor must meet the following criteria:
• Perishable products get priority
• Attending at least 24 weeks the previous year & current year.
• Maximize capacity to display in both spaces
• The second space will rent at twice the rate of the first space (e.g.- $12 weekly for 1st space {out in the open} & $24 for 2nd space = $36 total weekly rent for two spaces in the lot)
• Members who meet the above second-space guidelines may apply to the Board, which will vote upon second space allocations on a case-by-case, year-by-year basis.
• For the 2012 season, all members with grandfathered spaces in 2011 will be considered eligible to apply for a second space.
• ix.) Wednesday market spaces -Wednesday market spaces are unassigned unless reserved prior to the start of the Wednesday Market. A Permanent Vendor may choose to use their Assigned Space on Wednesdays, if their Assigned Space falls within the Wednesday Market area.

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• c. NOTIFICATION OF MARKET ABSENCE
• i.) Notifications must be given to the Market Manager by email using the email contact listed on the WCFM website or by voice mail left at 1-828-355-4918
• ii.) Permanent vendors who will not attend a Saturday market must notify the market manager by 5:00 p.m. on the Thursday preceding the market.
• iii.) Floaters who occupied a space the previous Saturday and, therefore, have priority to a space must notify the market manager if they intend not to attend the Saturday market by 5:00 p.m. on the Thursday preceding the market.
• iv.) Floaters attending a market for the first time or after an absence from the market of at least one Saturday are not required to contact the market manager, but it is advisable to do so to determine if there is available space.
• General provisions
• a. Each vendor will be limited to either a vehicle or trailer at their approved vendor space. Any additional vehicle must be parked offsite from the Horn or Daniel Boone Native Gardens lots. Vendor parking is allowed in the maintenance yard down the hill from the Horn. Vendors should not block access to the maintenance yard when parking there.
• b. Vendors are responsible for cleaning their spaces each time. Trash cans located in walkways are for customer use only.
• c. No pets are allowed at the market with the exception of service animals.
• d. Nothing is to be tied to the shed posts on a permanent basis or left tied or locked there between markets. No permanent modifications to vendor spaces are allowed.
• e. The manager, with a Board member present, has the right to ask any vendor who brings inferior quality items, persists in violating a rule, or behaves in a disruptive manner to leave the market.
• f. Vendors may not smoke in any vendor areas.
• g. The Market prohibits all public electronic displays and recorded sounds by vendors during Market hours.
• h. The Board must pre-approve the use of a generator by any WCFM member prior to the member bringing a generator to the Market.
• PENALTIES

Failure to comply with the above guidelines will result in substantial penalties:

• i) First violation – The manager will give a verbal warning to the vendor about the rule infraction, and ask the vendor to correct the situation immediately.
• ii) Second violation - written reminder and warning from the market manager
• iii) Third violation: Two week suspension from vending at the Market
• iv) Fourth Violation: Expulsion from the WCFM for the remainder of the year.
• 7. MEMBER FEEDBACK & COMMUNICATION TO THE WCFM BOARD

a. All suggestions, complaints, and comments must be presented in writing to the Board of Directors, signed by the member with their name, address and telephone number.