Ayrshire Farmers Market defies the odds

Jul 10 2009 by Lisa Boyle

IT HAS weathered a storm or two in its 10 years.

But the Ayrshire Farmers’ Market is bigger and better than ever before.

The concept was almost none existent in Scotland in 1999.

And the industry was still recovering from the BSE crisis which crippled it three years earlier.

But John Scott – now Ayr MSP – and his late wife Charity, came up with a big idea and took just eight weeks to implement it.

A decade after the Ayrshire Farmers’ Market was born, it has survived the foot and mouth crisis and is flourishing in the worst recession in living memory.

Farmers who were struggling to keep their heads above water have now been able to expand their businesses.

And the Ayrshire people, who were cautious about buying meat after the BSE crisis, have total confidence in the farmers that they have face to face contact with.

John Scott MSP was bursting with pride as the farmers’ market celebrated 10 years on Saturday.

He said: “There's a huge sense of pride that we've reached our tenth anniversary, extraordinarily at the same time that the Scottish Parliament reached it's tenth anniversary.

“This was a concept that we established in 1999 and it's now spread across the whole of Scotland.

The Ayrshire Farmers’ Market operates from three sites, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr and there are between 80 and 90 farmers’ markets across the country.

"It's buoyant, people come out, they talk to their friends that they haven't seen and there's a feel good factor about it and that's how the farmers work."

Mr Scott explained why it the farmers market is a positive thing for the whole community.

He said: "People like to know where they are buying their food from, it was important to reconnect town with country following the BSE crisis.

“People are becoming more and more discerning about where they are buying their food from and if they can buy it from a local farmer at a reasonable price then that's what they want to do.

"It's win win for everyone. For our consumers who are buying local food, they have the confidence behind that local food and they have accountability and traceability behind it.

"It's great for town centres as well, shop keepers are very happy to have us here because we increase the footfall into the town.

"And for the farmers, they get the full retail value for what they sell."

Hundreds of people now turn out to the farmers’ market every month. It lives up to it's reputation for top quality products at reasonable prices.

And the selection is impressive. Beef, lamb, chicken, fish, eggs, cheese, jams and preserves and even soaperie is available at the bustling market.

Mr Scott was the founding chairman of the farmers’ market, but he has since handed over the reins to Anne Smillie who has been chairperson for the last two years.

Anne has high hopes for the future of the market.

She explained: "Agriculture has come through an awful lot of hard times. And that's all our sectors, whether it's chicken, beef, eggs, lamb, over the last 10 years it's peaks and troughs, good times and bads.

"The farmers’ market has helped us weather these bad times. So it's a proud day, everyone has done great.

"I hope we can grow from here, we do cover a broad spectrum of produce but I hope we can cover even more and inject some new blood into it."

The Ayrshire Farmers’ Market is held behind the Kyle Centre in Ayr's High Street on the first Saturday every month.

PROUD DAY: John Scott MSP founded the market.

BIG DAY: Shonaid Kay, treasurer, and Anne Smillie, chairman.

BUSINESS IS BOOMING: The happy stall holders.

ALL SMILES: Kate Dewar and John’s late wife Charity.