Factors Influencing Tomato Prices at Tennessee Farmers' Markets

The number of farmers’ markets in the United States continue increasing but at a decreasing rate. Additionally, although the number of farms with direct to consumer (DTC) sales, including farmers’ markets sales, increased by about 6% between 2007 and 2012, DTC sales did not change in this same time period. For those vendors still using farmers’ markets as their main marketing channel, a better understanding on how to price their products could influence their likelihood of survival under a more competitive environment. The main purpose of this study is to identify the factors influencing prices at farmers’ markets, particularly Tennessee farmers’ markets prices. Specifically, we evaluated how factors such as weather, location, and consumer characteristics influence tomato prices at Tennessee farmers’ markets. The midrange of weekly per pound tomato prices at Tennessee farmers’ markets between 2013 and 2015, household characteristics, and weather information were used for this analysis. A random effects panel data regression was used to evaluate the factors influencing tomato prices at Tennessee farmers’ markets. Results suggest the factors influencing tomato prices at Tennessee farmers’ markets are potential customers’ age, household income, and seasonality