Getting too big for its roots?

In a world geared towards convenience and 24-hour shopping, farmers' markets might seem an anomaly. Open only for a few hours a week, they are crowded and have been known to have no eftpos facilities.

The globalised world gave us the freedom to eat berries in winter and snowpeas in summer, and the convenience of the one-stop shop made life easier for the time poor. But the rise of the supermarket saw producers squeezed dry, leading to the establishment of farmers markets.

In Canberra, the Capital Region Farmers Market opened first. Run by the Rotary Club of Hall at Exhibition Park, it provided a lifeline for many producers during the drought, also creating a outlet for new food entrepreneurs with a product to sell.

''I was talking to one of our bigger vegie growers last Saturday. He said, 'If I didn't have these markets to come to, I would not be on my farm any more, I would be gone,' '' committee member Tony Howard says. ''It's been a salvation for so many of these people.''

The Southside Farmers Markets in Phillip opened two years later in 2006, and both have grown exponentially. Each started with about a dozen stalls, a far cry from the 100-odd stalls now at the Exhibition Park farmers market each Saturday, which attracts about 8000 people on busy weekends, and 6000 in poor weather. Southside now has about 55 stalls, attracting about 2000 shoppers each Sunday morning.

But the markets have become so big and busy that it's no longer a bucolic experience. Instead it is a rush for a park and a Saturday squeeze through the crowds, with one stallholder grumbling recently about the tourist atmosphere that prevails at Exhibition Park.

The prospect of redevelopment of the Exhibition Park space with the advent of light rail also raises the question of whether the markets might have to relocate. While Howard isn't expecting that to happen any time soon, if at all, he says he has had a preliminary look a some ''interesting little pockets of land'' (which he wouldn't name). The key consideration would be somewhere that people could still get to easily, on bikes or on foot.

The Exhibition Park market has built its reputation in part on strict rules in regards to who is allowed to sell there. At one time they even set aside a shed for farmers to sell their produce direct, forcing people selling on behalf of a farmer into a separate area. The idea was to keep the connection between farmer and buyer as direct as possible. The two sheds are gone, but Howard says stallholders now must have a sign saying whether each item is produced by them or someone else.

There are also some restrictions on competition, but Howard insists it's only about balancing supply and demand.

''There's only so many

potatoes you can sell or so many muffins you can sell, so we try not to have a preponderance of one particular line, but we are very keen to have healthy competition,'' he says.

Stallholders pay a week-by-week fee of $65.

While the 45 to 55 age group makes up the bulk of shoppers, there is a new generation coming through, Howard says. ''There's been a filling of that younger demographic. It's still very strong in the top end, but there's a lot of young people - young couples, young executives and so forth - who are looking for that healthy food type operation and they seem very attracted to it.''

Jenny Whatman is one of the new breed. The 25-year-old photographer is a regular visitor to the Exhibition Park market.

''We pretty much do our weekly shop of vegetables and sometimes meat,'' she says. ''We prefer to buy from local people rather than just the big supermarkets. Generally we spend more than at the supermarket, but I think it's worth it.'' The attraction, she says, is knowing exactly where the produce has come from. ''Especially with meat … you actually get to talk to the farmers about how the [animals] are treated and what they're fed and things like that.''

The interaction with the farmers is a key point of difference for the markets. ''We try to ensure that the producer himself or herself or a very close member of the family is manning the stall at any time,'' Howard says. ''We think that's terribly important and the customers put a great value on that as well.''

With more awareness about food security, food miles and the increasing value placed on organic produce, being able to ask questions of the farmer directly helps decision making.

''There's a very high level of passion and commitment to fresh food - people like to know who's produced it and how,'' Southside Farmers Market owner Michelle van Wijk says.

''It's also about [knowing] whether your fruit and vegies have been grown with chemicals and things like that, too. And it's fresh. It lasts and it lasts, it's been picked one or two days beforehand and it tastes better.''

But last month, the Exhibition Park market came under fire from a stallholder complaining it had moved away from that core business, with too many people buying coffee and cakes and socialising, getting in the way of those wanting to do their shopping.

Organisers acknowledge there are big crowds, and there is definitely a social element to the shopping experience - it's rare to see a shopper without a friend or partner - but they say the notion that it's impacting sales is ridiculous.

''We know the day spend has not diminished at all, it's quite a substantial spend … it indicates people are not just buying one or two items and leaving, people are filling their grocery baskets, doing their weekly shop,'' Howard says.

Stallholder Peter O'Clery, a local olive grower who helped establish the market, says ''there would be easier places to go'' if you just want a coffee.

''I think it would be very hard to go in there, push your way through the car park, push your way through the crowd, get right down the far end, get yourself a cup of coffee, sit down, then leave. I don't think so!''

Whatman describes the market as ''crazy busy,'' so she goes later when the crowd has died down and doesn't stop for coffee.

Southside has a more relaxed feel, with fewer people shopping on Sunday morning, and a separate courtyard area to sit down and meet friends. But farmers markets are not ultimately about convenience, with their limited hours of operation.

''Markets are not for everybody, it's a pretty tough commitment,'' O'Clery says.

Many producers drive through the night to get to Canberra and set up for the early start, then drive home after four or five hours of selling. Some do it again for the Southside markets the next day, giving them ''another bite of the cherry''.

A downside for shoppers is that you can only buy what's in season, but Southside is trying to bring more people up to speed on seasonality, with a pocket guide showing what is in season.

''Customers get used to going to shops that have a whole range of everything all the time,'' van Wijk says.

''This way, customers can say, 'these are the things I'm likely to find at the market this week, what would I cook with those?' Rather than, 'here's a recipe, this is what I want to make tonight and I can't get those things at the market because it's totally out of season.' ''

Fleta Page is a staff reporter.