Weather issues and the unpredictable supply-and-demand cycle for fresh, locally grown produce have posed challenges for some growers in the Waco Farmers Market.

The farmers market is held Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. outside the Extraco Events Center, 4601 Bosque Blvd.

Mary Lightsey, of Mexia-based Lightsey Farms, said many of the growers have had fewer items to offer this year because drought caused delays in sowing the crops.

Ted and Emma Bianchi (left), of Waco, buy fresh produce from Mary Lightsey of Lightsey Farms at the Heart of Texas Farmers Market on Tuesday.
Duane A. Laverty / Waco Tribune-Herald

“We’re off to a really slow start this year,” Lightsey said. “A lot of us haven’t been able to put our crops in the ground.”

Lightsey was the only person selling at the market Thursday morning. She was offering buckets of peaches, plums and onions, among other produce.

She hoped to have some snap peas available in the next week, and tomatoes a week later.

She expects more growers to bring items today, traditionally the market’s busy day.

“Hopefully things will turn around (with the weather),” Lightsey said.

Joe Barrow, president of the farmers market, said there have been times when customers come to the market looking for items that aren’t available.

Usually, it’s a guessing game to gauge how much to bring at a time to avoid seeing precious produce go to waste.

“Sometimes they sell out early because they don’t bring enough, because you don’t know which day to bring a whole bunch and which day to not bring so much,” said Barrow, who operates a peach orchard in Mexia. “We don’t really have a way to preserve our stuff . . . so a lot stuff we bring back home and it’s so bad that we can’t sell it. A lot of it gets dumped.”

Barrow said the number of sellers at the market has dropped to about 20 from a peak of 50 in earlier years.

The market’s lineup includes fresh fruit.
Duane A. Laverty / Waco Tribune-Herald

Some of the growers may farm only part-time in addition to having full-time jobs, while others may operate at produce stands or other regional farmers markets throughout the week.

“For some farms, the parents died off and the kids said they ain’t farming,” Barrow said, laughing. “They like the steady paycheck every two weeks, but with farming, one year you could do real well, and the next year you don’t make anything.”

Despite the challenges, Barrow said he thinks the market has been able to adequately meet the needs of its customer base.

The group is looking toward its future expansion and finding a new home for the market.

The Extraco Events Center is raising funds to implement a $25 million renovation plan that includes more parking, additional horse stalls, a fourth show area and a new Exposition Hall that would connect to the main arena.

The center also wants to build a hotel on the grounds, a project that would take up the land where the farmers market is currently held.

“They don’t have the money yet, so until they start new construction, we’re going to be there,” Barrow said. “It’s not in the near future. We’ll probably be there another two or three years.”

rdennis@wacotrib.com

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