Farmers of the farmers market celebrate year of growth

It's not often that the farmers of Jefferson County get to sit at a banquet of gourmet local food for $75 a plate.

In part, that's because there aren't many banquets made entirely of gourmet local food, though the Port Townsend Farmers Market third annual Harvest Dinner on Oct. 26 was certainly the exception.

But in part it's also because most farmers can't afford the $75. The growth of local farms and the ranks of farmers, marked by the rapid growth of the farmers market here, has not changed the economics of small farms. It's hard work through many hours through many cold months that produces a barely livable wage. That's the way it looks to longtime farmer Robert Greenway of Corona Farm.

"The success of the market truly rests on the farmers," he said, "and this is a raggedy, wily, persistent bunch, for the most part willing to work 60- to 70-hour weeks for a few bucks an hour." While many local farmers have been at it for years, others are new and bring new energy and skills to the fields. Among those new skills, said Greenway, are business models that "show them, rather harshly, just how hard they are working and how little they are compensated for it." There are exceptions, such as farms supported by family money or a strong legacy, he said.