(This is the first of a five-part series spotlighting businesses that earn their incomes from different kinds of agricultural retail ventures.)

NEEDHAM, Ind. — Jeremy Weaver, who grows 45 acres of produce, started with an acre of sweet corn in 1995. That makes the 32-year old a seasoned observer of a significant direct farm marketing trend: The rise of farmers’ markets nationwide.

He has seen how farmers’ markets, perhaps the most common entry point for those interested in retail agriculture, ebb and flow. “Some sellers leave, others come in,” said Weaver, who sells at the Franklin and Shelbyville, Ind., farmers’ markets. “It seems like there are only a couple other growers that have been around as long as me.”

As such markets picked up popularity, they served as an easy entry point for new farmers, gardeners and rural entrepreneurs sating the country’s growing appetite for more local produce. There were 2,410 farmers’ markets operating in the United States in 1996, according to the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service. That number has tripled, with 7,864 markets reported last year. Indiana is home to more than 160.

“Farmers’ markets remain popular, and we’re definitely still seeing a need for sellers,” said Roy Ballard, Hancock County extension educator and Indiana’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) state coordinator.

Farmers’ market vendors in the 1990s tended to be older growers who have since retired, or young growers, like Weaver, who have grown their enterprise into other market channels. He grows 2,200 acres of row crops with his father-in-law and 25 acres of sweet corn for wholesaling to a local label in Indianapolis.

That makes Weaver a typical example of the young farmers engaged in retail agriculture. Retail agriculture enterprises, including farmers’ market sales, frequently grow in concert with an area’s traditional farms, said Gary Matteson, vice president for Young Beginning and Small Farmer Programs and Outreach at the Farm Credit Council.

“Three years ago, I noticed that half the applicants for the American Farm Bureau’s Young Farmer and Rancher Award all had a retail component,” he said. “All those applicants were doing something different in addition to their row crops, livestock or whatever else was typical of conventional farms in their region.”

Many young farmers who started using farmers’ markets early, like Weaver, continue because of an inherent strength of the market channel: Reaching larger numbers of consumers at one location.

“It was so hot the last couple summers, people weren’t stopping by our roadside stands like they had been,” he said. “But at the farmers’ market, you are always guaranteed a crowd.” He said that caused him to refocus his retail efforts on the markets last year.

Weaver added the farmers’ market crowd comes with a cost that is not always realized by newer vendors.

“You have a lot of extra time packing and setting up for market,” he explained.

Some younger producers who start at farmers’ markets branch into other marketing channels, such as selling community supported agriculture subscriptions or shares, to reduce product marketing costs. Others establish their farm’s brand through a local farmers’ market, then focus on delivering larger quantities to local restaurants and specialty food stores.

The need for farmers’ market vendors can depend on location. In high-population affluent areas, higher prices at markets can result in long waiting lists for new vendors. This is likely the result of continued public demand for local and regional fare.

“If you think about the social networking and marketing skills of young farmers, it is no surprise that they have seen the opportunity provided by consumer demand and found ways to meet it through retail agriculture,” said Matteson.

Weaver plans to continue selling for his local markets, but has also spotted another niche that fits alongside his production. “We’re growing some barley and rye, double-cropped with pumpkins, to malt here at the farm,” he said. “Some of the Indiana microbreweries are interested in an all-Indiana product.”