The Georgia Marketing Act of 1981 states: “In making the determination of whether a market should be closed, the commissioner shall consider the need for the particular market from the standpoint of the marketing of agricultural products, the convenience of farmers and consumers, the cost of operating and maintaining the market, and other relevant factors. When a farmers market is closed by the commissioner, custody of the real property encompassing the farmers market may be transferred, with the approval of the Governor, from the department to the State Properties Commission by an executive order of the Governor.”

Many of the seasonal markets — Moultrie, Cairo and Albany — are not being used much, making the monetary returns for the state minimal, Black said.

“The state is actually making a little money on the one in Valdosta,” he said. “And we haven’t spent a lot of money on it. It’s just sitting there.”

“Farmers markets contribute about $3 to $5 million to the general fund from rental fees,” Coleman said. “Most of that comes from the Atlanta market.”

CARTER AND SONS PRODUCE

For more than 10 years the Carter family has operated Carter and Sons Produce on the southside of town.

The business is family owned, but the building is the property of the Georgia Department of Agriculture.

Carter and Sons opened in 1997, but the Carter family has sold produce out of the market for much longer.

Oscar Carter — the current owners’ grandfather — rented a stall and sold produce for more than 20 years in the market, said Matt Carter, co-owner.

Boasting a steady flow of traffic during the week and a packed parking lot on the weekends, the market, along with Farmer Brown’s, does brisk business throughout the year, he said.

Carter and Sons Produce, along with Farmer Brown’s and B.E. Guess and Sons Pecan Co., pay rent monthly to the state to use the buildings and make repairs and renovations to the building out of their own pocket, Carter said.

Farmers markets, in general, offer a larger variety of produce than supermarkets at a lower price, he said.

Carter and Sons Produce sells produce from farmers in Brooks, Echols and Cook counties, among others. This gives customers a fresher product than one that has been shipped from California or South America, Carter said.

Farmer Brown’s and Carter and Sons Produce provide vegetables and produce to area businesses and schools with mass product delivery and pickup, a service that would be turned over to supermarkets or corporate companies if the markets closed.