MARKET: County enforcing the rules
and kind of upset that it’s come to this.”
Deputy Agricultural Commissioner Nick Oliver said the county is just enforcing state rules for running a certified farmers market.
“The rules are not local rules; they are state rules,” Oliver said. “This program is only about facilitating (farmers’) direct sale to consumers of the product they grow.”
Robertson’s infractions have included:
In May 2015, she was cited for not including in her paperwork the variety of a winter squash she was selling.
In September 2015, while selling two kinds of kale, Robertson received a $50 fine for not including the variety of one of them in her paperwork.
In July 2016, she received her third ticket and a $151 fine for selling basil when it wasn’t listed in her paperwork. She said that was a computer error.
In May of this year, Robertson was fined $401 for selling varieties of live plants not listed on her certified producers certificate, though she had a nursery license.
In June, she was ticketed again – backdated for May – for allowing vendors to sell produce not listed on their certificates.
Robertson said the Sutter County Agriculture Department’s market inspector was harassing her, being extremely picky and being stricter on her than on other farmers.
She also said she was unaware that every variety of plant needed to be listed on her certified producers certificate.
Oliver said to sell at a certified farmers market, the department must first visit the farm to verify that the farmer is in fact growing the produce on their land. In this case, the department knows Robertson grows all of her own produce. The problem is one of paperwork, he said.
“The issue is that her certificate doesn’t list all these things. That’s the linchpin of the program,” Oliver said. “The goal in running this program is compliance at the lowest level of enforcement possible.”
He said issuing fines is “not a personal thing,” and is uncommon. He said most of the time the first “notice of violation” is all it takes to gain compliance. The department conducts inspections on farmers markets usually once a month, unless there is a violation that requires follow-up, he said.
Desiree Deen-Silva, manager of the Yuba City Certified Farmers Market on Saturdays at Townsquare Park, said the agricultural department has given her every resource needed to run the farmers market within state compliance.
“I don’t know if it’s a miscommunication or not understanding the basics of conducting and running a farmers market,” Deen-Silva said Monday, “(but) I’ve always been able to be assisted in the manner that was beneficial to the farmers market.”
Deen-Silva said, as a manager, it’s her responsibility to stay up-todate with state laws and requirements as well as ensuring that her vendors do the same. She said she has a copy of the state program’s manual, and passes out “load lists” to all of her vendors at the end of each market, to ensure she has a record of what they sell and how much.
“If you’re not complying to those rules and regulations, in all honesty, I believe you shouldn’t be running a farmers market,” Deen-Silva said. “You have to make sure whatever you’re doing at your business is complying with state laws.”
Oliver said the Saturday farmers market received one notice of violation (with no fine) earlier this month for a vendor selling a product that wasn’t listed on their certificate. During last market season, there was one other notice of violation issued.
“We have issued fines before for violations,” Oliver said. “But it’s not a common thing.”
To the claim that the department may be treating one farmers market differently than another, he said Robertson has had repeat paperwork violations that merit more action.
“My obligation is to run this program as the state lays it out,” Oliver said, “and that is to draw a straight line and not treat (Robertson) any different than anyone else.”