Wanting to make it easier for farmers to add farm stands to their properties, Boulder County a couple of years ago embarked on a project to create a pre-approved farm stand design.

The hope was a pre-approved design would allow farmers to save time and money by skipping the traditional design and review process. But, as the county worked with an architect on a design to meet both its building code requirements and farmer needs, it soon became apparent that even a pre-approved option would be too expensive.

The pre-approved farm design came in at $30,000.

But Sabrina Torres, Boulder County’s sustainable agriculture community outreach planner, said a survey of 13 local farmers found the average they were willing to spend on a farm stand was only about $8,500. Based on the USDA’s most recent agricultural census in 2022, 86% of Boulder County’s 826 farms also made less than $26,000 a year.

“The cost became a major issue,” Torres said. “We said, ‘We have to rethink this.’ We want to encourage our farmers to sell food locally. We don’t want to create greater barriers to that. We really want to think creatively about a solution.”

Instead, based on farmer feedback, the county now is looking at allowing farmers to skip the building permit process altogether by amending its land use code to allow mobile farm stands.

Boulder County Planner Jack Sheehan said the land use code would be changed to add a more inclusive definition of agricultural structures that includes mobile farm stands. While the exact specifications haven’t been released yet, the proposal calls for a stand that’s on wheels and can be either driven or towed to another location. One option would be building a stand on a flat-bed trailer.

“The key is it needs to be vehicle based,” he said.County staff members want to have the code changes in place later this spring, allowing agricultural producers to use the provision for the upcoming season. If approved by the Planning Commission at its March 19 meeting, the proposal would be presented to the Boulder County commissioners in April.

“I’m excited for this to move forward,” Sheehan said. “I hope it encourages the younger generations. If you look at how ag has trended down in the county, we’re trying to do as much as we can so our ag producers who provide us with fresh, local food can continue to provide that.”

Michael Moss, who owns Kilt Farm on Oxford Road north of Niwot, was part of the discussions around the pre-permitted, permanent farm stand design. He called the idea “fantastic, but too expensive,” adding meeting Boulder County’s building code requirements can be an obstacle for building any structure. Even for a simple pole barn to park a tractor and store hay, he said, the codes require expensive materials and the permit process is lengthy.

“When a farmer needs something, they usually need it now,” he said. “We’re in a tight squeeze.”

A mobile farm stand, he said, makes more sense for many farmers, especially newer ones who may not have the manpower to sell at a farmers market. At his farm, he grows 50 different varieties of organic produce that he sells directly through a community-supported agriculture program, as well as to grocery stores and restaurants.

Occasionally, he said, he will set up a table to sell an overabundance of produce, such as when all his tomatoes ripen around the same time. But because he leases his property from Boulder County Open Space, he can’t build something more permanent.

A mobile farm stand would allow farmers to build a small scale stand, maybe on the back of a hay trailer, and set it up on the side of the road or a parking lot when it’s needed, he said.

“For my farm, all the people biking down the road may stop at a stand and throw some vegetables in their backpack,” he said. “You can have a pop-up farm stand that doesn’t break the bank. It would be a great experiment. Farms in the area could band together and say this day is our neighborhood farm stand day.”

Another supporter is Eric Knutson, who raises lambs at Wild Nectar Farm off Hygiene Road and is the president of the Flatirons Farmers Coalition. The coalition supports Boulder County farmers and ranchers in their first 10 years of operation.

“As we are starting up our operations, the hardest part is just getting the infrastructure going to grow the food,” he said. “Selling something is a whole ‘nother business, a whole ‘nother step. It’s a ton of work on top of a ton of work.”

The benefit of a farm stand, he said, is farmers and ranchers can engage directly with customers without needing to pack everything in coolers and sit at a booth all day at a market.

“The building code has made it really challenging to build something like that affordably, but a mobile stand is incredibly convenient,” he said. “We’re up against a lot in this industry. This initiative is a gesture to support local food and take a burden off local farmers and ranchers.”

Helen Skiba, the owner of Artemis Flower Farm, is supporting the mobile farm stands proposal based on her experience with a permanent farm stand that was already built on her leased property. Artemis shares 17 acres with two other farms and a tool library as part of the Treehouse Farm Collective, located between Boulder and Longmont off Colo. 119.

“I feel very fortunate to have that sales outlet with our farm stand,” she said. “People starting out usually don’t have that. Anything that makes it easier to be a farmer in Boulder County is awesome.”

Her farm stand offers electricity and a fridge, though she said it’s a little tricky to find for customers since it’s located in the back of the greenhouse. A mobile stand would have the advantage of being able to set up closer to the road, she said.

“Any way to get people to come to your land and experience your product, that’s huge,” she said. “It’s great for the public to meet their farmers and see where their produce is from. I’m just really grateful that the planning department is working on this stuff for us.”