Champions for Health in the South

According to a recent report, Massachusetts, Hawaii and Vermont rank as the healthiest states in the nation. The bottom three? Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana. That’s not a surprise, says Jay Maddock, a professor of public health at Texas A&M University. In southern states, Americans are more likely to die prematurely from a wide variety of chronic conditions.…

Farm Service Agency County Committees slots available in Alabama

The FSA (Farm Service Agency) released a notice highlighting 47 counties in 17 states — including Baldwin, Escambia, Dallas or Monroe Counties in Alabama — that need an additional Socially Disadvantaged farmer to serve on the FSA County Committees to achieve fair representation for certain counties with high % of farmers of color/women. See https://www.fsa.usda.gov/Internet/FSA_Notice/ao_1696.pdf If you…

5 spots left available for the Salatin Seminar in Louisiana

Leverage the Strengths of Your Farmers Market

Plan to attend a one-day topic and development conference for farmers markets on Wednesday, March 7 in Salamanca! Registration begins at 9:15; workshops begin at 10 am. Lots of timely topics, excellent presenters, and loads of time for questions and group discussion. Contact Kimberly LaMendola for more details and to RSVP: klamendola@southerntierwest.org or 716-945-5301 x2211

Arkansas Farmers Market Promotion Program and the Arkansas Farmers Market Bag Program

The Arkansas Agriculture Department (AAD) and Farm Credit are partnering for the third annual Arkansas Farmers Market Promotion Program and the Arkansas Farmers Market Bag Program. These programs administered by the AAD help build awareness of farmers market locations and offerings and are funded by Farm Credit. CLICK HERE for an online application. They are…

Notes from the Wisconsin Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Conference

by Dar Wolnik, FMC Senior Researcher | darlene@farmersmarketcoalition.org In truth, my favorite farmers market conferences are those that also include solid tracks for farmers. Having both groups in one place, able to peek into various sessions and use the social time to hear from their peers usually on the other side of the table is…

Farmers Market Business Planning: Taking Your Market to the Next Level

Whether you are considering starting a farmers market, or have been operating one for 20 years, working through the exercise of creating (or updating) a business plan is useful. It will help you (and your stakeholders, such as board, volunteers, steering committee and/or sponsors) understand what role your farmers market plays in the community, whether…

Arkansas Farmers Market Association Annual Meeting  January 26, 2018

Arkansas Farmers Market Association Annual Meeting  January 26, 2018 9:00am – 3:00pm University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Headquarters 2301 S University Avenue  Little Rock, AR 72204 This year’s meeting will be unique in its focus on implementing numerous communication technologies to enable market managers to: Get to know each other Learn from one another’s successes and…

ASAN Food & Farm Forum: December 8-9, 2017 at Camp McDowell in Nauvoo, AL

  *Event details – http://asanonline.org/forum17 * *Registration – http://bit.ly/2zWVWKr * The ASAN Food & Farm Forum is the central annual gathering of ASAN’s statewide network of farmers, gardeners, community leaders, and good food advocates. Approximately 250 diverse participants from across the state will come together for a weekend of “cross-pollinating” and collaboration to build a more robust local food…

Farmers Market Metrics and Market Vendors

By Dar Wolnik, FMC Senior Researcher | darlene@farmersmarketcoalition.org (A version of this article was published in Growing For Markets August 2017 issue by Dar Wolnik. To subscribe, go to GFM online) Since the 1970s, farmers markets have been started by various groups in order to serve many purposes. The timeline below is arranged by the major…