Business Opportunities Weblog

Farmers Markets Popping Up Like Weeds

By on August 8, 2011 in Ideas

Photo by NatalieMaynor

USA Today:

If it seems like farmers markets are popping up like weeds, it’s because they are. New data out from the U.S. Department of Agriculture show that more than 1,000 farmers markets have opened in the past year, up 17% from 2010.

The newly released 2011 National Farmers Market Directory shows a total of 7,175 farmers markets in the U.S. this summer, up from last year’s 6,132.

These markets allow farmers to sell their produce directly to consumers and often bring fresh fruits and vegetables into neighborhoods that lacked them.

According to the USDA, growth in farmers markets was biggest in states where they hadn’t been as popular before, with the two biggest being Alaska, up 46% and Texas, up 38%.

Photo by NatalieMaynor.

agriculture food

Business Opportunities Weblog editor and publisher Dane Carlson lives in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, just 15 miles from Yosemite National Park. He accidentally became a professional blogger in 2001. He has added 12,203 posts to the site.

Another Idea: How to Start a Farmer Of Fruits Or Vegetables Business

  • http://www.serialstartups.com Naomi Tapia

    This is so true! We have had two open up within driving distance in the past few months. I am hoping that this means there is a trend towards fresher, locally-sourced produce. This is a business trend that I can get excited about!

  • http://wahm.business-opportunities.biz Angela Shupe

    Good! They are a great way to buy fresh fruits and veggies. I just wish they were “sprouting” up around my area. I still have no clue where the closest farmers market is located.

  • Chris

    There is a farmers market every Tuesday two blocks away from my house! It’s great. I’ve never had better blueberries than the ones I get there. Also, I love the multi-colored eggs with dark yolks I get from a farmer who lets his chickens roam cage-free and eat bugs and all the things that are part of their natural diet. I really think they taste better than the ones I used to get from the grocery store! And one more new favorite food that I have rediscovered at a farmers market – fresh, local sweet potatoes. I love them.

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