Dustin Vande Hoef
Communications Director
515/281-3375 or 515/326-1616 (cell)
or Dustin.VandeHoef@IowaAgriculture.gov
DES MOINES – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey will visit the Noelridge Farmers Market in Cedar Rapids on Wednesday, August 4 to help celebrate “National Farmers Market Week,” which runs from August 1-7.
Iowa is a national leader in the number of farmers markets with more than 220 markets registered with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.
Who: Bill Northey, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture
Where: Noelridge Farmers Market, corner of Collins Rd and Council St., NE
When: Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2010, 4:00 p.m.
What: Visit to Farmers Market in Celebration of “National Farmers Market Week”
How: For more information please contact Dustin Vande Hoef with the Iowa Department of Agriculture at 515-281-3375 or 515-326-1616 (cell).
The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship has an online directory of Farmers Markets that Iowans can use to locate a market near them. The directory can be found on the Department’s website at www.IowaAgriculture.gov and then click on the “Find Iowa Products” on the top right of the page. Then they can click on the “Farmers Market Directory” link to search for markets by name, city or county.
A comprehensive survey of Iowa farmers markets in 2009 that showed that the markets have a real impact on Iowa’s economy. The survey showed that they had an estimated $59.4 million in direct and indirect sales and an additional $12.2 million of personal income effects in 2009. It also showed that 374 direct jobs and over 200 indirect jobs could be attributed to the activities of farmers markets. The report also shows that farmers markets had $38.4 million in sales in 2009 based on consumer reports, which was an increase from $20 million in 2004.
Northey is inviting Iowans to join him in visiting the farmers markets throughout the state this week and going into fall when many of the great, locally grown products are available.
