National Farmers’ Market Week in Iowa

Jul 31, 2015

Week runs from August 2nd – August 8th

Earlier in July, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack declared that Sunday, August 2^nd to Saturday, August 8^th would be recognized as National Farmers’ Market Week to promote and thank farmers for their contributions to the communities and abroad.

Thank a farmer

Since his declaration, states including Virginia and Maryland have put together weeklong celebrations dedicated to farmers’ markets.

Iowa, the largest corn-producing state in the United States, will also recognize farmers’ markets during National Farmers’ Market Week.

“Farmers markets are a great place to find healthy and delicious Iowa grown fruits, vegetables, meats and other products,” Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey said. “National Farmers Market Week, and every week, is a great time to visit your local farmers market to support the vendors who are there and enjoy some of the great food grown in this state.”

During the week, the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Farmers Market Nutrition and Senior Farmers Market Nutrition programs will be highlighted. They provide eligible recipients in Iowa with checks that can be redeemed for fresh farmers’ market produce until October 31^st.

Iowa has more than 200 farmers’ markets and Secretary Northey is encouraging citizens to explore them by downloading the Iowa Farmers Market app, available for Apple and Android devices.

The app allows users to find the markets closest to them. They can then view its hours of operation, browse vendors, find contact information and leave reviews about their experiences at the market.

Be sure to check out the Farms.com Farmers’ Market Directory to find farmers’ markets in every state.

Video: Treating Sheep For Lice!

We are treating our sheep for lice today at Ewetopia Farms. The ewes and rams have been rubbing and scratching, plus their wool is looking patchy and ragged. Itchy sheep are usually sheep with lice. So, we ran the Suffolk and Dorset breeding groups through the chutes and treated them all. This treatment will have to be done again in two weeks to make sure any eggs that hatched are destroyed too. There was a lot of moving of sheep from pen to pen around the sheep barn but by all the hopping and skipping the sheep were doing, I think they enjoyed the day immensely! We hope you do too!