U.S. Department of Agriculture Celebrating National Farmers Market Week, Aug. 1-7, 2021

Jul 30, 2021

In the proclamation, the Secretary noted that “…farmers markets serve as significant outlets for small-to-medium, new and beginning, socially disadvantaged, and veteran agricultural producers to market agricultural products, in turn generating revenue that supports the sustainability of family farms and the revitalization of rural communities nationwide…and farmers markets play a critical role in the Biden-Harris Administration’s Build Back Better Initiative by connecting producers and consumers to strengthen nutritional security, and contributing to a fair, competitive, distributed, and resilient food system.”

In a USDA blog, Betsy Rakola, Associate Deputy Administrator in the Transportation and Marketing Program at USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service, discussed findings from the 2019 National Farmers Market Managers survey.

According to the survey, there are more than 8,000 farmers markets across the country, and the farm-level benefits for farm vendors, include:

67% increased overall production
33% increased the number of workers employed on the farm
Nearly 40% were able to sell imperfect products that would otherwise go unsold
77% diversified the types of agricultural products they grew

In a second USDA blog, Christina Conell, Deputy Director in the Marketing Services Division at the AMS Transportation and Marketing Program, outlined the AMS resources available to support farmers markets, including grants, data, technical assistance and promotion through its free, online farmers market directory and other local and regional food directories.

Source : USDA

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.