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Though seeing the summer days slip by carries a little sadness, one of the prime benefits of August is fresh produce and other products that can be purchased -- often only a short time after being picked -- at the farmers markets that set up in area communities.
Most gardens or farms that cultivate fruits and vegetables are now far enough along in the season to have a wide variety available for sale. And many area communities, even in the Upper Peninsula, have regular days of the week or month when vendors gather with what they've grown this year.
Locally, the Downtown Iron Mountain Farmers & Artisans Market operates from 8 a.m. to noon every Saturday from June 6 to Oct. 10, offering 40 to 50 vendors in the parking lot at the corner of A and Iron Mountain streets, near the Dickinson County Library in downtown Iron Mountain.
Iron County has a Farmers & Artisans Market from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesdays alongside Mr. T's restaurant in Iron River and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays between CoVantage Credit Union and Winks Woods Gift Shop in Crystal Falls.
As this is National Farmers Market Week, people are encouraged to support these local vendors and recognize the important role farmers markets play in strengthening rural communities, creating new market opportunities for producers and connecting consumers with fresh, American-grown food.
"National Farmers Market Week is about celebrating the farmers and ranchers who produce the safest, highest-quality food in the world and making sure Americans have every opportunity to support them," U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins said in a news release. "Every purchase at a farmers market is an investment in American agriculture, our rural communities and our country's future. As we celebrate America's 250th year, I encourage every family to visit their local farmers market, meet the producers who feed our nation and experience firsthand the pride, tradition and hard work that make American agriculture the greatest in the world."
Rollins' proclamation recognizes farmers markets as an essential part of American agriculture, creating new market opportunities for farmers and ranchers while helping consumers better understand where their food comes from. Farmers markets strengthen local economies, support family farms and ranches and make it easier for families to purchase fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy products, baked goods and countless other products proudly grown and raised by American producers, the USDA states.
As USDA's flagship celebration of National Farmers Market Week, the Great American Farmers Market returned this year as part of USDA's exhibit at the Great American State Fair, bringing together farmers, ranchers and producers from across the country to showcase the diversity, abundance and excellence of American agriculture during America's 250th anniversary celebration.
Building on the success of last year's inaugural Great American Farmers Market in Washington, D.C., this year's event continued USDA's commitment to celebrating American producers and strengthening the connection between consumers and the people who grow, raise and produce our food.