"farmers market coalition" news and stories

With farmers' market season about hit primetime, a Wall Street Journal story sounded the alarm about farmers and others who purchase and resell products that are not theirs.

It seems the Wisconsin case the story focused on is more the exception than the rule. "You got to grow it to sell it. We do not allow resellers," said Michael Hurwitz, director of greenmarket for Grow NYC, which runs dozens of farmers' markets in New York City including the king-sized Union Square Market. "We are a very strict producer-only market."

Unless they're granted an exception – which would be for a product that's grown locally but not otherwise available at the market -- farmers not only must stick to what they grow, but they also have to be at their market booth a least 25 percent of the time and have someone intimately involved with farm production there for the rest.