Philip Bump reports on new data out this week that shows the number of farmers markets increased by 10% in the past year.
Continuing an 18-year trend, the number of farmers markets registered with the U.S. Department of Agriculture [USDA] has risen to 7,864. In 1994, there
were 1,744, reports Tracie Cone, with the Associated Press.
As Bump notes, the continued double-digit growth in the number of markets is remarkable. "Normally, you'd expect this to drop quickly as the total number of
markets increases - it's easier to grow 50 percent from 10 stores
(requiring only five new ones) than it is from 1,000 stores (500 new
ones)."
According to Cone, California and New York are the far-and-away leaders in the total number of markets. "California, the country's top agricultural producing state, has 827
markets, according to the USDA. New York has 647, more than double the
next most prolific state, Massachusetts, which has 313."
FULL STORY: Number of farmers markets up almost 10 percent over the last year
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