News Releases

Home  |  Programs  |  Divisions  |  Links  |  About Us  |  Contact Us

General

West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture Gus R. Douglass will present the new Flatwoods Farmers’ Market with a $50,000 check Monday at 1:30 p.m. The ceremony will take place at the site of the new market, near the entrance of the Flatwoods Factory Outlet Stores, just off Interstate-79.

Afterward, Commissioner Douglass will meet with Custard Stand owners Dee and Angie Cowger at their new Flatwoods restaurant to talk with them about USDA-sponsored export preparedness training they have been receiving. That meeting will take place at approximately 2 p.m.

The farmers’ market project application notes that the “location is the undisputed center of retail sales for the region and will take advantage of well-established traffic patterns.” Traffic passing on I-79 exceeds 29,000 vehicles a day, it also notes.

Since the mid-1990s, the number of farmers’ markets in West Virginia has more than tripled. In 2008, there were more than 110 farmers’ markets and farm stands located throughout the state.

Farm demographics from the 2007 Census of Agriculture indicate that more farms are involved in direct marketing ventures. The Census showed an increase of more than 2,000 farms in the state over 2002, with most of the growth in farms of less than 150 acres. It also reported that the number of farms growing vegetables doubled in the same period. Acreage devoted to vegetable production jumped from approximately 1,700 to 2,200 acres.

For more information, contact WVDA Communications Officer Buddy Davidson at 304-541-5932.

The West Virginia Department of Agriculture protects plant, animal and human health through a variety of scientific, regulatory and consumer protection programs, as mandated by state law. The Commissioner of Agriculture is one of six statewide elected officials in West Virginia. Currently, Commissioner Gus R. Douglass is the longest-serving agriculture commissioner in the nation. For more information, visit www.wvagriculture.org.

Home  |  Programs  |  Divisions  |  Links  |  About Us  |  Contact Us

©2001, 2002 West Virginia Department of Agriculture, All Rights Reserved

Contact the Webmaster