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News Release
5-8-09
STATE AGRICULTURE COMMISSIONER DELIVERS $50,000
FOR FLATWOODS FARMERS’ MARKET CONSTRUCTION
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Braxton County businessman Greg Skidmore (center) receives a $50,000 check from West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture Gus R. Douglass and Deputy Commissioner of Agriculture Janet L. Fisher May 4 in front of the site of the year-round farmers' market to be built by Skidmore Development between the Flatwoods Outlet Mall and Wendy's Restaurant. Also pictured are Braxton County Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Tammy Dickens (far left) and Becky Skidmore (far right).
Click here to download the above photo in high-resolution.
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West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture Gus R. Douglass presented Braxton County businessman Greg Skidmore with a $50,000 check May 4, to formally kick off the Flatwoods Farmers’ Market project. Also participating in the ceremony were Deputy Commissioner of Agriculture Janet L. Fisher, Braxton County Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Tammy Dickens and Becky Skidmore.
The new market – to be built just off Interstate-79 near the entrance of the Flatwoods Factory Outlet Stores – is one of three to receive grants from the West Virginia Department of Agriculture (WVDA) to create year-round farmers’ markets.
“Seasonal markets provide great opportunities for both producers and consumers to benefit from locally-grown fruits and vegetables,” said Commissioner Douglass. “With year-round markets, local produce can be transformed into shelf-stable products and sold at higher prices than the raw ingredients.”
Small agribusinesses need farmers’ markets to sell their products because most of them cannot produce the immense volume required by most national grocery chains, he noted.
”Year-round markets create opportunities that would not otherwise exist for West Virginia’s small agribusinesses, which in turn create West Virginia-based jobs for West Virginia citizens,” said Commissioner Douglass.
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.
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.
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