Winneshiek Farmers Market in Decorah celebrates Farmers Market Week

Vegetables sold by Eric Sessions Wednesday

This is National Farmers Market Week.  Vendors at the Winneshiek Farmers Market in Decorah on Wednesday spent the day doing what they usually do on Wednesday--selling fresh produce and other locally made goods to their customers.

Winneshiek Farmers Market Manager Steve Mc Cargar says there are usually around 25 vendors on Wednesdays and 30 on Saturdays.  Mc Cargar says the Saturday morning markets tend to have double the sales of the Wednesday afternoon markets.

A survey by the Iowa Agriculture Department showed the impact of farmers markets in Iowa has been growing in recent years.  Mc Cargar says that's certainly the case in Decorah, where traffic and sales have been increasing.

Vendor Eric Sessions says it's a far cry from the early days of the farmers market in Decorah (the market itself dates back to 1984, with the Farmers Market Association dating back to 1993).  Sessions remembers his first day as a vendor, when he sold radishes and spinach--and had a total of $12.95 in sales.

The interest (and the sales) has "definitely increased" since those days, says Sessions.  That's true not just in Decorah, but throughout Iowa--the state has seen the number of farmers markets increase by more than 75 percent in the last 15 years.