Are you a producer who sells produce at a Farmers' Market? Then you should get your Market Master to sign up for ISDA's Farmers' Market Cost Share Program. This program will reimburse your market 50% of the cost of advertising and promotional expenses up to $500.

To qualify for this funding your market needs to be listed in ISDA's Online AgriTourism & Farmers' Market Directory and any icons or images in your promotional and advertising pieces must be of specialty crops (i.e. fruits and vegetables) Simply fill out the application, and send ISDA copy's of your receipts along with examples of what your marketing items are (brochures, magnets, signs, etc.).

Funds for this program are provided through a previous years USDA's Specialty Crop Block Grant which is to be used to solely enhance the competitiveness of Specialty Crops.  Applications are funded on a first come first served basis, so please apply soon!

One of the things I enjoy about this time of year is going to local Farmers’ Markets. I enjoy seeing all the fresh produce and the farmers that grow it. Whatever I don’t grow in my own garden I try to pick up at the local Farmers’ Market. If you are searching for a Farmers’ Market in your area you should check out ISDA’s On-line Agritourism Directory. This directory lists local wineries and u-pick stands along with Farmers’ Markets by.

That all being said I wanted to remind everyone that ISDA has two grant programs available that can directly assist Farmers’ Markets and Producers of Specialty Crops.

The Specialty Crop Block Grant (SCBG) awards funds to organizations that will “solely” enhance the Specialty Crop Industry. Applications are due June 25th, 2010. For more information and details regarding this program please check out one of my previous posts about the SCBG

Secondly, ISDA offers the Farmers’ Market Cost Share Program. This program reimburses Farmers Markets for the cost of their advertising and promotional expenses up to $500.  This program runs through August 31st, 2010, however, funds are awarded on a first come first serve basis. More information and details regarding this program can be found in a previous blog post about the Farmers' Market Cost Share Program.

You can also check out ISDA's grant website for applicaitons for both of these programs plus a list of other various agriculture grants.