May 1, 2012

2012 Farm Bill to support farmers’ markets

If every Michigan household spent $10 more a year at a local farmers’ market, it would pump $40 million into Michigan agriculture, U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow told the Rotary Club of Kalamazoo on Monday.

Stabenow, who chairs the Senate Agriculture Committee, said farmers’ markets are particularly vital in southwest Michigan because of the diversity of locally grown produce.

The Kalamazoo Farmers Market open its season Saturday, at 1204 Bank St.

Stabenow said that a bipartisan federal farm bill produced by her committee includes money to expand farmers’ markets, including seed money to establish the markets and money to help publicize their locations and schedules. MLive

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