This past Saturday was the last day of the Floyd County Farmer’s Market 2012 season. It was cold and rainy as we put out the road side signs directing people to the market. In different surveys we took over the summer, we often heard that people remembered it was Farmer’s Market day because they saw the signs which were donated by Ruggles Sign Company in Lexington so putting them out was a labor of love, a five mile-keep myself in shape labor of love.
In addition to the roadside signs, the City of Prestonsburg in collaboration with Fairway Sign Company erected two billboards publicizing the Floyd County Farmer’s Market and the need for producers and Q95, a local radio station, gave the market on-air advertising at cost. Other groups or organizations who contributed to the success of the Farmer’s Market this year included Floyd County’s Extension Office, Ag Council, Soil Conservation District and Farm Bureau; Haywood Art; Appalachian Community Cancer Network; Appalachian Roots-Friends of the Market group; Community Farm Alliance; the Mt Tabor Benedictines; Darrell Patton Insurance; St Vincent Mission and of course Grow Appalachia.

I am writing this blog post to show the many different entities who will come together to make something good happen in our communities. And to encourage all of you who are trying to get something similar started in your area. This is the third year Todd Howard and his friends have run the Floyd County Market. This year the producers more than doubled the combined total sales of the last two years in only 13 weeks. And they are enthusiastic about next year. And I am looking forward to sleeping in on Saturdays-after Festival season that is. Peace. Sr. KC