Downtown SLC Winter Farmers Market at the Rio Grande (and notes)

 The Winter Farmers Market at the historic Rio Grande building in Salt Lake is a vibrant place for local vendors to sell their products and gain exposure, and for prospecting customers to buy healthy, ethical, local and natural food. It is also the place where inmates and guards from the Salt Lake County Jail sell the produce from their prison garden program. In addition, food stamps are accepted at the Farmers Market, providing low-income households with an opportunity to acquire fresh, local produce. The Winter Market is in its second season, and is a recent extension of the Downtown Salt Lake City Farmers Market held at Pioneer Park from mid June to late October. The Winter Market runs every other Saturday from early November to the end of April. In all, there are about sixty vendors. Hefty competition exists to get a spot at the market. There are two sections at the Rio Grande: outside on the Portico are the fresh fruit and vegetable produce, meat, eggs, honey, micro-greens, preserves and food trucks, along with some miscellaneous ventures such as tamales and kombucha. Upstairs on the mezzanine are crafts, baked goods such as bread and cupcakes, and packaged and canned goods.

The Farmers Market is an important venue for growing the local food movement in Utah. Allison Everson of the Downtown Alliance is the Winter Market Manager. She said that the public's increased desire to turn to local food has also led to the prosperity of the market and success stories of many of its vendors:

“People are becoming more and more engaged on local food. And I think we're turning a corner back to a sustainable, local view. Is it better to get organic spinach that was grown by, you know, migrant workers that are treated horribly in California by a certified organic grower or is it better to come down and get it from one of our local farmers and maybe it's not certified organic but it's certainly no spray no pesticides used. So what's the trade-off there? You're looking at your carbon footprint, you're looking at social justice in a lot of ways, you're looking at freshness, you're looking at flavor, and you're looking at the local economy. Keeping more dollars in the local economy always is a good thing, so I think people are really starting to engage on those issues more and that drives their purchasing. We are a beneficiary of that.”

Despite mostly positive trends, there are some difficulties for local food producers and vendors. Many struggle to maintain costly and paperwork-riddled organic certifications, often eventually opting to simply be natural; essentially organic in practice without paying for the official certification. One of these such producers is farmer Julie Clifford of Clifford Family Farm in Provo. She produces pork, eggs, honey and salad greens. The farm was previously organic certified but the monetary and time cost of organic certification dragged the operation down. “It was just too much to keep getting certified. Even without the certification, we haven't changed anything about the way we farm. It's still completely organic.” Clifford said. However, she was able to overcome the lack of organic certification by building a loyal customer base and selling at the farmers market. “We have an open farm policy. Our clients are encouraged to come see the farm and the animals. They trust our product and know it's completely healthy and natural. No hormones, pesticides or herbicides. Good feed,” she said. Many other small farmers are also opting for this organic yet non-certified approach. The cheaper costs of production are passed on to the consumer. Julie's pack of four large tomato and basil sausages cost four dollars—the same if not slightly lower than the price of name brand sausages at Smith's, except local and organic in practice. Certified organic meat at the grocery stores is often considerably more expensive.

Clifford Family Farm almost went out of business when the government declared that their chickens and eggs were not properly inspected and could not be sold to restaurants or stores. The problem was that the government only provides inspections for farms with over 3,000 birds, and Clifford only had 1,500. “We were closed down for third-party sales. The big corporations have a hold on the market. It's not near as easy for small farms as it should be,” she said. Clifford has since increased her supply of birds to over 3,000 in order to be inspected, but she maintains that the system is still flawed. She used to also sell poultry but her chicken meat operation was shut down for similar reasons. She said there are only local butchers that will legally process her pork. The rules on chickens are different. “Thanks to our loyal local customer base and the Farmers Market we were able to survive and overcome the restrictions, and now we're doing much better.” Clifford said.

Economic issues have troubled several other vendors as well, causing them to scale back in one way or another. One of these vendors is Kit, whose Food Cartel food truck sells Korean and Vietnamese sandwiches and rice bowls. Previously, Kit had a food truck selling crepes on the University of Utah campus to students. However, he said that “the market just wasn't right for crepes. Students wanted bigger portions. More food for their buck.” With his crepe operation, Kit sourced 80% of his ingredients locally. “It just wasn't economical anymore. I wasn't making enough of a profit to survive,” he said. Adapting to the challenge, Kit developed a menu of fusion Asian cuisine, including such items as a Korean Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich on a Vietnamese Banh Mi roll. The new venture, Food Cartel, is doing better. However, he said he isn't currently able to get hardly any of his ingredients locally due to costs. Kit said he hopes to be able to acquire more local sources for his product if the business continues to do well.

Disregarding the frustrating yet relatively surmountable struggles of some vendors, the farmers market is a bustling, successful venture. It is a place where aspiring local entrepreneurs can get their start and gain a following. Everson said that many vendors got their start at the SLC Farmers Market and now have permanent selling locations of their own. An example of this is Mamachari Kombucha: “One lovely young lady in her 20's started making Kombucha, got passionate about a product, started giving it to her friends, started selling at the market, and now she's a permanent vendor with a storefront in Salt Lake,” said Everson. Among other successful returning vendors are a fresh apple cider presser and an Indian family specializing in gourmet cupcakes. There are also exciting strides being made in sustainability and food security. Everson mentioned one producer, Deseret Peak Aquatics, who grows kale while raising fish using aquaponics; the fish live in the water beneath the kale, fertilizing the water nutrients needed for growth. “It's very sustainable and easy to control. You can actually grow a lot, with almost no waste. Water isn't lost into the soil, and you don't have to worry about temperature gradients or frosts,” said Everson. On the food security and community outreach side, Green Urban Lunch Box makes jam and preserves from largely volunteer ran community farms, and donates 6 pounds of fruits and vegetables to local food banks for every 7 dollar purchase of jam at the farmers market, said GULB volunteer coordinator Aaron Porter.

The Winter Farmers Market and the Downtown Farmers Market are undoubtedly large influences for good in the local economy of Salt Lake City and the local food movement as a whole. Sustainable farming techniques are practiced by many of the vendors, producing healthy food in such a way that is not inhumane for animals or detrimental to the planet and topsoil like the industrial, mono-culture food system is. The growing support for local food in the Salt Lake area is quite encouraging. Vendors from as far north as Logan and nearly as far south as St. George flock to the market and reap the rewards of successful sales and a loyal following. Visitors of the market experience a feast of food, friendliness and art, including crafts, music and even (at one winter market earlier this year) ice carving. After a visit to either the Winter Market at the Rio Grande, one will walk away with a renewed sense of hope for the local food movement and the direction that the food system is headed, not to mention some delicious natural products. 

NOTES:

Winter Farmer's Market Field Trip Notes

The Winter Farmer's Market at the Rio Grande is in its 2nd season.

The Rio Grande is a beautiful, historic building. Great opening inside. Upstairs is mostly packaged and canned goods. Outside is mainly vegetable produce, meat, eggs, bread, honey, micro-greens, food trucks and miscellaneous goods such as Kombucha and tamales.

Allison Everson from the Downtown Alliance is the Winter Market Manager. They are having 13 markets this season, from November through April. Every other saturday 10 am to 2 pm.

One new grower, Deseret Peak Aquatics, grows Kale in water with fish in it. The fish are raised as the Kale is grown, fertilizing the plants naturally. Very sustainable. Easy to control. Can grow a lot. Almost no waste. Water isn't lost into soil. Don't have to worry about temperature gradients or frosts.

Growers all come within 250 miles of SLC. From Logan to almost Saint George. The Downtown Farmers market has been running for 20 years. The market turns far more people away than they would like to. At first, they had to convince people to come to the winter market. Sales have been good and sustained this year. Grass fed beef, sustainbly raised pork, local cheeses. Local food is growing.

“People are becoming more and more engaged on local food. That's gotta be the driving factor. People want to know where their food is coming from now more than ever. They want to know what's in their food more than ever, or more than in many decades since we started making franken-foods a part of our daily lives. And I think we're turning a corner back to a sustainable, local view. Is it better to get organic spinach that was grown by, you know, migrant workers that are treated horribly in California by a certified organic grower or is it better to come down and get it from one of our local farmers and maybe it's not certified organic but it's certainly no spray no pesticides used. So what's the trade-off there? You're looking at your carbon footprint, you're looking at social justice in a lot of ways, you're looking at freshness, you're looking at flavor, and you're looking at the local economy. Keeping more dollars in the local economy always is a good thing, so I think people are really starting to engage on those issues more and that drives their purchasing. We are a beneficiary of that.” -Alison Einerson

“Like everything, food is political. Not everyone looks at it that way. whether you look at it that way or not your decisions on where you buy your food are political decisions in a lot of ways and so I want people to think about it.”

Very competitive market. They have a lot of bakeries already so it's tight.

“One lovely young lady in her 20's started making Kombucha, got passionate about a product, started giving it to her friends, started selling at the market, and now she's a permanent vendor with a storefront in Salt Lake.”

“The Farmer's Market is a pretty big economic driver.” -Einerson

A lot of vendors got their start at the Farmer's Market and now have storefront locations of their own. Bring something new to the table and see if you can find an audience for it. Also lots of crafts and artisans. Food trucks. Jordan Riley makes fresh pressed apple cider on site. Buskers are allowed.

Had an ice carving festival. Park City Culinary institute came with a sushi demo and hearty winter soup instruction. CSA tribute. Pick the ones right for you.

Kit, owner of Food Cartel food truck. Used to sell Crepes up by the U and use over 80% local ingredients. “The market wasn't right for Crepes, the students up there were looking for bigger portions, so I started selling Korean food. Bigger portions.” “It was really nice when I was buying 80% local ingredients, but it's just not economical now.”

Inmates and guards from the Salt Lake County Jail sell their produce from their garden program at the market. It is a minimum security program for prisoners on good behavior. The prisoners absolutely love it.

A not-for-profit SLC organization, Green Urban Lunch Box, sells flavorful varieties of jam such as peach citrus and cherry jalapeno. The products are highly priced to divert resources to food banks. One 12 oz jar of preserves is about $7. “A purchase of 7 dollars gives 6 pounds of fruit and vegetables to a local food bank.” -Aaron Porter, volunteer coordinator. The organization began with mobile greenhouse aboard a converted schoolbus.

“The idea started with a college friend’s wishful desire to replace the concrete parking lot outside her college dorm with a small garden plot, which led to a discussion about how difficult it can be to grow one's own vegetables in an urban environment. Through some brainstorming, our ideas expanded from planting a garden in a small trailer to creating a large, mobile garden. We landed on the concept of cultivating vegetables inside a fully functional school bus.

We know a bus is not the most logical place to plant a garden; however not much about our current food system is logical. Growing food and transporting it across the country produces food that is tasteless, expensive and damaging to the environment. With the increasing cost of food (due in large part to the cost of transporting mass-produced vegetables), we feel the small initial expense of starting a garden supports the benefits of taste, cost savings, health, exercise, and a clean environment.
We understand, however, that growing food in a converted school bus will not solve the many problems in our current food system. We hope to use The Green Urban Lunch Box and all of our programs to educate and motivate individuals regarding issues related to food production and healthy eating.” (thegreenurbanlunchbox.com) 

In addition to the mobile greenhouse, the Green Urban Lunbox also has a community farm and orchard, as well as a back-farm program and fruit share program. The back-farm program connects individuals without enough land to garden with seniors who have open yard space for a garden where younger individuals can plant a garden. Many volunteers are involved in these programs. Food stamps are also accepted at the Farmer's Market, making it possible for low income households to get fresh, local produce.

Would I Want My Daughter To Marry A Farmer? (Post-Farm & Literature course)

Yes, I would.

More specifically, I would want my daughter to marry an urban farmer. With the changing climate and changing landscape of the food system, I predict that by the time my future daughter is of the age to marry urban farmer will not be such an uncommon occupation. There is a ridiculous abundance of under-utilized space on the roofs of buildings that can be even more fertile than rural land if techniques such as aquaponics are used. As I have mentioned in previous posts, aquaponics requires no soil and less water than conventional farming or gardening, but still manages to churn out huge sums of vegetables, fruit and fish. The high levels of Carbon Dioxide in cities are actually conducive to plant growth. This means that a well run aquaponic garden in the city using natural fish waste as fertilizer would yield more per plant than a conventional centralized farm in Iowa that uses synthetic fertilizers containing natural gas, then trucks its produce across the nation. Urban farmers will be key players in the transition to a sustainable modern world; one that does not shun modernity, opting instead to embrace it with a green hug.

If climate change has not turned most of the United States and Earth's arable land into desert by the time I have raise a daughter to wed, I would be alright with her marrying a traditional, rural farmer as well. They are hardworking folk who are close to the earth. However, I would prefer that he farm naturally and with sustainable practices. I would not want my daughter to marry a pesticide touting corn farmer with an enormous farm in the Midwest. For many such farmers, their time will have come and gone. And for good reason.

Would I Want My Daughter To Marry A Farmer? (Pre-Farm & Literature Course)

Would I want my daughter to marry a farmer?

Maybe. It would be quaint and enriching if they owned a diverse farm with a peaceful farmhouse where my wife and I could visit them. However, with the climate allegedly changing and the uncertain economic future of farming due to the variable yield of crops, I would put it this way:
I would not want my daughter to marry a farmer outright--it is not my heart's desire--but I would not discourage or deter her from doing so. Farmers are often hard working men not caught up in the blur of this modern life.

Film Review: To Make A Farm

Steven Suderman's To Make A Farm intimately exposes the relationship of five new small-scale
farmers with their land and animals as they attempt to make a healthy difference for their communities and environment by living off the land. Unlike other films such as Dirt, which advocate for the importance of sustainable agriculture, soil health and methods like small-scale farming; To Make A Farm actually shows the process of becoming a small-scale farmer and how it contributes to the community along with the environment. The many possible pitfalls and struggles—as well as simple pleasures and wholesome satisfactions—contained within the farming lifestyle are made apparent throughout the film.

The Canadian documentary's characters consist of two couples and one single man who manage three separate farms. None of them had ever farmed before they decided to enter small-scale agriculture for themselves. Suderman follows the fledgling farms of Leslie Moskovits and Jeff Boesch in Neustadt, Ontario, Tarrah Young and Nathan Carey (also in Neustadt), and Wes Huyghe in Minnedosa, Manitoba. At the beginning of the film, all of them are in various stages of establishment; Wes lives in a tent and plows his field for the first time at the making of the film, Tarrah has eight years of farming behind her but begins working on her farm full-time for the first year, while Leslie and Jeff bought their farm a few months before the film began.

Years before filming began, it was when Tarrah took an organic agriculture course on a whim
while studying environmental issues that she decided to become a farmer: “In this class, I was seeing
that these farmers were doing all these positive things for the environment, that they were seeing the
fruits of their labor so to speak and it just was like that and I just knew. Really I thought I would
dedicate my life to saving the world and I ended up farming,” (Benenson, 2010). Tarrah and Nathan
organically raise lamb, pigs, chickens and ducks for slaughter, as well as a few crops such as potatoes. Despite the end game of their business, they purposefully form strong bonds with their animals and insist on giving them the most enjoyable lives they can.

Meanwhile, Leslie and Jeff cultivate over a hundred varieties of vegetables and herbs. Customers pay them a lump sum at the beginning of the year in exchange for fresh produce when each crop is harvested. The couple has some heartbreaks with potassium deficiency in their soil, at one point having to destroy an entire crop of broccoli. However, they emerge triumphant thanks to the many varieties of crops that they produce, utilizing resilient polyculture instead of following the prevalent trend of modern mainstream monoculture (Alteiri, 2000). “Ecologically I think it makes a lot of sense to be diversified, and economically too. But still, you can really screw stuff up if you don't know what you're doing,” Tarrah says in the film (Benenson, 2010). The farmers all maintain that they are only beginning to experiment and improve from failure within a lifelong learning process.

A self-described rambler, Wes traveled and roamed the world for 10 years until he wound up on
a farm in the Yukon. He was inspired to return home to Manitoba and lay down roots. It is here that the documentary begins following him. “What I was looking for wasn't out there, necessarily, it was right here where I had left it long ago,” Wes says. Borrowing a few acres of land in his hometown, Wes plows his field for the first time and plants seeds. He initially encounters some difficulties such as running into town for water four times a day in the summer and dealing with pest insects, but he
eventually prevails for the season, selling his produce to the community after a newspaper article is
written about him. At the culmination of the season, he happily discovers a spring on his land to solve the water running issue.

In essence, the whole of To Make A Farm is an unassuming piece of work that really sheds light
on what it means to be a small-scale farmer. Practical and personal aspects of independent farm life are both exposed, giving viewers an idea of what it might take emotionally and physically to operate a farm. The film is shot with quaint, quiet cinematography to capture an overarching peace and beauty, despite the ups and downs of the narrative. Suderman's direction and questions are well placed, with the stories of all three farms flowing well in separate but similar tributaries. The camera work is not overly invasive or spectacular, but rather succeeds in cultivating a relaxed, simple tone. The film's budget was obviously low, but for a documentary of this sort, that's not a bad thing. The director really got to know the characters—in his narration he mentions that he often walked the fields with the farmers without his camera—which seems to have facilitated comfort and openness from the cast. Further, it appeared that only natural lighting was used. The interviews were all on-site, presumably utilizing only a camera-mounted microphone to collect audio. The soundtrack itself sounds very organic and rural, which fits the film seamlessly.

Themes explored are the fragility of crops and animals when antibiotics and pesticides aren't
used, as well as the payoff and greater quality of the crops and animals for not using such products. At one point in the movie, Tarrah's lambs and yewes appear to have caseous, a incurable bacterial disease. Upon their diagnosis by a local veterinarian, she breaks down into tears. Not only are her lambs part of her livelihood, she deeply cares about their health and welfare. “The outcome of these potatoes means a lot to me and the health of my animals means a lot and I think that's really exciting and I love the feeling of connection that's happening and it almost feels like something spiritual is happening in that yeah...I get tired, I get a bit stressed but I don't ever want to stop,” says Tarrah (Benenson, 2010). The connection between farmer and farm is further explored in the case of Leslie and Jeff. “Your farm is a reflection of who you are as farmers,” says Leslie. The pride and ownership that goes into each vegetable or animal among these farmers is huge, undoubtedly larger than the pride over a single piece of corn producer by a practitioner of mono-culture.

To Make a Farm does not teach the viewer how to start a farm of their own, but it does do a fair and proper job of presenting the life of a small-scale farmer. In the film, Wes says that in spite of his struggles, he really enjoyed learning from his mistakes and had a lot of fun along the way. Tarrah says when she started farming it felt like the start of her life. All of the new farmers in the film feel more drawn to the land after working it.

Works Cited

Altieri, Miguel A." Modern Agriculture: Ecological impacts and the possibilities for truly sustainable
farming." University of California, Berkeley. Division of Insect Biology. 2000.

Benenson, Bill, et al. "Dirt! The Movie." New York: Docurama Films, 2010.

Suderman, Steve, et al. "To Make a Farm." Winnipeg: Orangeville Road Pictures Ltd, 2011.

USU Extension Notes: Josh Dallin

University Extensions are fabulous resources for students and members of the community alike. On staff are many people who are specialists in certain fields of agriculture, gardening, raising livestock, youth outreach, and many others. No matter where you are, extension services are nearby. Every land grant university has them. In the words of Josh Dallin, they “fill the gap” between academic research and citizens with reliable wisdom that can be communicated to people seeking to learn and have the most success in their endeavors.

On the other side of academia, the world wide web provides a lot of information, although it is sometimes unclear or sketchy. That's where extension comes in. Instead of watching YouTube videos about which crops and vegetables to plant in a certain area (which may or may not exist), one can simply contact the extension office of the closest land grant university to them. Extensions are a fabulous tool for novices. Dallin gave an example of how long to light chicken coops in the winter in order for your chickens to continue producing eggs. Academic researchers studied the causes of chickens not laying as many eggs naturally through winter, but extension services actually will provide functional information and help laymen and farmers alike implement it.

I had heard of 4H but never been involved with it. I see now that it is a great tool for young people and might like to involve my future kids in it someday. I also had no idea extension services provided such great help to prospective cultivators of all things living and useful. More people should know about extensions so that they too can take advantage of such great resources.

Food: From Communal to Industrial...and Back?

In the early 20th century and before, most people lived near the farms that produced their food, or produced their food themselves. Many rural communities shared food, especially for use in folk traditions like shivaries. Neighbors would often borrow or simply take food from each other without hesitation or guilt (Kinkead 241). Throughout the 20th century, this phenomenon dissipated as urban centers grew and people flocked from rural areas to cities. The days of communal food systems passed as a select few conventional agriculture operations grew in scale while smaller operations died out.

Under this new system up until the 1990's, basic nutritional wisdom mostly consisted of eating vegetables and the proper proportions of protein, grains, dairy, etc. Some health food stores had popped up, but were a rare sight. The fuss over conventional versus natural or organic became more mainstream around the turn of the century. Founded in 1992, the Environmental Working Group puts out a “dirty dozen” list every year—the conventional fruits and vegetables sampled to contaminate the most pesticides. They also produce a “clean 15” list of conventional produce with low pesticides that they do not insist on buying organically. This and other efforts brought greater concern about the use of pesticides. More recently, a hot debate has also emerged over hormones and antibiotics used in animals. This has led to a rise in grass fed beef, free range chickens, and naturally raised pork, among others (Sinatra). The increasingly common reservations about conventional food have progressively altered the market. Many mainstream grocery stores such as Smith's now feature entire “organic” sections. Despite the higher cost of organic products, they have shown to be profitable because individuals are willing to pay for them.

Another facet of the changing landscape of food is the gluten-free trend. Initially a response to those diagnosed with Celiac disease, it has since grown into a huge movement. Many people now report a non-Celiac gluten sensitivity. There is some controversy over whether many people that don't need to are adapting gluten-free diets and become gluten intolerant as a result, while they weren't necessarily on the onset. Despite this, gluten-free also often has its own isle in grocery stores and supermarkets. By 2016, the gluten-free market is projected to acquire $15 billion in annual sales (Brody).

With these developments, both positive and controversial, the food system is coming full circle. There is a growing rejection of generic industrial produce and meat. People like knowing where their food comes from. They are favoring wholesome and natural over uniform, large and prepackaged. More individuals are becoming conscious of exactly what they are eating these days. While the days of communal food and shivaries have passed, the local food movement is gaining traction. Perhaps in a few decades we will be living similar lives to the rural Americans of centuries past, with rooftop gardens in cities instead of wide farms.

Brody, Jane E. “When Gluten Sensitivity Isn't Celiac Disease.” Well. The New York Times. 6 October 2014.

Kinkead, Joyce, Evelyn Funda and Lynne S. McNeill. Farm: A Multimodal Reader. Utah State University Department of English. Fountainhead Press, 2014.

Sinatra, Stephen. “Why is Grass-Fed Meat Better?” Heart MD Institute. 2015.

The Shifting Culture Surrounding Farm and Food

          Changes are occurring regarding the general ambiance and perception of farming. In the 1980's and 90's, the typical image of a farmer may have been one of a middle aged man with a mustache, white t-shirt, blue jeans, and John Deere hat riding an enormous tractor. In recent years, however, an old genre of farming, local farming, is reviving with new faces. These newcomers do not fit the stereotype of a gruff John Deere farmer at all. A traditional farmer might describe them as yuppies, hippies or hipsters, for that matter. They espouse things such as grass fed beef, free range chickens, craft beer, heirloom tomatoes; anything wholesome and natural. In the past few decades, many small family farms have died off and given way to large machinated corporate farms. The void left by these small farms is being replaced by this younger generation, many of whom are first time farmers that do not come from farming families. Nationally, the amount of U.S. farmers under the age of 35 has raised by 1.5% (Sutton). 

          With rising dissent toward GMO factory farms, Americans are turning increasingly toward smaller, local farms. In an interview with SLUG magazine, SLC Winter Farmers Market manager Alison Einerson said, “People are becoming more and more engaged on local food. They want to know where their food is coming from now more than ever. They want to know what's in their food more than ever, or more than in many decades since we started making frankenfoods a part of our daily lives. We're turning a corner back to a sustainable, local view.” This increased awareness of food sources accompanies the increased tally of new local farms.

          A phenomena of this shift is that many of these new farmers growing natural food are entering the field with the pursuit of ideals as their main motive, with little worry about the profitability or lack thereof in the business as long as they get by. “This is an idealistic crowd; nobody says that they're doing it to make money. Some describe their farming as a kind of protest against the idea that success means a big paycheck, or as a protest against an economy dominated by big corporations,” reported Dan Charles for NPR. Many are activists who see producing healthy food grown in sustainable ways as the most tangible way they can actually contribute. One farmer Charles interviewed, Ben Shute of Tivoli, New York, said: “It's all well and good—and important—to have political opinions, and protest, and things like that. But when you're farming, you get to live your values, and farm the world that you want to see.”

The gentle migration of city kids to small farms has created a niche culture. Farmers markets are hip places to be these days, with young folk sporting horn rimmed glasses, piercings and tattoos flock to peruse the produce. New small farming operations often merge traditional, natural methods of farming with modern technology by using social media to display their produce. Maintaining artsy, earthy Instagram accounts and Facebook pages helps grow a fertile following for farmers as they grow their produce.

“Latin American Restaurants & Winter Farmers Market.”SLUG Soundwaves: SLUG Magazine's Official Podcast. Episode #191. 5 March 2015

Charles, Dan. "Who Are The Young Farmers Of 'Generation Organic'? The Salt. National Public Radio. 12 Dec 2011.

Sutton, Deborah. “Farming: A hipster career for the younger generation.” Deseret News National. 8 January 2015.