Our warm Louisville winter has lead to great news if you buy your produce at areas Farmers’ Markets. Crops are ripening earlier, so farmers are able to bring their product to the growing network of markets week ahead of schedule. Farmer David Snyder of Sunshine Farms in LaGrange opened two weeks before the Derby, around the time when the markets usually opens.  He was able to offer 15 or 16 early crops to offer, in contrast to the usual five or six crops a ready at opening. Other farmers were ready to go earlier too.

The food is not only available earlier, it may be tastier. According to U of K College of Agriculture extension horticulturalist John Strang, the sunny weather and cool night have led to “better tasting berries. “It doesn’t burn the sugars up, so they taste sweeter,” Strang said.

But, as Strang and others noted in the Courier Journal , they year has been challenging. Despite the early warm spells, later frosts interrupted the growing cycle. However, peaches, strawberries, leafy greens, and asparagus are making it to market earlier.

Farmers’ Markets are a big part of the Louisville food distribution scene, where people can not only buy fruits and vegetable but also baked goods, jellies, and meat. Shopping at markets introduces a personal element into buying food that is lost at many larger supermarkets. Many visitors come to the market as part of their routine and socialize with vendors and other buyers. Consumers like to talk to the farmer about how the animals were raised and treated before arriving at the market and about pesticides used.

Some markets like the Phoenix Hill Market NuLu market are also pick up points for Consumer Supported Agriculture (CSA) customers. Subscribers who paid at the beginning of the year received a weekly order of produce , eggs, and other things from May through October. Farmers save the best food for their regulars. The selection varies according to what is available and how well it grows.

Since the buy-local movement has moved to restaurants. Louisville diners can enjoy the early crops as well as individual shoppers. Grasshoppers Distribution, which markets and distributes food from local farmers, supplies local eateries who want to serve farm-to-table selection.

Here is a complete list of 2012 farmers’ markets in the Louisville area, complete with days and hours.

Pick up locations for Louisville CSA members.

Whether you want to eat out or cook in, locally grown ingredients are at your fingertips in Louisville. I’m Mollie Younger from the Younger Group where We Know Louisville. Give me a call and get started in buying or selling a home in today!