USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) and National Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) joined the Hope Farmers' Market this morning to provide hospitality to local farmers and market patrons. In addition to their spread of sweet treats and refreshments, this crew also had a plethora of information about the services offered by their respective groups.

FSA's Debbie Rosenbaum said she and her team were happy to join the market this morning. "At FSA, we represent the farmers and we're here to help these farmers in our area," Rosenbaum said. "We have programs that many of our local farmers don't know is available to them. So we brought information with an overview of our services to hopefully give them an idea of how we can help." More information about these programs can be found at https://www.farmers.gov/.

NRCS's James Reynolds concurred and added to that by saying, "At NRCS, we have cost-share and incentive programs to assist with conservation like season high tunnels, irrigation practices, or anything to do with animal waste. Anything that can make farming more efficient and help with the environment, like improving soil or air quality, are the types of services we have for local farmers." More about these programs can be found at https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/.

Also in attendance at the market today were Papa's Honey, the Mint Man, Young Sprouts, Reynolds Farm, Salinas Farms, Aunt Fern's Fried Pies, Silvey Farms, and Farm on the Hill. Arnold Farms was also on the scene today with what is now his prize-winning salsa. A first prize trophy and ribbon for Best Salsa won at Gateway Farmers Market recently was proudly displayed at his booth.

Next week's host for Hope Farmers' Market is Pafford Medical Services at the Hub in downtown Hope from 7am to 11am.