Meet the Farmers at Your Farmers Market

By Sandy K. Johnson, Extension Master Gardener 

When you meander through a farmers market, do you ever think about where that colorful cornucopia of vegetables and fruit comes from?

The first week of August is National Farmers Market Week (Aug. 3-9 in 2025), an opportunity to learn more about the actual farmers at your farmers market.

A century ago, there were 6.4 million farms in the United States. Today, there are 1.9 million farms. Of those, just 147,000 farms sell directly to consumers, most typically at farmers markets or farm stands.

These farmers range from small family farms to large-scale operations. Some are owned by immigrants; others by families that have farmed their land for generations. When you hand over your cash at a farmers market, it goes directly into the farmer’s pocket. When you buy at a retail grocery store, the farmer’s cut must be shared with numerous intermediaries and corporations hundreds of miles away. Every problem that besets urban gardeners affects these farmers too: extreme heat, torrential rains, pests, and disease. But in the farmers’ case, it affects their livelihood—it’s not just a hobby.

The direct-to-consumer farmers markets present city dwellers an opportunity to teach children and young people about where their food comes from. Sweet corn from the farmers markets is presented in the husk, picked the day before; in the stores, the corn is harvested many days earlier, and may be shucked and shrink-wrapped in plastic. Cherries are plucked from nearby tree branches the day before — not shipped from Washington or Oregon. The examples go on and on.

There are dozens of farmers markets in Arlington and Alexandria. At four of them, Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia offer weekly plant clinics — alongside the farmers.

Meet three of these farmers:

Spring Valley Farm and Orchard

First-generation farmers Eli and Misty Cook own Spring Valley Farm and Orchard near Augusta, West Virginia. For over 20 years they have built their operation to 800 acres, growing 350 acres of fruit and 450 acres of vegetables. They use methods familiar to the Extension Master Gardeners, such as integrated pest management, crop rotation, spreading compost on fields, and growing cover crops to enrich the soil.

Eli described the buildup to market day. “It’s all hands on deck,” he said. The day before—from daybreak through sunset—workers harvest the produce, clean it, package it, and move it to a cooled facility. At 2 a.m. on market day, the trucks are loaded for the 2.5 hour drive to Northern Virginia. At the market, the trucks are unloaded, tables set up, produce displayed—all before the market opens at 7 or 8 a.m. At the end of the market, leftover produce is given to local food banks.

His biggest challenge? “Climate change would be number one.” Last year brought drought; this spring they had 20+ inches of rain. “Everything is in extremes. Hailstorms, high winds. It’s unpredictable and costly and nerve-wracking,” Eli said.

Pleitez Produce Farm

Astrid and Alex Pleitez have operated Pleitez Produce Farm near King George, Virginia, since 2002. Astrid is from Mexico and Alex from El Salvador. They started with eight acres and now own 100 acres and lease 50 more. They also have 15 greenhouses so they can extend their season early and late. As their website says, the Pleitez family grows produce “from A to Z, asparagus to zucchini” for sale at 19 farmers markets in the DMV.

“We work real closely with our extension agent,” Astrid said. “We do a lot of best practices that the extension agent recommends,” such as crop rotation, cover crops, integrated pest management. “We want to do it right.”

Their biggest challenge? “Weather, weather, weather. We put everything in God’s hands, and it is what it is,” she said.

Astrid is grateful for customer support “because it’s hard. We work our butts off to try to feed America.”

Lopez Farm

Leonel and Carla Lopez have run Lopez Farm near Warsaw, Virginia, since 2004. They own 15 acres and rent another 10 where they grow fruits and vegetables. Leonel was born in Mexico and immigrated to work with his brother. With their three children, Leonel and Carla do all the labor involved in raising produce and driving it two hours to markets in Northern Virginia.

They try to accommodate customer requests. “People ask for different kinds of beans. Green beans, wax beans, purple beans. We changed for them,” Leonel said (his daughter interpreted).

“People should know we try to bring everything that is local to them, and the best quality. It’s coming from a small family-owned business,” he said.

And a final request from Astrid Pleitez: “Support us. If farmers stop farming, what are you going to eat? You can’t plant stuff in the concrete! Help your farmer out.”