Farm Brigge connects farmers, eaters, farm workers and farmer's markets through an online platform full of educational resources and communication and marketing tools. Right now, there are thousands of farmers, farmer markets, eaters and more than 500 farmer's markets participating in this thriving online community. We recently had a chance to interview co-founder Troy Rice about the story behind Farm Brigge and its many angles. Thank you for joining our Business Allies program, Farm Brigge!

By Suzannah Schneider, Communications Manager and Certification Coordinator

We are overjoyed to announce that there are now over 100 markets listed in our Guide to Exceptional Markets (GEMs)!

In fact, the majority of states in the US now have markets listed in this highly selective roster!

We're proud to promote qualified GEMs markets around the country - including these five recently-added listings that helped us surpass 100:

GreenStar Cooperative in Ithaca, NY

Crossroads Farmers Market in Takoma Park, MD

Lake Saint Louis Farmers & Artists Market in Wentzville, MO

Memphis Farmers Market in Memphis, TN

Schenectady Greenmarket in Schenectady, NY

If you're new to the sparkling world of GEMs, let us introduce you: these are the farmers markets, coops, and independent grocers that have made a conscious effort to recognize and prefer the farmer vendors who verify their growing practices with a certification. In turn, Certified Naturally Grown qualifies, applauds, and rewards these markets that are building a better food system by encouraging ecological practices.

Find a listing of all the GEMs markets across the US and Canada here!

Our Guide has three tiers: Recognized, Preferred, and Required. Each tier offers exciting benefits for the markets that make the cut, including social media promotion, a free press release, a dedicated blog post, stacks of temporary tattoos, and more.

You're invited to check out the full benefits package. We're open and interested in other collaborations we can think up together!

Does your neighborhood market feature certified vendors?

If there's at least one CNG farmer, let us know!

We would be delighted if it qualifies, and will happily add it to our GEMs listing.

Farmers, you're especially invited to recommend your market for our GEMs guide! You'll be making sure your market gets as much promotion as possible with the help of the marketing perks that come with being listed in GEMs.

Just click the button below to #PitchYourMarket!

Upcoming GEMs Webinars

Want to learn more about our Guide to Exceptional Markets? Wondering if your market is a good fit?

Register for an upcoming GEMs webinar lead by CNG's Executive Director. The webinar will wrap up with a Q&A session.

Tuesday, February 11, 2020
1pm Eastern / noon Central / 10am Pacific
Click here to register

If this time don't work for you, register for future invitations here.

Top photo: Flowers from Whitton Farms at Memphis Farmers Market (L) and cabbage at Dodo Farms (top R) at Crossroads Farmers Market (bottom L) helped grow our GEMs guide to 100+ listings!

By Suzannah Schneider, Communications Manager and Certification Coordinator

Hub City Farmers Market, Spartanburg, South Carolina

A highly selective group of farmers markets in this country have made a conscious effort to recognize and prefer the farmer vendors who verify their growing practices with a certification. Certified Naturally Grown is extending our work by actively recognizing and promoting these markets for their role in going the extra mile to help build a more sustainable food system by encouraging ecological practices.

Specifically, we vet these markets to confirm they qualify, and then feature them in our three-tiered Guide to Exceptional Markets (GEMs).

We're proud to promote qualified GEMs markets around the country - including these five newly-listed markets in Alaska, Georgia, Indiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

Just click the button below to #PitchYourMarket!

Farmers and artisanal food producers can dramatically boost their online visibility by creating a free profile at Farmspread. This new online tool offers a robust farmers market management platform that also enables producers to thrive at famers markets and other direct-sales channels. With Farmspread’s advanced SEO - that's the fancy technical stuff that gets you noticed in online searches - vendors can be easily found by markets and consumers searching for foods grown within a particular locality or region. 

We are pleased to announce a new partnership with Farmspread, a comprehensive farmers market management platform, which will enable farmers to feature their Certified Naturally Grown (CNG) status on their Farmspread vendor profile page. 

Farmspread was created to promote direct sales of farm and artisan products while supporting the expansion of alternative food distribution channels such as farmers markets. Our partnership with Farmspread promises to boost the online presence of CNG producers who choose to participate, and introduce our certifications to many new local food enthusiasts and the farmers who feed them.