Georgia Names Ten Spotlight Farmers Markets in 2026 Campaign

Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler J Harper on Thursday launched “Meet Me at the Market,” a new statewide marketing campaign naming ten farmers markets as 2026 Spotlight Markets. It’s the first unified marketing effort of its kind under the Georgia Grown banner, and it runs through the state’s Department of Agriculture. The launch is timed to the height of peach and Vidalia onion season.

The June 18 announcement puts Georgia Grown signage, social media, themed “Market Days,” and communications support behind a curated list of markets. For shoppers, the practical effect is a single state-backed push to visit a market, and for growers, a chance to land in the official directory and be promoted alongside the state’s most recognized crops.

A Statewide Push to Put Spotlight Markets on the Map

“Meet Me at the Market” is the Department of Agriculture’s attempt to make Georgia’s sprawling farmers market network visible to consumers in one place. The campaign is built around a curated group of markets the agency will actively promote through the rest of 2026. It also makes a single official directory the starting point for shoppers and operators alike.

We’re excited to launch our 2026 Georgia Grown Farmers Market campaign, ‘Meet Me at the Market,’ highlighting Georgia Grown certified farmers markets in every corner of our state. With fresh produce like iconic Georgia peaches and world-famous Vidalia onions in season now, there’s no better time for Georgians to visit their local farmers market and support local agriculture.

Commissioner Harper said in the announcement, made from Atlanta on June 18, the same day the department published a related set of farmers market initiatives tied to National Farmers Market Week. To land on the directory, market operators must submit a completed Georgia Grown Farmers Market Registration Form, a step the agency is using to keep the listings curated.

It’s built to spotlight the unique offerings of each market, the announcement said, and to inspire consumers to shop locally. It also represents a new layer of state involvement in farmers market promotion, layered on top of the agency’s existing Georgia Grown marketing program. The four pieces of support are coordinated through that program. Shoppers will see the effects in the form of in-market signage, social media pushes, and themed events keyed to the season’s produce.

The Spotlight Markets, From Atlanta to Waycross

The spotlight markets picked for 2026 stretch from the mountains of North Georgia to the wiregrass region near the Florida line. Atlanta hosts the most slots on the Spotlight Markets list, with the rest scattered across rural northwest Georgia, the coastal plain around Savannah, and the southwest corner near the Alabama state line.

The West Georgia Farmers Cooperative, the final entry, is the only one of the Spotlight Markets the state is promoting as a single multi-city operation. Its footprint covers three neighboring towns in west Georgia: Columbus, LaGrange, and West Point. The full list of 2026 Spotlight Markets is published on the state’s June 18 campaign announcement, where operators can also find the registration form link.

Four Concrete Pieces of the Rollout

Beyond the announcement, the rollout is built on four pieces, each handled by the Georgia Grown program, the marketing arm of the Department of Agriculture. The state will distribute signage to participating markets. It will run social media promotions for each spotlight market. It will schedule themed “Market Days” and provide communications support to operators running the markets.

• Georgia Grown signage distributed to participating markets
• Social media promotions for each spotlight market
• Themed “Market Days” tied to seasonal crops
• Communications support for operators running the markets

The campaign is a marketing and visibility push, not a new subsidy or direct-payment program for growers. The Georgia Grown program has built awareness of over 90% among Georgia residents, with 70% reporting they have seen the label on a product, and nearly 70% awareness among Southeastern consumers, with 40% reporting they have seen the label, the same analysis found. The new campaign puts that awareness to work for farmers markets specifically.

The campaign lands as the agency is looking for new ways to convert awareness into foot traffic. Shoppers are already looking for fresh, local produce at this time of year. The spotlight markets are a small, visible part of that strategy, designed to be the campaign’s public face through the 2026 season.

Why the Campaign Launches at Peak Season

The timing of the launch is deliberate. Late June opens the run of two of the state’s most recognized crop seasons: Georgia peaches and Vidalia onions, a sweet onion grown in a 20-county region of southeast Georgia.

Vidalia onions are in season only from late spring through early summer, a narrow window the Department of Agriculture is using to drive urgency. The agency’s pitch to consumers is simple: come now, while the produce is at its peak. Putting the campaign launch at the start of those seasons gives the spotlight markets a built-in reason to drive foot traffic.

The Larger Market Behind the Marketing Push

Farmers markets are a small slice of a much larger state industry, and that industry has the size to back a state-funded marketing push. In 2023, Georgia’s agricultural industry generated a farm gate value of $17.6 billion, with a total economic impact of $91.4 billion across Georgia and neighboring states, according to the University of Georgia’s 2023 farm economy analysis.

The same report, written by Ben Campbell, a professor and Extension specialist in UGA’s Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, put total direct and indirect employment from the industry at over 381,000 Georgians. It also found that Georgia Grown’s promotional campaign has built over 90% awareness among Georgia residents, with 70% reporting they have seen the label on a product. Awareness among Southeastern consumers runs at nearly 70%, with 40% reporting they have seen the label.

• Farm gate value (2023): $17.6 billion
• Total economic impact (2023): $91.4 billion
• Direct and indirect jobs: over 381,000 Georgians
• Georgia Grown awareness in Georgia: over 90% (70% have seen the label on a product)
• Spotlight Markets selected for 2026: ten

Poultry, particularly broilers and eggs, is the largest commodity sector in Georgia, accounting for roughly 38% of total farm gate value. Farmers markets are a small share of farm-gate dollars compared to poultry, row crops, and timber. But they are a high-margin channel for the produce side of the state, which is why the agency is choosing them as the next thing to put in front of consumers. The campaign is built to convert awareness into foot traffic at a moment when shoppers are already looking for fresh, local produce.

The full list of Spotlight Markets, and the campaign materials, are now live on the state’s directory. The directory is the single entry point for both consumers and operators. It is the practical handshake between the campaign’s marketing push and the markets themselves.

Georgia Agriculture Is Under Pressure This Year

The launch lands in a year in which Georgia agriculture has had to absorb significant shocks. Hurricane Helene caused an estimated $2.5 billion in damage to Georgia’s agricultural sector when it came through in 2023, a toll that has lingered in long-cycle crops like pecans, where recovery timelines now run past the working life of some older farmers, the UGA analysis found.

From 2020 to 2025, the H-2A adverse effect wage rate in Georgia rose 37%, squeezing margins in fruit and vegetable production and ornamental horticulture, the two sectors most exposed to the campaign’s audience. Input costs for fertilizer, fuel, and chemicals have risen by more than 70% in some cases since 2020, and although they have eased, they remain well above pre-2020 levels. Both pressures are part of why the agency is reaching for low-cost marketing tools, like a unified farmers market campaign, instead of new subsidies.

Finding a Market, and Listing One

The campaign’s main consumer tool is a searchable directory of Georgia Grown farmers markets, which is searchable by region. The directory is gated, and a market must have a current Georgia Grown Farmers Market Registration Form on file with the Department of Agriculture to be listed.

Market operators not on the directory can apply to be added through the same form, a step the agency is using to keep the listings curated. Shoppers can browse the Spotlight Markets directly on the state’s June 18 campaign announcement, where the full list was published. A related set of farmers market initiatives tied to National Farmers Market Week is on the department’s National Farmers Market Week release.

The campaign’s landing page is at georgiagrown.com, with the line “Tell a friend. Bring a neighbor. Meet Me at the Market.” It is a phrasing the state is using across its social channels as the season opens. For consumers, the practical starting point is the directory, and for operators, the starting point is the registration form. The full set of campaign materials is also on the directory, and the state is using it as a single coordination point for the whole 2026 season.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the “Meet Me at the Market” campaign?

It’s a 2026 Georgia Grown statewide marketing campaign run by the Georgia Department of Agriculture that names ten spotlight farmers markets. The campaign unifies those markets under a single promotional push that includes Georgia Grown signage, social media, themed “Market Days,” and communications support for each participating market.

Which regions do the spotlight markets cover?

The list runs from Dawsonville in the north Georgia mountains to Waycross in the south, with Atlanta hosting the largest cluster. Savannah is represented by Forsyth Farmers’ Market, and a single multi-city cooperative in west Georgia covers Columbus, LaGrange, and West Point. The West Georgia Farmers Cooperative is the only multi-city operation on the list.

Who is running the campaign?

The campaign is led by the Georgia Department of Agriculture through its Georgia Grown program. Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Harper announced the launch on June 18, 2026.

How do I find a farmers market near me?

The state runs a searchable directory at gagrownfarmersmarkets.com. The campaign landing page is at georgiagrown.com. Both list the Spotlight Markets along with other Georgia Grown certified markets across the state.