Column: At the Farmers’ Market

Published 10:00 am Saturday, March 20, 2021

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With warmer temperatures and sunny Saturday mornings, you can guarantee that locals and visitors alike will be flocking downtown to the weekly Downtown Farmer’s Market along Broadway Street.

Each season, we all look forward to what delicacies the vendors bring to town to share with us.

From fresh garden tomatoes to bedecked wreaths to hang on your front door, you can find just about anything there.

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Over the spring and summer, we will get to know some of the regulars of the Downtown Farmer’s Market with the help of Eddie Burkes steering us along the way.

One of the hot items currently at the market are the gorgeous flats of strawberries that David Regan brings from Ponchatoula each week.

In addition to these seasonal delights, Regan brings the best their dairy farm in Liberty, Mississippi, (T&R Dairy Farm) has to offer.

Since 1968, Regan’s family-owned farm has processed grass-fed cattle for everything from milk to cheese and, of course, beef.

“My wife grew up on our farm raising cattle with her family, and I was in the dairy business before I met her,” Regan shared. “We’ve worked together for 32 years in this business.”

Weekly, the Regan’s travel throughout Mississippi and Louisiana to local farmers’ markets to showcase their array of homemade cheeses, milk, and butter.

“While my wife is in New Orleans each week for the different markets there, she will pick up fresh tomatoes and Brussels sprouts for us to have at the Natchez market on Saturdays.”

Of course, the famous Ponchatoula strawberries are picked up fresh each week and sold by the flat or pint.

“Since the pandemic started, we’ve noticed that people have gone from mainly buying our cheeses to focusing on the whole milk we process and sell,” Regan added.

“There was a milk shortage early on in the grocery stores, and we had milk to sell each week.”

I’ve heard from several local sources you can’t find a better chocolate milk than what T&R Dairy brings to town.

With his grandson in tow, Regan was busy early Saturday at the market selling Farmhouse Cheddar and Habanero cheese with a couple dozen flats of strawberries in between. Don’t worry, I left with a flat of strawberries, too.

Jennie Guido