It may seem a little late in other parts of the country, but the North Prairie Farmers' Markets open this week in select locations in northwestern North Dakota.

We're as excited as ever since this will be the fourth year North Prairie will have been in existance and just as pleased that three new communities have joined the mix.

Velva, which is a community southeast of Minot, will be the first market in the network to open and that is this coming Wednesday. Ilene and I should drop by to see how similar or different it is from our market in Carpio, which will also open on a Wednesday, but on July 16 at 5:30 so everyone stop by for some fresh produce or baked goods.

Perhaps the biggest change will be in our Minot market, which is moving to a new location this year. That market will begin Aug. 2 at 11 a.m., and will be held in the "ReStore" parking lot.

People outside the community won't know what that means, but what I can tell you is that it is on the busiest street in Minot so we should get some really good drive by sales.

We were satisfied working at the Parker Senior Center parking lot (last year), however, the board of directors of that agency wanted the Parker as a rider on our insurance. That would have been quite expensive and since some of our vendors are backyard gardeners, they would have backed out.

But, all's well that ends well. We secured the ReStore through negotiations with Minot's Downtown Association and the market will run about a month until the fall festivals kick in.

So, if you are looking for certified organic produce, stop by the ReStore parking lot on Saturday afternoons and look for the North Star Farms booth. We'll be marketing the only certiifed organic produce in western North Dakota.