A farmer’s market patron enjoys orange samples and talks to the booth vendor in San Francisco. (Photo: USDA/Gary Yost)The Agriculture Department released a new application programming interface that will give app developers direct access to market information from the department’s National Farmers Market Directory.
The new Farmers Market Directory API will build off a directory that gets nearly 2 million page views per year and is one of the department’s most popular consumer search engines.
The API was developed in-house and provides more than 7,800 farmers market listings for all 50 states. According to USDA, that means that apps developed with the new API will be able to give foodies and farmers market lovers everywhere more accurate and up-to-date information.
“USDA is committed to making our data more accessible to everyone—no matter where they are, no matter what the platform or device,” the agency wrote on its official blog. “USDA and [the Agricultural Marketing Service] will continue to listen to the consumers and developers who use it daily and their input will help map out our plans for the next set of updates.”
This will be the first API for AMS and supports the department’s work as part of the Digital Government Strategy as one of USDA’s API deliverables.
“We hope these efforts will open more doors for developers and the public to benefit from our datasets. We look forward to seeing new applications, mash-ups and uses for the Farmers Market Directory information,” the department said.
