Agriculture

Farmers markets on the rise

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports farmers markets increased 79 percent nationwide between 1994 and 2002, with more than 3,100 now operating.

The increase stems from consumer demand for produce that is both fresh and has origins easily traced, growers’ economic interests and efforts to revitalize community areas as gathering places, said Charlie Touchette, executive director of the North American Farmers’ Direct Marketing Assn. in Southampton, Mass.

Growers typically get 17 to 20 cents of each $1 a consumer spends on produce at a supermarket, Touchette said. Farmers markets are one way for growers to keep more of the dollar by also packaging, moving and marketing their products.

Lawrence’s Farmers Market is open from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays and from 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Saturdays in the 1000 block of Vermont Street.

Higher education

Business schools reporting fewer MBA applicants

After a golden era for the MBA degree, new figures show demand for the traditional, two-year Master’s of Business Administration program is slumping.

More than three-quarters of programs responding to a recent Graduate Management Admission Council survey reported their applications declined last year. More remarkably, 41 percent reported their applications were down more than 20 percent.

The GMAC, a business school organization, thinks total applications to business schools were flat or down only slightly. But that figure can be misleading because students can apply to many schools.

A better indication of student interest may be the GMAT, the standardized test for business school admission. As of June 30, 7 percent fewer GMAT tests had been taken compared with last year, and the figure is down more than 25 percent compared with the record year of 2002.