Farmers and environmentalists are teaming up again for the fourth edition of Langley Eats Local this weekend.

On July 29, farmers, food processors and artisans will set up their tables at the Driediger Farms Market at 23823 72nd Ave.

The festival's goal is to celebrate Langley's vast swathe of agricultural land, and to allow residents of the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley to sample the things that are grown or raised right here.

"A lot of them are Langleybased, but not exclusively," said Stephanie Captein of the Langley Environmental Partners Society, which organizes the event.

There are bread and cheesemakers from Langley, edible native plants from the Cedar Rim Nursery, and also honey from Abbotsford and pork raised in Chilliwack, Captein said.

This is the first year the event has moved to a Sunday. So many local producers are active at Saturday-based farmers markets, that the switch was intended to help bring in some people who haven't participated before.

One of the newcomers is Milner Valley Cheese, made by the Smith family, sixth-generation farmers near Glover Road. One of their customers is associated with the festival and connected them with organizers.

Though the farm, located on Smith Crescent, has been around for some time, the cheese shop is just a year and a half old, said Marianne Smith.

"We're very small," she said. "It's just the family."

The family and about 66 milking goats, along with more than 100 kids born this year.

"We have a lot of goats," she said.

Smith had been making her own goat cheese for about 16 years for her family before she decided to turn it into a new business venture for the farm.

Now the farm makes all-natural handcrafted cheeses using pasteurized milk from a herd of long eared Nubian and alpine goats.

"We do everything here," Smith said, from the milking to the sales through a small shop on the farm itself.

The aged cheeses include specialty Milner jack cheese in plain, chili, and other flavours. There are also feta, chevre, and colby styles.

As more small and mediumsized family farms diversify and begin making farmgate products, more producers like the Smiths will be in future editions of Langley Eats Local.

The festival has been growing slowly in both the number of exhibitors and attendees, said Captein.

"I think it has been really well received by the community," said Captein.

Last year there were more than 1,200 attendees. This year, they will also have the opportunity to take part in some U-pick berry harvesting at Driediger's during the event.

The festival runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and admission is free.

mclaxton@langleyadvance.com