POLK COUNTY MARKET

Polk County, Florida Farmers Market — Buy & Sell Local Crops Near You

🌽 This is the Polk County page of Crop Market, a free online farmers market in Florida for Lakeland, Southside and Bradley. Watch for local strawberries when it comes into season in Florida. Posting an ad is free and sellers keep every dollar.

Farming in Polk County by the Numbers

Polk County has 2,197 farms on 559,699 acres (about 255 acres each). Together they sold $303.7 million of farm products in 2022, led by fruit & nuts, nursery & greenhouse plants and cattle.

Orchards and vineyards here grow oranges, tangerines and grapefruit, and local fields produce watermelons, cabbage, broccoli and green peas. Beekeepers tend about 18,562 honey bee colonies.

79 farms in Polk County already sell straight to the public, about $199,000 a year in direct sales. Crop Market gives them, and every backyard grower, a free way to reach more neighbors.

Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2022 Census of Agriculture.

Farm Life in Polk County

Polk County farms and homesteads keep 109,225 head of cattle, 1,757 goats and 1,631 horses and ponies. Grass-fed beef sold by the quarter or half is a common way ranchers sell direct.

About 3,825 people run or help run farms in Polk County, with an average age of 60. 38% of them are women. 250 are under 35 - the next generation of local growers. 14 farms earn money from agritourism - things like u-pick fields, pumpkin patches, farm stays and corn mazes.

Where Polk County stands out: it ranks #3 of 67 FL counties for number of farms and #3 of 61 FL counties for honey bee colonies.