BLACK HAWK COUNTY MARKET

Black Hawk County, Iowa Farmers Market — Buy & Sell Local Crops Near You

🌽 Black Hawk County has more backyard fruit trees and home gardens than anyone could eat from. Crop Market connects them with neighbors in Waterloo, Cedar Falls and Gilbertville. Iowa favorites like apples and pumpkins show up here when they're in season. Posting an ad is free and sellers keep every dollar.

Farming in Black Hawk County by the Numbers

Black Hawk County has 975 farms on 290,438 acres (about 298 acres each). Together they sold $451.6 million of farm products in 2022, led by corn, hogs and soybeans.

Orchards and vineyards here grow apples, and local fields produce sweet corn, pumpkins, tomatoes and bell peppers. Beekeepers tend about 234 honey bee colonies.

62 farms in Black Hawk County already sell straight to the public, about $833,000 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 Black Hawk County

Livestock is part of daily life here: the 2022 farm census found 343,932 hogs, 15,968 head of cattle and 1,994 egg-laying hens in Black Hawk County.

About 1,716 people run or help run farms in Black Hawk County, with an average age of 57. 33% of them are women. 184 are under 35 - the next generation of local growers. 2 farms earn money from agritourism - things like u-pick fields, pumpkin patches, farm stays and corn mazes.

Where Black Hawk County stands out: it ranks #8 of 95 IA counties for selling food straight to the public and #19 of 93 IA counties for honey bee colonies.