CHICKASAW COUNTY MARKET

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

🌽 From Alta Vista to and New Hampton, Chickasaw County gardeners, small farms and home cooks post their extra harvest here for people nearby. Fruit, vegetables, cottage foods, plants, seeds and farm gear are all welcome. It's free to post, there's no cut taken, and local farm food carries no sales tax.

Farming in Chickasaw County by the Numbers

Chickasaw County has 1,009 farms on 273,833 acres (about 271 acres each). Together they sold $503.4 million of farm products in 2022, led by corn, hogs and soybeans.

Orchards and vineyards here grow apples, and local fields produce pumpkins, cantaloupes, sweet corn and potatoes. Beekeepers tend about 1,587 honey bee colonies.

16 farms in Chickasaw County already sell straight to the public, about $216,000 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 Chickasaw County

Livestock is part of daily life here: the 2022 farm census found 330,652 hogs, 33,446 head of cattle and 4,073 sheep in Chickasaw County.

About 1,750 people run or help run farms in Chickasaw County, with an average age of 56. 30% of them are women. 203 are under 35 - the next generation of local growers. 3 farms earn money from agritourism - things like u-pick fields, pumpkin patches, farm stays and corn mazes.

Where Chickasaw County stands out: it ranks #2 of 93 IA counties for honey bee colonies.