CLAYTON COUNTY MARKET

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

🌽 Clayton County has more backyard fruit trees and home gardens than anyone could eat from. Crop Market connects them with neighbors in Edgewood, Elkader and Garnavillo. Watch for local apples when it comes into season in Iowa. It's free to post, there's no cut taken, and local farm food carries no sales tax.

Farming in Clayton County by the Numbers

Clayton County has 1,631 farms on 430,213 acres (about 264 acres each). Together they sold $522.5 million of farm products in 2022, led by corn, hogs and cattle.

Orchards and vineyards here grow apples, grapes and pears, and local fields produce pumpkins, sweet corn and squash. Beekeepers tend about 6,687 honey bee colonies.

44 farms in Clayton County already sell straight to the public, about $370,000 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 Clayton County

Livestock is part of daily life here: the 2022 farm census found 322,573 hogs, 69,297 head of cattle and 4,382 egg-laying hens in Clayton County.

About 3,004 people run or help run farms in Clayton County, with an average age of 58. 33% of them are women. 357 are under 35 - the next generation of local growers. 9 farms earn money from agritourism - things like u-pick fields, pumpkin patches, farm stays and corn mazes.

Where Clayton County stands out: it ranks #1 of 93 IA counties for honey bee colonies and #2 of 99 IA counties for number of farms.