MARION COUNTY MARKET

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

🌽 From Bussey to Knoxville, Marion 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 Marion County by the Numbers

Marion County has 947 farms on 240,780 acres (about 254 acres each). Together they sold $154.3 million of farm products in 2022, led by corn, soybeans and cattle.

Orchards and vineyards here grow grapes and apples, and local fields produce watermelons, tomatoes, squash and rhubarb. Beekeepers tend about 134 honey bee colonies.

38 farms in Marion County already sell straight to the public, about $312,000 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 Marion County

Livestock is part of daily life here: the 2022 farm census found 23,549 hogs, 20,237 head of cattle and 2,631 egg-laying hens in Marion County.

About 1,645 people run or help run farms in Marion County, with an average age of 58. 36% of them are women. 155 are under 35 - the next generation of local growers. 7 farms earn money from agritourism - things like u-pick fields, pumpkin patches, farm stays and corn mazes.