RAPIDES COUNTY MARKET

Rapides County, Louisiana Farmers Market — Buy & Sell Local Crops Near You

🌽 Buy local in Rapides County: fruit, vegetables, honey, baked goods, plants and livestock from people in Alexandria, Boyce and Chopin. Fruit, vegetables, cottage foods, plants, seeds and farm gear are all welcome. Posting an ad is free and sellers keep every dollar.

Farming in Rapides County by the Numbers

Rapides County has 754 farms on 191,242 acres (about 254 acres each). Together they sold $167.3 million of farm products in 2022, led by nursery & greenhouse plants, hay & other field crops and soybeans.

Orchards and vineyards here grow pecans, peaches and figs, and local fields produce watermelons, lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers. Beekeepers tend about 1,388 honey bee colonies.

17 farms in Rapides County already sell straight to the public, about $125,000 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 Rapides County

Out in the pastures and barnyards, Rapides County counts 17,708 head of cattle, 1,509 egg-laying hens and 859 horses and ponies. Grass-fed beef sold by the quarter or half is a common way ranchers sell direct.

About 1,264 people run or help run farms in Rapides County, with an average age of 58. 37% of them are women. 99 are under 35 - the next generation of local growers. 6 farms earn money from agritourism - things like u-pick fields, pumpkin patches, farm stays and corn mazes.

Where Rapides County stands out: it ranks #3 of 50 LA counties for honey bee colonies and #5 of 56 LA counties for goats.