ALPENA COUNTY MARKET

Alpena County, Michigan Farmers Market — Buy & Sell Local Crops Near You

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

Farming in Alpena County by the Numbers

Alpena County has 305 farms on 58,825 acres (about 193 acres each). Together they sold $37.3 million of farm products in 2022, led by dairy (milk), hay & other field crops and soybeans.

Orchards and vineyards here grow apples, grapes and pears, and local fields produce pumpkins, sweet corn, carrots and onions. Beekeepers tend about 39 honey bee colonies.

36 farms in Alpena County already sell straight to the public, about $150,000 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 Alpena County

Livestock is part of daily life here: the 2022 farm census found 7,233 head of cattle, 3,263 egg-laying hens and 1,378 sheep in Alpena County. Grass-fed beef sold by the quarter or half is a common way ranchers sell direct.

About 530 people run or help run farms in Alpena County, with an average age of 57. 36% of them are women. 48 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.