CALHOUN COUNTY MARKET

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

🌽 Calhoun County has more backyard fruit trees and home gardens than anyone could eat from. Crop Market connects them with neighbors in Battle Creek, Albion and East Leroy. 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 Calhoun County by the Numbers

Calhoun County has 898 farms on 204,143 acres (about 227 acres each). Together they sold $179.4 million of farm products in 2022, led by corn, soybeans and dairy (milk).

Orchards and vineyards here grow chestnuts, apples and peaches, and local fields produce squash, sweet corn, tomatoes and bell peppers. Beekeepers tend about 1,266 honey bee colonies.

85 farms in Calhoun County already sell straight to the public, about $677,000 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 Calhoun County

Out in the pastures and barnyards, Calhoun County counts 13,899 head of cattle, 8,086 egg-laying hens and 1,361 goats. Grass-fed beef sold by the quarter or half is a common way ranchers sell direct.

About 1,552 people run or help run farms in Calhoun County, with an average age of 56. 34% of them are women. 171 are under 35 - the next generation of local growers. 19 farms earn money from agritourism - things like u-pick fields, pumpkin patches, farm stays and corn mazes.

Where Calhoun County stands out: it ranks #1 of 76 MI counties for goats and #8 of 76 MI counties for egg-laying hens.