PONTOTOC COUNTY MARKET

Pontotoc County, Mississippi Farmers Market — Buy & Sell Local Crops Near You

🌽 Pontotoc County has more backyard fruit trees and home gardens than anyone could eat from. Crop Market connects them with neighbors in Ecru, Pontotoc and and Toccopola. 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 Pontotoc County by the Numbers

Pontotoc County has 647 farms on 142,364 acres (about 220 acres each). Together they sold $34.9 million of farm products in 2022, led by soybeans, cotton and cattle.

Local fields produce sweet potatoes, okra, sweet corn and squash. Beekeepers tend about 398 honey bee colonies.

24 farms in Pontotoc County already sell straight to the public, about $115,000 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 Pontotoc County

Livestock is part of daily life here: the 2022 farm census found 12,888 head of cattle, 4,486 egg-laying hens and 1,118 horses and ponies in Pontotoc County. Grass-fed beef sold by the quarter or half is a common way ranchers sell direct.

About 1,032 people run or help run farms in Pontotoc County, with an average age of 59. 39% of them are women. 80 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 Pontotoc County stands out: it ranks #4 of 82 MS counties for number of farms and #6 of 73 MS counties for goats.