CLEVELAND COUNTY MARKET

Cleveland County, North Carolina Farmers Market — Buy & Sell Local Crops Near You

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

Farming in Cleveland County by the Numbers

Cleveland County has 872 farms on 104,633 acres (about 120 acres each). Together they sold $214.6 million of farm products in 2022, led by poultry & eggs, cattle and soybeans.

Orchards and vineyards here grow peaches, grapes and apples, and local fields produce sweet corn, squash, watermelons and tomatoes. Beekeepers tend about 393 honey bee colonies.

66 farms in Cleveland County already sell straight to the public, about $488,000 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 Cleveland County

Livestock is part of daily life here: the 2022 farm census found 58,461 egg-laying hens, 21,062 head of cattle and 1,879 sheep in Cleveland County. Fresh farm eggs are one of the easiest things to buy and sell locally.

About 1,462 people run or help run farms in Cleveland County, with an average age of 58. 37% of them are women. 103 are under 35 - the next generation of local growers. 12 farms earn money from agritourism - things like u-pick fields, pumpkin patches, farm stays and corn mazes.

Where Cleveland County stands out: it ranks #10 of 100 NC counties for number of farms and #11 of 92 NC counties for goats.