POLK COUNTY MARKET

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

🌽 Buy local in Polk County: fruit, vegetables, honey, baked goods, plants and livestock from people in Columbus, Mill Spring and and Tryon. North Carolina favorites like sweet potatoes and blueberries show up here when they're in season. Posting an ad is free and sellers keep every dollar.

Farming in Polk County by the Numbers

Polk County has 274 farms on 24,076 acres (about 88 acres each). Together they sold $6.8 million of farm products in 2022, led by hay & other field crops, cattle and fruit & nuts.

Orchards and vineyards here grow apples and pecans. Beekeepers tend about 135 honey bee colonies.

12 farms in Polk County already sell straight to the public, about $73,000 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 Polk County

Livestock is part of daily life here: the 2022 farm census found 2,670 head of cattle, 862 horses and ponies and 553 egg-laying hens in Polk County. Grass-fed beef sold by the quarter or half is a common way ranchers sell direct.

About 451 people run or help run farms in Polk County, with an average age of 61. 43% of them are women. 13 are under 35 - the next generation of local growers. 1 farm earns money from agritourism - things like u-pick fields, pumpkin patches, farm stays and corn mazes.