DAWES COUNTY MARKET

Dawes County, Nebraska Farmers Market — Buy & Sell Local Crops Near You

🌽 Looking for food grown in Dawes County? Backyard growers and small farms around Chadron, Crawford and and Whitney list it here. Homemade jams, breads and honey are listed right next to fresh produce and seedlings. It's free to post, there's no cut taken, and local farm food carries no sales tax.

Farming in Dawes County by the Numbers

Dawes County has 442 farms on 841,294 acres (about 1,903 acres each). Together they sold $78.2 million of farm products in 2022, led by cattle, corn and hay & other field crops.

14 farms in Dawes County already sell straight to the public, about $217,000 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 Dawes County

Livestock is part of daily life here: the 2022 farm census found 67,843 head of cattle, 3,424 sheep and 1,254 egg-laying hens in Dawes County. Grass-fed beef sold by the quarter or half is a common way ranchers sell direct.

About 816 people run or help run farms in Dawes County, with an average age of 59. 42% of them are women. 80 are under 35 - the next generation of local growers. 14 farms earn money from agritourism - things like u-pick fields, pumpkin patches, farm stays and corn mazes.

Where Dawes County stands out: it ranks #15 of 78 NE counties for egg-laying hens.