LEA COUNTY MARKET

Lea County, New Mexico Farmers Market — Buy & Sell Local Crops Near You

🌽 Crop Market is a free online farmers market where neighbors in Caprock, Crossroads and Lovington buy and sell food they grew, baked or raised. New Mexico favorites like apples and pinto beans show up here when they're in season. Posting an ad is free and sellers keep every dollar.

Farming in Lea County by the Numbers

Lea County has 411 farms on 1,826,208 acres (about 4,443 acres each). Together they sold $259.3 million of farm products in 2022, led by dairy (milk), cattle and cotton.

Local fields produce chile peppers, squash and broccoli. Beekeepers tend about 9 honey bee colonies.

8 farms in Lea County already sell straight to the public, about $2,000 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 Lea County

Livestock is part of daily life here: the 2022 farm census found 100,315 head of cattle, 1,808 sheep and 1,688 egg-laying hens in Lea County. Grass-fed beef sold by the quarter or half is a common way ranchers sell direct.

About 747 people run or help run farms in Lea County, with an average age of 55. 40% of them are women. 109 are under 35 - the next generation of local growers. 3 farms earn money from agritourism - things like u-pick fields, pumpkin patches, farm stays and corn mazes.

Where Lea County stands out: it ranks #5 of 31 NM counties for total farm sales.