MEADE COUNTY MARKET

Meade County, South Dakota Farmers Market — Buy & Sell Local Crops Near You

🌽 Buy local in Meade County: fruit, vegetables, honey, baked goods, plants and livestock from people in Black Hawk, Ellsworth Afb and Hereford. Watch for local honey when it comes into season in South Dakota. Posting an ad is free and sellers keep every dollar.

Farming in Meade County by the Numbers

Meade County has 797 farms on 2,217,742 acres (about 2,783 acres each). Together they sold $121.8 million of farm products in 2022, led by cattle, hay & other field crops and wheat.

Orchards and vineyards here grow grapes, plums and apples. Beekeepers tend about 4,682 honey bee colonies.

33 farms in Meade County already sell straight to the public, about $214,000 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 Meade County

Out in the pastures and barnyards, Meade County counts 132,866 head of cattle, 6,646 sheep and 2,854 horses and ponies. Grass-fed beef sold by the quarter or half is a common way ranchers sell direct.

About 1,502 people run or help run farms in Meade County, with an average age of 56. 38% of them are women. 203 are under 35 - the next generation of local growers. 13 farms earn money from agritourism - things like u-pick fields, pumpkin patches, farm stays and corn mazes.

Where Meade County stands out: it ranks #4 of 66 SD counties for number of farms and #2 of 29 SD counties for honey bee colonies.