WHATCOM COUNTY MARKET

Whatcom County, Washington Farmers Market — Buy & Sell Local Crops Near You

🌽 Buy local in Whatcom County: fruit, vegetables, honey, baked goods, plants and livestock from people in Bellingham, Acme and Ferndale. Homemade jams, breads and honey are listed right next to fresh produce and seedlings. Posting an ad is free and sellers keep every dollar.

Farming in Whatcom County by the Numbers

Whatcom County has 1,582 farms on 102,886 acres (about 65 acres each). Together they sold $510.3 million of farm products in 2022, led by dairy (milk), fruit & nuts and nursery & greenhouse plants.

Orchards and vineyards here grow hazelnuts, apples and pears, and local fields produce potatoes, sweet corn, pumpkins and green beans. Beekeepers tend about 1,929 honey bee colonies.

231 farms in Whatcom County already sell straight to the public, about $4.6 million 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 Whatcom County

Livestock is part of daily life here: the 2022 farm census found 63,387 head of cattle, 14,452 egg-laying hens and 1,433 horses and ponies in Whatcom County. Grass-fed beef sold by the quarter or half is a common way ranchers sell direct.

About 2,938 people run or help run farms in Whatcom County, with an average age of 57. 44% of them are women. 186 are under 35 - the next generation of local growers. 34 farms earn money from agritourism - things like u-pick fields, pumpkin patches, farm stays and corn mazes.

Where Whatcom County stands out: it ranks #3 of 34 WA counties for egg-laying hens and #5 of 39 WA counties for number of farms.