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By Lacie Pech, Realty with Lacie. Licensed Oregon real estate broker, born and raised in Central Oregon.
Part of my childhood was spent on a farm. Milk cows, meat cows, goats, chickens, ducks, and a garden that was not optional. I was moving irrigation lines and cutting hay before I could legally drive, although I did drive to plow.
So knowing who grows my food is not a trend thing for me. It is just how I grew up, and it is one of the parts of living here I have never wanted to give up.
Here is my honest list of the Central Oregon farms, ranches, and markets worth knowing, where I actually shop when the outdoor markets close, and what fall is really the season for. At the end I put the thing people ask me most as a broker, which is what to check before you buy a place with a little land and a big idea.
The short version
- Wednesdays are the Bend Farmers Market in Brooks Alley, 11am to 3pm, running through October 14 this year.
- Year round, Central Oregon Locavore at 1841 NE 3rd St in Bend is open seven days a week, 10am to 7pm, and Agricultural Connections delivers.
- Worth the drive: Rainshadow Organics between Sisters and Terrebonne, Root Down Acres on Erickson Road in Bend, and DD Ranch on Smith Rock Way in Terrebonne.
- Fall is the real season. Winter CSA shares, beef shares, and the November bulk buying market are how locals eat well in February.
- Thinking about acreage? Irrigation water rights do not automatically come with the land. Confirm the right, the district, and the acreage before you write an offer.
Where I actually shop when the outdoor markets are closed
This is the part most guides skip. Anyone can tell you to go to a farmers market in July. The trick is eating local in January.
Central Oregon Locavore
An indoor, nonprofit local food market. Produce, meat, eggs, cheese, and pantry goods, mostly from farms within a short drive of here. About 65 cents of every dollar you spend goes back to the producer, which is a very different split than a grocery store. They are also working on a westside location.
Agricultural Connections
Think of it as an online farmers market. You order from a lot of local farms in one cart, then pick up or have it delivered. This is the one I recommend to people who love the idea of shopping local and keep missing the market because of work or kid schedules.
The farmers markets, by day of the week
Dates shift a little every year, so check the market’s own page before you drive over. Here is how the 2026 season lines up.
Wednesday. Bend Farmers Market, Brooks Alley in downtown Bend, 11am to 3pm, May 6 through October 14. This is the big one and parking downtown at lunch is exactly what you think it is, so walk or bike if you can.
Saturday. NW Crossing Farmers Market, 10am to 2pm, running through September 26. Easy morning with kids, and it doubles as a neighborhood tour if you have been curious about that part of Bend.
Sunday. Sisters Farmers Market at Fir Street Park, 10am to 2pm, running into September. Smaller, and worth pairing with an actual reason to be in Sisters.
Friday. Redmond Farmers Market at Centennial Park, 3pm to 7pm, wrapping at the end of August. Elevation Market on South Highway 97 in Bend also runs Fridays from 3pm to 7pm later into fall.
Thursday. Sunriver Resort’s Farm Fresh Thursdays run 10am to 2pm through September 3, so there are only a couple left.
Farms and ranches worth knowing by name
Rainshadow Organics
Certified organic, and one of the few places around here doing a true full diet CSA, meaning vegetables, meat, dairy, honey, and grain from one farm. They also run a summer share, a winter share, and a raw milk herdshare, and they accept SNAP and Double Up Food Bucks, which matters more than most people realize.
Root Down Acres
Their own produce, eggs, and meat, plus goods from a bunch of other local growers and makers. The daily hours are the selling point. You can stop on the way home from a showing at 6pm and still get dinner.
Boundless Farmstead
They stepped back from the CSA this year, which I respect. Farming here is hard and burning out helps nobody. You can still get their produce at the Wednesday market, at the Farewell Market off Brookswood on the south side, and through Locavore and Agricultural Connections.
DD Ranch
USDA certified grass fed and finished beef and lamb, heritage pork, and raw local honey. In fall it turns into the pumpkin patch that half of Central Oregon takes photos at. No entry fee and no parking fee, you just buy activity tickets at $3.75 each for the things you want to do, which I appreciate as a parent who has paid $40 to walk into a field elsewhere.
North 44 Farm
They price on package weight rather than hang weight, which means you pay for the beef you actually take home. If you have never bought a share before, that distinction is worth understanding before you compare prices between ranches.
Why fall is the real season for this
Summer is the fun version of local food. Fall is the useful version.
September and October are when winter CSA shares open, when ranches take fall beef orders, and when the smart people around here quietly fill a freezer. In November, the High Desert Food and Farm Alliance runs Central Oregon Fill Your Pantry at the Deschutes County Fair and Expo in Redmond, a bulk buying market where farms sell in quantity for the winter, usually with pre orders opening in the fall. Check their site for this year’s exact date before you plan around it.
If you want a single starting point, the free Central Oregon Local Food Guide from the High Desert Food and Farm Alliance lists farms, ranches, and markets across the region. It is the resource I send people who move here and ask where to start.
The honest stuff
Some of this costs more than the grocery store. Not all of it, and a beef share usually pencils out, but a $9 dozen eggs is a real number and I am not going to pretend otherwise.
It is also less convenient. Farm stands run out. Markets are open when you are at work. Winter shares mean a lot of cabbage in February and you will get tired of squash.
And not every good farm here is certified organic. Certification is expensive and some of the best small operations skip it. Ask the grower how they farm. Most of them love the question.
What I tell buyers who want a little land of their own
Every year I work with people who visit Rainshadow or drive past a hay field on Holmes Road and think, okay, five acres and some chickens. I love that. I also want you to buy the right five acres, so here is what actually decides it.
Irrigation water rights do not come with the dirt automatically
Water rights here are attached to specific acreage inside a specific district, like Central Oregon Irrigation District, Swalley, Tumalo, Three Sisters, or Arnold. One parcel can have eight irrigated acres and the parcel next door can have none, and the listing photos will look identical in June. Before you write an offer, confirm the water right, the district, how many acres it covers, and the annual assessment with the district and the county. Not with the marketing.
Zoning decides what you can actually do
Exclusive Farm Use and rural residential zoning are different animals, and they control whether you can build a second dwelling, run a farm stand, or put up the shop you are already picturing. City lots inside Bend or Redmond are a separate conversation again, and an HOA can layer on rules of its own. This is a planning department question, and it is worth asking before you fall for a property, not after.
Well, septic, and the buildings nobody photographs
Out on acreage you are your own water utility and your own sewer. That means a well log, flow rate, water quality, and a septic system with a real record of pumping and permits. My husband is a contractor, so I have learned to look at the boring stuff first, the pressure tank, the pump age, the panel, whether that barn has power and how it got there. A pretty pasture with a tired well is an expensive spring.
None of that is meant to talk anyone out of it. It is the opposite. The people I know who are happiest out here are the ones who knew exactly what they were buying.
Frequently asked questions
What day is the Bend Farmers Market?
The Bend Farmers Market runs Wednesdays from 11am to 3pm in Brooks Alley in downtown Bend, with the 2026 season running May 6 through October 14. On Saturdays there is also the NW Crossing market from 10am to 2pm, running through late September.
Where can I buy local Central Oregon food year round?
Central Oregon Locavore at 1841 NE 3rd St in Bend is an indoor, nonprofit local food market open seven days a week from 10am to 7pm year round. Agricultural Connections is an online local farmers market with pickup and delivery in Bend, Redmond, Sisters, and Sunriver. Rainshadow Organics keeps its farm store open year round on Fridays and Saturdays.
Can I buy meat directly from a Central Oregon ranch?
Yes. DD Ranch in Terrebonne sells grass fed beef and lamb, heritage pork, and honey. North 44 Farm in Bend sells beef shares from an eighth, about 50 pounds packaged, up to a whole, about 400 pounds. Rainshadow Organics includes farm raised meat in its CSA shares. Measure your freezer before you order, because a quarter beef is not a shelf, it is a chest freezer.
When do Central Oregon farmers markets close for the season?
Most wrap between late August and mid October. In 2026 the Bend Wednesday market runs through October 14, NW Crossing runs through September 26, Sunriver’s Farm Fresh Thursdays end September 3, and the Redmond Friday market closes at the end of August. Sisters runs Sundays into September. Always check the market’s own page before you drive over.
Does land in Central Oregon come with irrigation water rights?
Not automatically. Irrigation water rights are attached to specific acreage within a specific district, such as Central Oregon Irrigation District, Swalley, Tumalo, Three Sisters, or Arnold. Two neighboring parcels can be very different. Before you write an offer on acreage, confirm the water right, the district, the acreage it covers, and the annual assessment with the district and the county rather than relying on a listing description.
Can I keep chickens or livestock in Bend or Redmond?
It depends on the zoning, the lot size, and whether the property sits inside city limits or out in the county, and any HOA or CC&Rs can add their own limits on top. City lots often allow a small number of hens and no roosters, while county acreage is a different conversation entirely. Check the specific parcel with the city or county planning department before you count on it.
This started as a carousel over on Instagram, where I listed these same farms and markets and asked people to tag their favorites. See the post and add yours here, the comments are turning into a pretty good list.
If you are new here, start with one Wednesday at Brooks Alley and one Saturday drive out to a farm store. That is genuinely all it takes to stop feeling like a visitor.
And if you are somewhere between a market habit and a real daydream about acreage, I am always happy to talk through what a place would actually cost you to own out here, water, well, septic, and all. No pressure, just real info, including the honest stuff. 🌾
Lacie Pech, Realty with Lacie, Knipe Realty ERA Powered. Serving Bend, Redmond, Sisters, Tumalo, Terrebonne, Sunriver, La Pine, and Prineville. 🏔️
I am a licensed Oregon real estate broker, not an attorney, lender, or land use planner. Zoning, water right, and permitting questions should be confirmed with the county, the irrigation district, and your own professionals. Market and event details were accurate as of publication, so please confirm hours and dates with each business.
