Local farms in California

California doesn't really have an off-season. Something is at peak here every month of the year — citrus and avocados through winter, stone fruit all summer, apples and pears into fall — which is why the state's farm scene looks different from everywhere else FarmHop covers.

Farmers markets, not farm stands, are the dominant format in California: shoppers here are more likely to meet a grower at a Saturday market than out at the farm gate. San Francisco and Los Angeles carry the deepest verified counts, though most of the acreage behind those market tables sits inland in the Central Valley, one of the most productive farm regions on earth.

California is one of the few states where raw milk is legal to buy at retail under a state dairy license. Listings that sell it carry a state-specific note instead of a blanket warning — the badge on each listing tells you how recently we checked it.