JEFFERSON COUNTY MARKET

Jefferson County, Alabama Farmers Market — Buy & Sell Local Crops Near You

🌽 Buy local in Jefferson County: fruit, vegetables, honey, baked goods, plants and livestock from people in Birmingham, Center Point and Bessemer. Watch for local peanuts when it comes into season in Alabama. It's free to post, there's no cut taken, and local farm food carries no sales tax.

Farming in Jefferson County by the Numbers

Jefferson County has 398 farms on 29,631 acres (about 74 acres each). Together they sold $9.9 million of farm products in 2022, led by poultry & eggs, cattle and hay & other field crops.

Orchards and vineyards here grow figs, apples and pears, and local fields produce green beans, okra, tomatoes and sweet corn. Beekeepers tend about 663 honey bee colonies.

22 farms in Jefferson County already sell straight to the public, about $37,000 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 Jefferson County

Out in the pastures and barnyards, Jefferson County counts 4,051 head of cattle, 2,203 egg-laying hens and 823 horses and ponies. Grass-fed beef sold by the quarter or half is a common way ranchers sell direct.

About 680 people run or help run farms in Jefferson County, with an average age of 58. 41% of them are women. 69 are under 35 - the next generation of local growers. 7 farms earn money from agritourism - things like u-pick fields, pumpkin patches, farm stays and corn mazes.

Where Jefferson County stands out: it ranks #5 of 63 AL counties for honey bee colonies.