SUMTER COUNTY MARKET

Sumter County, Florida Farmers Market — Buy & Sell Local Crops Near You

🌽 From Bushnell to Ridge Manor Esta, Sumter County gardeners, small farms and home cooks post their extra harvest here for people nearby. Fruit, vegetables, cottage foods, plants, seeds and farm gear are all welcome. Listing is free and you keep 100% of every local sale.

Farming in Sumter County by the Numbers

Sumter County has 1,117 farms on 146,165 acres (about 131 acres each). Together they sold $86.5 million of farm products in 2022, led by nursery & greenhouse plants, cattle and fruit & nuts.

Orchards and vineyards here grow oranges, tangelos and bananas, and local fields produce watermelons, sweet potatoes, mustard greens and collard greens. Beekeepers tend about 311 honey bee colonies.

22 farms in Sumter County already sell straight to the public, about $308,000 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 Sumter County

Sumter County farms and homesteads keep 32,985 head of cattle, 1,614 horses and ponies and 1,040 goats. Grass-fed beef sold by the quarter or half is a common way ranchers sell direct.

About 1,888 people run or help run farms in Sumter County, with an average age of 61. 42% of them are women. 111 are under 35 - the next generation of local growers. 19 farms earn money from agritourism - things like u-pick fields, pumpkin patches, farm stays and corn mazes.

Where Sumter County stands out: it ranks #11 of 67 FL counties for number of farms.