FRANKLIN COUNTY MARKET

Franklin County, Illinois Farmers Market — Buy & Sell Local Crops Near You

🌽 This is the Franklin County page of Crop Market, a free online farmers market in Illinois for Benton, Buckner and Macedonia. Watch for local honey when it comes into season in Illinois. Posting an ad is free and sellers keep every dollar.

Farming in Franklin County by the Numbers

Franklin County has 569 farms on 174,342 acres (about 306 acres each). Together they sold $129.2 million of farm products in 2022, led by soybeans, corn and hogs.

Orchards and vineyards here grow walnuts, and local fields produce tomatoes, squash, sweet potatoes and potatoes. Beekeepers tend about 417 honey bee colonies.

15 farms in Franklin County already sell straight to the public, about $64,000 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 Franklin County

Livestock is part of daily life here: the 2022 farm census found 20,929 hogs, 6,964 head of cattle and 835 egg-laying hens in Franklin County.

About 925 people run or help run farms in Franklin County, with an average age of 58. 28% of them are women. 84 are under 35 - the next generation of local growers.

Where Franklin County stands out: it ranks #12 of 97 IL counties for honey bee colonies.