JEFFERSON COUNTY MARKET

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

🌽 Looking for food grown in Jefferson County? Backyard growers and small farms around Belle Rive, Bluford and Mount Vernon list it here. Homemade jams, breads and honey are listed right next to fresh produce and seedlings. 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 930 farms on 232,182 acres (about 250 acres each). Together they sold $136.1 million of farm products in 2022, led by soybeans, corn and cattle.

Orchards and vineyards here grow chestnuts and pecans. Beekeepers tend about 168 honey bee colonies.

21 farms in Jefferson County already sell straight to the public, about $361,000 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

Jefferson County farms and homesteads keep 39,112 egg-laying hens, 13,771 hogs and 12,125 head of cattle. Fresh farm eggs are one of the easiest things to buy and sell locally.

About 1,558 people run or help run farms in Jefferson County, with an average age of 58. 31% of them are women. 172 are under 35 - the next generation of local growers. 9 farms earn money from agritourism - things like u-pick fields, pumpkin patches, farm stays and corn mazes.

Where Jefferson County stands out: it ranks #6 of 90 IL counties for egg-laying hens.