JERSEY COUNTY MARKET

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

🌽 Buy local in Jersey County: fruit, vegetables, honey, baked goods, plants and livestock from people in Dow, Elsah and and Jerseyville. Watch for local apples when it comes into season in Illinois. Posting an ad is free and sellers keep every dollar.

Farming in Jersey County by the Numbers

Jersey County has 460 farms on 161,192 acres (about 350 acres each). Together they sold $123 million of farm products in 2022, led by corn, soybeans and cattle.

Orchards and vineyards here grow apples, peaches and grapes, and local fields produce horseradish and tomatoes. Beekeepers tend about 128 honey bee colonies.

14 farms in Jersey County already sell straight to the public, about $828,000 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 Jersey County

Livestock is part of daily life here: the 2022 farm census found 5,722 head of cattle, 903 sheep and 432 egg-laying hens in Jersey County. Grass-fed beef sold by the quarter or half is a common way ranchers sell direct.

About 784 people run or help run farms in Jersey County, with an average age of 60. 26% of them are women. 52 are under 35 - the next generation of local growers.

Where Jersey County stands out: it ranks #18 of 93 IL counties for selling food straight to the public.