MCHENRY COUNTY MARKET

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

🌽 Looking for food grown in McHenry County? Backyard growers and small farms around Crystal Lake, Cary and Huntley list it here. Illinois favorites like apples and honey show up here when they're in season. It's free to post, there's no cut taken, and local farm food carries no sales tax.

Farming in McHenry County by the Numbers

McHenry County has 828 farms on 184,403 acres (about 223 acres each). Together they sold $244.2 million of farm products in 2022, led by corn, soybeans and nursery & greenhouse plants.

Orchards and vineyards here grow apples, grapes and walnuts, and local fields produce pumpkins, sweet corn, squash and bell peppers. Beekeepers tend about 918 honey bee colonies.

160 farms in McHenry County already sell straight to the public, about $4.4 million 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 McHenry County

Out in the pastures and barnyards, McHenry County counts 14,918 hogs, 10,285 head of cattle and 8,311 egg-laying hens.

About 1,542 people run or help run farms in McHenry County, with an average age of 58. 38% of them are women. 123 are under 35 - the next generation of local growers. 13 farms earn money from agritourism - things like u-pick fields, pumpkin patches, farm stays and corn mazes.

Where McHenry County stands out: it ranks #1 of 94 IL counties for goats and #2 of 97 IL counties for honey bee colonies.