STEPHENSON COUNTY MARKET

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

🌽 Stephenson County has more backyard fruit trees and home gardens than anyone could eat from. Crop Market connects them with neighbors in Cedarville, Dakota and Kent. Homemade jams, breads and honey are listed right next to fresh produce and seedlings. Posting an ad is free and sellers keep every dollar.

Farming in Stephenson County by the Numbers

Stephenson County has 998 farms on 305,770 acres (about 306 acres each). Together they sold $447.7 million of farm products in 2022, led by corn, soybeans and dairy (milk).

Orchards and vineyards here grow grapes, apples and pears, and local fields produce sweet corn, green peas, pumpkins and cucumbers. Beekeepers tend about 169 honey bee colonies.

53 farms in Stephenson County already sell straight to the public, about $317,000 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 Stephenson County

Out in the pastures and barnyards, Stephenson County counts 115,097 hogs, 40,482 head of cattle and 1,439 goats.

About 1,776 people run or help run farms in Stephenson County, with an average age of 58. 31% of them are women. 168 are under 35 - the next generation of local growers. 12 farms earn money from agritourism - things like u-pick fields, pumpkin patches, farm stays and corn mazes.

Where Stephenson County stands out: it ranks #2 of 94 IL counties for goats and #14 of 102 IL counties for total farm sales.