FRANKLIN COUNTY MARKET

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

🌽 Looking for food grown in Franklin County? Backyard growers and small farms around Leyden, New Salem and Conway list it here. Watch for local cranberries when it comes into season in Massachusetts. Posting an ad is free and sellers keep every dollar.

Farming in Franklin County by the Numbers

Franklin County has 733 farms on 71,519 acres (about 98 acres each). Together they sold $76.4 million of farm products in 2022, led by nursery & greenhouse plants, vegetables and fruit & nuts.

Orchards and vineyards here grow apples, peaches and pears, and local fields produce potatoes, sweet corn, pumpkins and squash. Beekeepers tend about 995 honey bee colonies.

211 farms in Franklin County already sell straight to the public, about $7.8 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 Franklin County

Out in the pastures and barnyards, Franklin County counts 6,701 egg-laying hens, 4,788 head of cattle and 1,517 sheep. Fresh farm eggs are one of the easiest things to buy and sell locally.

About 1,390 people run or help run farms in Franklin County, with an average age of 57. 44% of them are women. 109 are under 35 - the next generation of local growers. 35 farms earn money from agritourism - things like u-pick fields, pumpkin patches, farm stays and corn mazes.

Where Franklin County stands out: it ranks #2 of 12 MA counties for goats and #3 of 14 MA counties for number of farms.