WASHINGTON COUNTY MARKET

Washington County, Minnesota Farmers Market — Buy & Sell Local Crops Near You

🌽 Crop Market is a free online farmers market where neighbors in Afton, Bayport and Lake Elmo buy and sell food they grew, baked or raised. Fruit, vegetables, cottage foods, plants, seeds and farm gear are all welcome. Posting an ad is free and sellers keep every dollar.

Farming in Washington County by the Numbers

Washington County has 525 farms on 50,806 acres (about 97 acres each). Together they sold $60.7 million of farm products in 2022, led by nursery & greenhouse plants, corn and vegetables.

Orchards and vineyards here grow apples, grapes and plums, and local fields produce sweet corn, pumpkins, bell peppers and tomatoes. Beekeepers tend about 2,058 honey bee colonies.

109 farms in Washington County already sell straight to the public, about $6.1 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 Washington County

Out in the pastures and barnyards, Washington County counts 2,133 head of cattle, 1,555 horses and ponies and 1,544 egg-laying hens. Grass-fed beef sold by the quarter or half is a common way ranchers sell direct.

About 953 people run or help run farms in Washington County, with an average age of 59. 40% of them are women. 77 are under 35 - the next generation of local growers. 22 farms earn money from agritourism - things like u-pick fields, pumpkin patches, farm stays and corn mazes.

Where Washington County stands out: it ranks #1 of 81 MN counties for selling food straight to the public and #11 of 64 MN counties for honey bee colonies.