BENTON COUNTY MARKET

Benton County, Oregon Farmers Market — Buy & Sell Local Crops Near You

🌽 Crop Market is a free online farmers market where neighbors in Corvallis, Alsea and and Philomath buy and sell food they grew, baked or raised. Fruit, vegetables, cottage foods, plants, seeds and farm gear are all welcome. It's free to post, there's no cut taken, and local farm food carries no sales tax.

Farming in Benton County by the Numbers

Benton County has 995 farms on 97,598 acres (about 98 acres each). Together they sold $122.8 million of farm products in 2022, led by hay & other field crops, fruit & nuts and Christmas trees.

Orchards and vineyards here grow hazelnuts, grapes and apples, and local fields produce green beans, squash, green peas and spinach. Beekeepers tend about 18,005 honey bee colonies.

200 farms in Benton County already sell straight to the public, about $4.6 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 Benton County

Livestock is part of daily life here: the 2022 farm census found 8,126 egg-laying hens, 6,645 head of cattle and 2,406 sheep in Benton County. Fresh farm eggs are one of the easiest things to buy and sell locally.

About 1,892 people run or help run farms in Benton County, with an average age of 58. 45% of them are women. 124 are under 35 - the next generation of local growers. 21 farms earn money from agritourism - things like u-pick fields, pumpkin patches, farm stays and corn mazes.

Where Benton County stands out: it ranks #2 of 29 OR counties for honey bee colonies and #6 of 33 OR counties for egg-laying hens.