BLOUNT COUNTY MARKET

Blount County, Tennessee Farmers Market — Buy & Sell Local Crops Near You

🌽 From Maryville to Tallassee, Blount County gardeners, small farms and home cooks post their extra harvest here for people nearby. 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 Blount County by the Numbers

Blount County has 925 farms on 93,875 acres (about 101 acres each). Together they sold $26.6 million of farm products in 2022, led by cattle, hay & other field crops and soybeans.

Orchards and vineyards here grow grapes, apples and peaches, and local fields produce sweet corn, watermelons, pumpkins and okra. Beekeepers tend about 646 honey bee colonies.

92 farms in Blount County already sell straight to the public, about $721,000 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 Blount County

Out in the pastures and barnyards, Blount County counts 26,823 head of cattle, 4,487 egg-laying hens and 1,323 horses and ponies. Grass-fed beef sold by the quarter or half is a common way ranchers sell direct.

About 1,675 people run or help run farms in Blount County, with an average age of 60. 39% of them are women. 156 are under 35 - the next generation of local growers. 9 farms earn money from agritourism - things like u-pick fields, pumpkin patches, farm stays and corn mazes.

Where Blount County stands out: it ranks #5 of 92 TN counties for honey bee colonies and #7 of 91 TN counties for selling food straight to the public.