AMHERST COUNTY MARKET

Amherst County, Virginia Farmers Market — Buy & Sell Local Crops Near You

🌽 Buy local in Amherst County: fruit, vegetables, honey, baked goods, plants and livestock from people in Amherst, Clifford and and Sweet Briar. Fruit, vegetables, cottage foods, plants, seeds and farm gear are all welcome. Posting an ad is free and sellers keep every dollar.

Farming in Amherst County by the Numbers

Amherst County has 385 farms on 74,554 acres (about 194 acres each). Together they sold $10.7 million of farm products in 2022, led by cattle, fruit & nuts and hay & other field crops.

Orchards and vineyards here grow apples and grapes, and local fields produce pumpkins, potatoes, tomatoes and broccoli. Beekeepers tend about 240 honey bee colonies.

32 farms in Amherst County already sell straight to the public, about $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 Amherst County

Amherst County farms and homesteads keep 11,953 head of cattle, 1,347 egg-laying hens and 525 horses and ponies. Grass-fed beef sold by the quarter or half is a common way ranchers sell direct.

About 651 people run or help run farms in Amherst County, with an average age of 60. 41% of them are women. 59 are under 35 - the next generation of local growers. 11 farms earn money from agritourism - things like u-pick fields, pumpkin patches, farm stays and corn mazes.