ORLEANS COUNTY MARKET

Orleans County, Vermont Farmers Market — Buy & Sell Local Crops Near You

🌽 From Albany to Derby, Orleans County gardeners, small farms and home cooks post their extra harvest here for people nearby. Homemade jams, breads and honey are listed right next to fresh produce and seedlings. It's free to post, there's no cut taken, and local farm food carries no sales tax.

Farming in Orleans County by the Numbers

Orleans County has 545 farms on 121,559 acres (about 223 acres each). Together they sold $116.7 million of farm products in 2022, led by dairy (milk), hay & other field crops and maple syrup.

Orchards and vineyards here grow apples and hazelnuts, and local fields produce potatoes, garlic, beets and kale. Beekeepers tend about 69 honey bee colonies.

113 farms in Orleans County already sell straight to the public, about $2.9 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 Orleans County

Livestock is part of daily life here: the 2022 farm census found 29,246 head of cattle, 3,858 egg-laying hens and 1,049 goats in Orleans County. Grass-fed beef sold by the quarter or half is a common way ranchers sell direct.

About 1,066 people run or help run farms in Orleans County, with an average age of 55. 41% of them are women. 128 are under 35 - the next generation of local growers. 20 farms earn money from agritourism - things like u-pick fields, pumpkin patches, farm stays and corn mazes.

Where Orleans County stands out: it ranks #3 of 14 VT counties for total farm sales.