Mississippi Locavore Overview

Mississippi Locally Grown Product

There are plenty of seasonal Locavore opportunities to find exactly the fruit, vegetables, beef, lamb, poultry, wine or dairy products that you may be looking for. The 2007 USDA Farm Census reported that Mississippi had approximately 41,959 farms and the average number of acres per farm was 273. Of those farms, 1,156 showed that they raised vegetables for sale, there were 937 orchards, 54 organic farms and 191 CSAs in the state.

Synopsis of 2007 USDA Ag census for Mississippi

Classification
Number of farms within the State
Top five counties with the greatest number of farms in each type of classification
Farms with Vegetables harvested for sale
1,156
Calhoun Jones Pearl River Perry George
Number of Orchards
937
Pearl River Jackson Harrison Hinds George
Sweet Corn
383
Jones George Pearl River Perry Copiah
Potatoes
178
Jones Pearl River Perry George Madison
Tomatoes
426
Jones Lowndes Tate Walthall Smith
Apples
80
DeSoto Hinds Itawamba Lauderdale Neshoba
Peaches
121
Hinds Clarke Adams Jones Neshoba
Cantaloupe
172
Pontotoc Smith Tishomingo Panola Perry
Watermelon
485
Jones George Pearl River Jefferson Davis Kemper
Strawberries
13
Clarke Oktibbeha Simpson Smith Covington
Blueberries
329
Pearl River Harrison Lamar Jackson Wayne
Raspberries
6
Pike Prentiss Montgomery - -
Blackberries and Dewberries
33
Hinds Pike Prentiss Jackson Oktibbeha
Poultry and egg production
2,449
Smith Jones Neshoba Scott Simpson
Dairy cattle and milk production
187
Walthall Pike Lincoln Marion Amite
Beef and Cattle ranches
15,018
Jones Pearl River Hinds Walthall Lincoln
Bison
5
Jackson Pike Marshall - -
Aquaculture or other animal production
5,114
Hinds Noxubee Pearl River Rankin Jones
Farms that collect Honey
200
Smith Jones DeSoto Hinds Oktibbeha

For more specific detail on what local fruits and vegetables are available (and when), please check out our Mississippi availability guide.

 
How to find Mississippi Growers and producers

To search our database for growers, producers and wineries near you, use one of these three methods:

1. Go to the Proximity search page. Enter the Zip code that you want to use as the basis for your search, enter the number of miles around the Zip code, click or unclick the business types you want to search for, then click the "Search' button. When the results appear, if you want more information about a specific business, you can click on the map marker and then the farm or business name within the information box.

If you would rather not enter a Zip code, you can enter a City and State name or a County and State name.

2. To see all of the Profiles within a specific State, go to the menu selection entitled "State Information" in the blue menu section at the top of the page. Scroll to your State name and as you move through the State names, you will see two menu choices appear to the right of your cursor. Click on the one that includes the words "Growers and Producers". When the list shows on your screen, you may sort by County name (click on the word "County"). If you are looking for a specific product such as Peaches or Beef or Honey, simply enter your search term in the appropriate box. For the Mississippi Grower list, click on this link: Mississippi Grower list .

3. Using the search box in the upper right hand corner of the screen, just enter the terms you wish to search for..there is no need to include a coma. As an example, if you want to find Peach growers in Mississippi, just type in the words Peaches Mississippi and click on the Search button.  There is no need to enter connecting words such as "and" or "in".

Additional Mississippi Locavore information

Every state has a Cooperative Extension System. Regional offices offer location specific advice on a broad array of topics (including gardening), and may be able to provide you with contact information for growers who are not yet registered on our site. Most have gardening hotlines and offer informational fact sheets, soil testing and pest identification for free or a nominal cost. Often the help is provided by Master Gardeners who are trained to assist the agriculture agents with home gardener's needs. To find contact information for your local County Extension Office – Mississippi County Extension Offices.

  • If you would like to ask questions of fellow Mississippi Locavores, discuss tips, share recipes, stories, pictures or any another great “Slow Food” discovery, please post it in our Mississippi forum by clicking here: Mississippi Locavore Forum
  • State sponsored “Locally Grown” program - Make Mine Mississippi
  • Mississippi County Fair Schedules – This link provides schedules for County Fairs within Mississippi as well as many other local festivals – Mississippi County Fairs