Texas Locavore Overview

Texas 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 Texas had approximately 247,437 farms and the average number of acres per farm was 527. Of those farms, 2,353 showed that they raised vegetables for sale, there were 8,848 orchards, 523 organic farms and 883 CSAs in the state. 

Synopsis of 2007 USDA Ag census for Texas

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
2,353
Hidalgo Smith Van Zandt Cherokee Jasper
Number of Orchards
8,848
Hidalgo Parker Comanche El Paso Grayson
Sweet Corn
485
Smith Henderson Jasper Van Zandt Hardin
Potatoes
330
Cherokee Van Zandt Polk Frio Smith
Tomatoes
833
Smith Van Zandt Cherokee Gillespie Henderson
Apples
437
Parker Grayson Gillespie Cherokee Hardin
Peaches
1,382
Parker Gillespie Grayson Smith Van Zandt
Cantaloupe
535
Wise Van Zandt Comanche Leon Cherokee
Watermelon
920
Hidalgo Frio Cherokee Smith Van Zandt
Strawberries
52
Atascosa Comanche Anderson Bowie Brazoria
Blueberries
211
Hardin Smith Jasper Tyler Liberty
Raspberries
8
Robertson Bexar Ellis Harrison Potter
Blackberries and Dewberries
485
Parker Smith Gillespie Van Zandt Waller
Poultry and egg production
5,829
Shelby Nacogdoches Parker Gonzales Wise
Dairy cattle and milk production
1,027
Hopkins Erath Archer Wood McLennan
Beef and Cattle ranches
124,992
Fayette Lavaca Wilson Van Zandt Parker
Bison
178
Kerr Caldwell Parker Wise Cooke
Aquaculture or other animal production
28,622
Parker Denton Montgomery Harris Johnson
Farms that collect Honey
592
Collin Smith Williamson Angelina Brazoria

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

 
How to find Texas 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 Texas Grower list, click on this link: Texas 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 Texas, just type in the words Peaches Texas and click on the Search button.  There is no need to enter connecting words such as "and" or "in".

Additional Texas 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 – Texas County Extension Offices.

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