Celebrating the Agricultural Presence of Illinois on National Eat Your Veggies Day

Jun 17, 2022

Today is National Eat Your Veggies Day!

In honor of that, we’ll be exploring some of the great Farmers Markets and U-Pick Farms and Orchards around Northern Illinois. But first we’re going to take a little look into the great agricultural history of Illinois.

Did you know that Illinois is one of the leading producers of soybeans and corn? Thanks to the wonderful climate (cold, dry winters and warm, humid summers) and 1,500 types of nutrient dense soil, the farmers in Illinois are able to cultivate a wide variety of crops. These include wheat, oats, sorghum, buckwheat, horseradish, and much more! In fact, farming is so prolific in the state that 27 million acres, roughly 75% of the total state land, is used by nearly 72,000 farms. In addition, many farms cultivate crops and livestock – everything from cows to pigs to emus and even fish! Altogether this brings the state of Illinois over $19 billion dollars annually.

There are also over 2,600 food manufacturers who help process and distribute the food and related industrial products worldwide. In fact, our state is the third largest national exporter of agricultural products, with more than $8 billion being exported to other countries. We’re proud to be living and working in a state that contributes so much to the world!

Want to get an up close and personal look at the agricultural industry? Let’s check out these amazing local farms and farmers markets. You’ll have a chance to see the process of planting, picking, and harvesting as well as meet some animals up close and personal. You might even get a chance to shake hands with the farmers and employees of the farm, and learn a little more about day to day operations and how to cultivate plants.