WILSON COUNTY

While Wilson County’s sandy coastal soils are the perfect place to grow sweet potatoes, stop by its farms and markets to see the broader diversity of locally grown produce and artisan goods this community offers.

Wilson County is located in the central Coastal Plain Region of North Carolina, just 1 hour east of Raleigh. Agriculture continues to provide a major economic impact to the county with farm income estimates of over $143 million dollars in 2019. Agriculture and agribusiness provided jobs for 11.2 percent of Wilson County's working residents. Wilson County agriculture is critical to the economic viability of the rural communities in the county. Wilson County is a leader statewide in the production of a number of crops.

Tobacco production remains the mainstay of most farming operations in the county and generated an estimated $34 million in gross farm income, more than any other commodity in Wilson County. Wilson County has a long and rich history of selling tobacco and continues to be a hub of leaf sales. Completing the 130th season, the Wilson Tobacco Market is still the “World's Greatest Tobacco Market.”

Sweet potatoes are the key horticultural crop grown in Wilson County. Wilson County is the second largest sweet potato producing county in North Carolina that has seven sweet potato packinghouses and facilities that have the capacity to cure 5.6 million bushels or approximately 1/3 of the state’s sweet potato crop. Agriculture producers continue to diversify into the production of vegetables and other specialty crops. Other key commercial horticultural crops are watermelons, peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, strawberries and others. There are also two vegetable packinghouses and one cucumber grader in the county.

Deans Farm Market has a retail produce business, agri-tourism venue and prepares family meals from their farm with their in house chef. The Wilson Farmers and Artisan Market operates in season on Wednesday and Saturdays in historic downtown Wilson at the Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park. The market specializes in locally grown produce and handcrafted artisan goods.

Consumer horticulture thrives in Wilson County through the Wilson Botanical Gardens (WBG). The WBG is a 11 acre public garden located at the Wilson County Agricultural Center. The According to TripAdvisor, the WBG is rated is the third most popular attraction in Wilson County.