8 Tennessee Farms Where Shoppers Stock Up On Fresh Food Straight From The Source

In Tennessee, one farm sells raw milk labeled as pet milk, explicitly marked as not for human consumption. That quirky detail tells you how close these shoppers get to the actual cows, pigs, chickens, and fields behind their dinner.

The surprises keep coming. One farm store sits inside an 80-year-old barn.

Another dairy milks more than 1,500 cows and turns that fresh milk into cheddar right there on the property.

I love that these places let shoppers buy directly from the farmers while also offering products from other nearby producers.

You can buy sourdough baked steps from the pasture, pick peaches from a family orchard started in 1940, or grab pork raised, fed, and cut at one rural address.

Honestly, grocery store produce travels a long way before it reaches your cart. These farms shrink that trip down to a short drive.

So which one is closest to your kitchen, and how big is your freezer?

1. Crossing Creeks Farm

Two creeks meet on this Shelbyville property, and that little bit of geography gave the farm its name. Bridges now carry visitors over the water, a fitting welcome to 125 acres of pasture.

The Stuart family bought the land in December 2012 and opened the farm store in the summer of 2019. Inside, you can shop grass-fed beef, pastured chicken, pork, turkey, eggs, and dairy.

Seafood and fish show up too, which is a fun surprise for a Middle Tennessee farm. The farm leans hard into pasture-raised animals with organic, soy-free, and corn-free feed.

Now for the snack you’ll want to plan around. The Farm Kitchen turns out bone broth, lard, and Einkorn cinnamon rolls, plus seasonal dishes during store hours.

Store hours are short, so check before you go. The farm store operates on a limited weekly schedule, so shoppers should confirm current opening hours directly before visiting.

Can’t bear to leave? The farm offers an Airbnb cottage, RV sites, and seasonal Adirondack cabins near a picnic pavilion.

Tractor wagon tours show off the rotational grazing system, and mowed trails invite a stroll. There’s even a fenced dog park with a dog wash, so your pup gets a spa day too.

Kids can join Farm Preschool Storytime through The Bridge at Crossing Creeks, the farm’s educational nonprofit. Adults get workshops on farming and homesteading, so nobody leaves without learning something.

Address: 221 Eady Rd, Shelbyville, TN 37160

2. Taylor Family Farm

Tennessee has a funny rule about raw milk, and it shows up right on the label here as pet milk. The milk at this Ethridge farm is non-pasteurized, non-homogenized, and carries the A2A2 protein.

Milk is only the start of the cooler. The farm also sells 100 percent non-GMO grass-fed beef, pastured non-GMO chicken, grass-fed lamb, pork, and turkey.

Pantry shoppers get a treat too. Raw honey, molasses, ghee, pastured eggs, and homemade soap fill out the shelves.

The most unusual part might be the feed room. The family mills its own non-GMO animal feeds, from chick starter and layer feed to goat, pig, cattle, and horse blends.

That means backyard chicken keepers can stock up for the flock and the family dinner in one trip. Talk about efficient errands, and your hens will never know you shopped for yourself too.

Plan around the schedule, since the store keeps early hours. It opens Tuesday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon.

Live a bit far from Ethridge? Online orders can meet you at drop-off points in Nashville, Columbia, and even Florence, Alabama.

Farm tours are part of the offerings too. Ask about one if you’d like to see where your groceries actually start.

Address: 301 Dave Risner Rd, Ethridge, TN 38456

3. Buckley Farm

Eli and Jessica Buckley didn’t grow up farming. After their first child arrived, they simply wanted to know how their food was grown, and that curiosity turned into a 50-acre farm in Fayetteville.

They went full-time in 2019 with a home store open once a week. By fall 2021, The Market at Buckley Farm had opened its doors.

The meat case covers grass-fed Angus beef, silvopastured Berkshire pork, pastured chicken, and pastured eggs. Big freezer?

Half and whole cow or hog packages are on the table.

Lunch is where things get tasty. The farm’s commercial kitchen cooks weekly meals with its own proteins, plus grab-and-go options and made-to-order salads.

Bread lovers, take note of the sourdough shelf. You’ll find loaves, dinner rolls, cinnamon rolls, and even starter so you can bake at home.

Goat milk soaps and body butters are made on-site, which makes sense once you learn the farm raises milk goats. Scottish Highland cattle live here too, shaggy bangs and all.

Shelves also carry local honey, pottery, leather goods, Legacy Creamery products, and Loveless Cafe goodies. Seasonal vegetables, raspberries, and cut flowers rotate through as well.

The local chamber of commerce has named Buckley Farm Business of the Year more than once. Check hours before you go, since the market usually closes at 2 p.m., except Thursdays at 5:30.

Address: 25 Boonshill Rd, Fayetteville, TN 37334

4. Bernard Farms

Pork that’s bred, born, raised, fed, and cut at one address doesn’t come along often. At this Orlinda farm, the hogs and cattle eat corn the family grows and grinds themselves.

The story stretches back generations to a family dairy on this same land. Steve Bernard’s family later grew corn, wheat and soybeans before adding hogs.

Things picked up fast after that. They started selling pork at the Robertson County Farmers Market in 2016 and opened a tiny store in an old dairy barn in 2017.

A beef herd followed in 2018. Then, in 2021, the current farm store opened with its own USDA-inspected processing facility.

So what’s in the freezer? Expect bacon, chops, ground pork, sausage, pork burgers, ribs, and country ham, plus grass-fed and grain-finished beef.

Cuts come vacuum-sealed and frozen, raised without added hormones or unnecessary antibiotics. Custom pork orders are available too, if you want to fill a chest freezer.

Lamb and poultry from other local farms round out the meat case. That makes this a solid one-stop shop for a week of dinners.

Pickup runs Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday and Monday pickups need an appointment.

The family hopes to pass the operation to their two sons someday. You’re basically shopping a fourth-generation farm with a fifth chapter in mind.

Address: 7536 Clay Gregory Rd, Orlinda, TN 37141

5. Sweetwater Valley Farm

More than 1,500 dairy cows live at this Philadelphia, Tennessee farm, and their milk becomes cheese right on site. That’s the meaning of farmstead cheese, and the Harrison family has made it since 1998.

John and Celia Harrison bought in during 1987 and became sole owners in 1992. John, a fourth-generation dairy farmer, was named 2022 Tennessee Farmer of the Year.

Cheddar rules the cheese shop. Flavors include sharp, mild, black pepper, buttermilk, chipotle, adobo, and jalapeño, alongside Colby, gouda, and cheese curds.

Big Orange fans can even grab UT Vols branded cheese. Jams, honey, hickory smoked summer sausage, and GooGoo Clusters help build a gift box.

Hungry? The Seed to Sandwich Café serves grilled cheese made with the farm’s own cheese, plus hand-dipped milkshakes and coffee.

Guided tours walk you through the cow facilities and explain herd care and daily operations. The Udderstory Barn exhibit adds more dairy lessons, pun fully intended.

Timing matters here. The cheese shop runs Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., while café lunch is available Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Tours usually start at 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., so arrive about 20 minutes early. If you can’t make the drive, online orders can ship to your door.

Address: 17988 W Lee Hwy, Building 1, Philadelphia, TN 37846

6. Delvin Farms

An 80-year-old barn now sells organic kale, which feels like a pretty great career change. Delvin Farms runs its College Grove farm store inside that old barn.

Hank Sr. and Cindy Delvin started farming here in 1972. Their kids Hank Jr. and Amy carry it on, and grandchildren make up the fifth generation.

The farm earned USDA organic certification in 1998. A year later, it launched a CSA that now counts more than 900 members.

CSA members get weekly or every-other-week boxes from May through October. A winter share keeps veggies coming from October into late December.

Spring means lettuce, kale, chard, beets, broccoli, and u-pick strawberries. Summer swings toward heirloom tomatoes, sweet corn, peppers, melons, blackberries, and eggplant.

Fall brings butternut and spaghetti squash, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, turnip greens, and brussels sprouts. With 60 to 80 crop varieties, your grocery list may need a rewrite.

The store also stocks local meats, artisan cheeses, pantry staples, and fully prepared meals. On Wednesdays, it hosts the Arrington Farmers Market right on site.

Conservation tillage, erosion control, and crop rotations keep the soil healthy for the next harvest. Good dirt makes for good dinners.

Hours run Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., typically May through December. The farm sits along the Harpeth River, a nice detail for a produce run.

Address: 6361 Cox Rd, College Grove, TN 37046

7. Malco Produce Farm

Ice cream at a produce stand is the kind of bribe that gets kids excited about vegetables. Malco Produce Farm in Cookeville sells both, plus flowers.

The farm runs as a farmers market for crops grown right there. It serves regular shoppers and wholesale buyers alike.

Cookeville sits in the Upper Cumberland region of Tennessee, and this stand keeps things refreshingly simple. Grow it, pick it, sell it.

Timing is the trick with this Cookeville stop. It opens in mid-April and closes for the year on October 31.

Hours run Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays are off, so plan your weekend haul for Saturday.

Early in the season, look for asparagus, lettuce, peas, and strawberries. Broccoli, cabbage, onions, and mustard greens make the list too.

Warmer months bring greenhouse tomatoes, yellow squash, okra, cucumbers, corn, and eggplant. Fruit fans can hunt for cantaloupe, watermelon, blueberries, and blackberries.

Canning fans should note that pickles show up on the list. Herbs, beans, peppers, and potatoes help round out a garden-style dinner.

Fall brings pumpkins, sweet potatoes, and turnips before the season wraps. A porch pumpkin and a sack of sweet potatoes make a fine October errand.

Since crops change through the year, call ahead or check the farm’s social pages for what’s ready. Then grab a scoop of ice cream for the ride home.

Address: 870 S Willow Ave, Cookeville, TN 38501

8. Jones Orchard

H. L.

Jones earned the nickname Peaches by selling them door-to-door, starting in 1940. That hustle grew into a Millington farm with more than 600 acres in production.

Peaches still steal the show, with about 110 acres and 25 varieties. Look for names like Elberta, Redskin, Georgia Belle, and Indian Peaches.

Want to pick your own? U-pick strawberries usually run late April through May, and peaches follow from June into September.

Blackberries ripen around peach time, so expect sticky fingers. Blueberries, nectarines, plums, and apples also take turns in the u-pick fields.

Now, the jar aisle. Small-batch jams, jellies, and preserves come from the farm’s own fruit, including muscadine jelly, apple butter, and fig preserves.

Spicy food fans can grab hot chow-chow, peach salsa, or Flamin’ Hot Salsa. Pear relish is there for anyone who likes things sweet and tangy.

Live closer to Memphis? Jones Orchard also sells at markets like the Memphis Botanic Garden Market and the Collierville Farmers Market.

Fall adds a 10-acre corn maze, a pumpkin patch, and hayrides. Henry and Dayna Jones now run the family operation, keeping the Peaches legacy rolling in West Tennessee.

Address: 7170 TN-3 N, Millington, TN 38053