Lee E.
Yelp
We stopped at Barbour Farms on our last trip through Byron and I have to say, I was extremely impressed. Other Yelpers have mentioned that the prices are high, and that's true if you're comparing this food to the food you'd pick up at Kroger or Publix. These are mostly organic, homemade and hard to find items and, when taking that into consideration, I found the prices more than reasonable. But when compared to Lane's, the prices are bargain-barn cheap. That's certainly something to consider.
For example, I paid roughly $5.50 for a large container of dried and salted okra. It was fabulous--better than fried okra and infinitely healthier. They also offered local honey with the comb intact for roughly the same price that you'd find it at a grocery store. I bought half of a yellow watermelon for $2.50 and a huge quarter of a watermelon (more than enough for my family of four) for $1.99. They also offer a variety of interesting nuts (fried peanuts in the shell, anyone?) and a big novel candy selection for the kids that's also priced very comparably. I picked up two delicious pecan logs for $1.49 that would have cost me over $6.00 at Lane's.
Much of their selection is composed of homemade jams,salsas and preserves you won't find anywhere else, such as scuppernong preserves, tomatillo and avocado salsa, spiced peaches, etc. (Watch out for that tomatillo salsa. It's good, but its got habaneros hidden in there somewhere and has one heck of a kick).
Another benefit is that, before you spend your money on an item, you can always ask to taste it first. The owners keep opened jars of just about everything in the back and will be more than willing to give you a free taste of their jellies, jams, peach ice cream, salsa or dried veggies.
I found the prices for green tomatoes were actually better than those at my local Kroger, and the ones at Kroger aren't organic. When I went, both owners were there and they were as polite and professional as two people can be. I was more than happy to give them my business and I will so again.