News Details

Board receives 2015 Crop Report: Farm Gate Values strong, despite lingering drought conditions

June 15, 2016

SOLANO COUNTY – The Solano County Board of Supervisors received the 2015 Crop Report today, and, although overall production values dropped from last year in the face of a fourth year of state-wide drought, Solano County growers were successful in maintaining farm gate values that were higher than pre-drought values.

In the 2015 cropping season, Solano County's overall agricultural production value decreased by 6.5 percent from the 2014 value of $378.6 million to $353.8 million with a loss of just under $25 million.  It is important to note that the crop report data only captures the farm gate values and does not calculate the full economic impact of agriculture in Solano County as those farm dollars are re-spent within the community.

"Lingering drought conditions continued to impact growers again this year," said Jim Allan, Solano County Agricultural Commissioner.  “We also saw decreased values in animal production, field and seed crops.”

Tomatoes and Walnuts remained as the top two crops at $42 million and $38 million respectively. Nursery crops increased to $37.6 million, pushing Alfalfa at $34.8 million down to number four.  Cattle and Calves maintained their position at the number five spot at $27.5 million.  Although price and demand for Cattle and Calves remained high, herd size was low, a direct reflection of limited forage available for grazing due to drought conditions.

Almonds increased by 66.7 percent to a value of $23.6 million, up from $15 million in 2014, primarily due to increased yields from 2,410 tons in 2014 to 4,470 tons in 2015.  This trend is expected to continue as more Almond orchards mature and reach production, which typically occurs 3 to 5 years after planting.
 

SOLANO COUNTY TOP 10 MILLION DOLLAR COMMODITIES

Crop

2015 Crop Value

2015 Crop Ranking

2014 Crop Ranking

Tomatoes

$42,156,000

1

1

Walnuts

$37,912,000

2

2

Nursery Products

$37,648,000

3

4

Alfalfa

$34,821,000

4

3

Cattle & Calves

$27,556,000

5

5

Almonds

$23,603,000

6

8

Grapes, Wine

$14,988,000

7

6

Wheat

$ 9,092,000

8

9

Sunflower

$ 6,904,000

9

7

Sheep, Lambs

$ 6,684,000

10

11


“This report celebrates the Sheep, Lamb and Wool industry in Solano County,” Allan said.  “Sheep farming has been an integral part of Solano County’s agricultural economy and historical heritage for over 160 years.  Solano County is one of the top sheep and lamb producing counties in California.”

To see the 66th annual Crop Report and any of the previous crop reports online, or to learn about the services programs and services provided by the Solano County Department of Agriculture and Weights and Measures, visit www.SolanoCounty.Com/AG