The Santa Clara County Division of Agriculture released today its 2011 Agricultural Crop Report, revealing a 7 percent decrease in the gross value of agricultural production.
While the gross value of the county’s agricultural production is down by $18.4 million – dropping from $266,141,100 in 2010 to $247,699,800 in 2011 – the pattern is consistent with the county’s gross valuations in the last 10 years, according to the report.
In the last decade, the county’s top three crops continue to be to be nursery crops ($86.4 million), mushrooms ($61.5 million) and bell peppers ($11.3 million).
The report also shows that livestock ranchers and hay growers are steadily benefiting from rising market prices for their products. The value of beef cattle and grain hay rose by 30 and 35 percent since 2009.
Other crops didn’t fare so well, thanks to late spring rains and unseasonably cool temperatures in 2011. Downpours during cherry harvest caused a whopping 53 percent decrease in yield-per-acre, compared to the 2010 cherry crop. Santa Clara County is teeming with more than 900 cherry orchards – but only 476 acres of cherries were harvested in 2011.
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