After a year of decline, agricultural production has rebounded
in Santa Clara County with farmers producing nearly $261 million
worth of crops and livestock, a 4.9 percent jump from last
year.
After a year of decline, agricultural production has rebounded in Santa Clara County with farmers producing nearly $261 million worth of crops and livestock, a 4.9 percent jump from last year.
Nursery crops – such as bedding plants, shrubs, trees and other landscaping staples – maintained their place at the top of the list, as they have since 2000, when they bumped mushrooms from the top spot, bringing in $88.6 million in revenue, according to the 2009 Crop Report released Monday by the Santa Clara County Department of Agriculture. This was a slight increase over the previous year, when nursery crops totaled $87.3 million.
The numbers presented in the crop report reflect the gross value of the crops harvested and sold in the county, not the net profits, and is an indication of the intensity of the county’s farming activity, Acting Agricultural Commissioner Kevin O’Day pointed out.
As in the previous year, mushrooms and bell peppers were the county’s second and third most valuable crops. Though the overall value of those two crops declined, O’Day said the drop wasn’t statistically significant. Santa Clara county is home to some of the nation’s industry leaders in mushrooms, such as Monterey Mushrooms, which is located in Morgan Hill.
“All in all, we’ve seen a steady and upward trend,” O’Day said of this year’s crop report.
In 2009, more than 25 different agricultural commodities grown in the county exceeded $1 million in value, according to the report.
Given drought conditions that have affected counties throughout the state, “any increase at all is amazing,” said Jennifer Williams, executive director of the Santa Clara County Farm Bureau.
“We’re looking really good,” she said.
Though the trends outlined didn’t reveal any unexpected surprises, one of the biggest changes was that processing tomatoes – tomatoes used to make spaghetti sauce, ketchup and other tomato-based products – came in 10th, when they hadn’t made the list in many years, O’Day said. Valued at just over $6 million, the crop of processed tomatoes didn’t even exist in Santa Clara County in 2008, according to the report. In 2009, farmers harvested 1,160 acres. Santa Clara County farmers took advantage of the court-ordered cutbacks of Sacramento Delta water for agricultural supply to the Central Valley by picking up some of that acreage, O’Day said. Unlike the Central Valley, which relies primarily on water from outside the region, Santa Clara County farmers are able to use groundwater to irrigate their crops, which gave them an edge, O’Day said. Water availability and weather are two of the most crucial forces driving a region’s harvest, he said.
Also of significance is the increase in direct marketing, which can be seen in the new farmers’ markets popping up every year. Santa Clara County is home to 33 certified farmers markets and residents have shown a much greater interest in buying directly from the farms and knowing that their food is local, O’Day said. Vertical integration – when a farmer takes his raw crop to the next level, like a cherry farmer opening up a roadside stand or a grape grower opening up a winery – is another growing trend, he said.
The crop of chili peppers, cherries and salad greens all showed increases in value while the value of broccoli, steers, heifers and alfalfa hay declined.
