Fresno County agriculture remains the top producer in the United States according to a recent report. The Fresno County Department of Agriculture recently presented the 2019 Crop and Livestock Report to the Board of Supervisors. Overall, the report showed that the 2019 agricultural production value in the county totaled $7.717 billion. The report included data on more than 300 different agricultural commodities produced in the county which are exported to nearly 90 countries across the world.
“What was amazing is that 78 of those commodities actually had gross values in excess of $1 million. That’s something that really shows the diversity of the crops that we do have here,” said Ryan Jacobsen, Fresno County Farm Bureau CEO. “Fresno County and Valley agriculture is extraordinarily dependent upon shipments around the globe and this is very reflective of that.”
Unsurprisingly, almonds remained the top crop with a value of nearly $1.6 billion. Grapes were the second most valuable crop at nearly $963 million and pistachios were fourth, valued at $660 million. Poultry, milk, garlic, and cattle came in fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh, respectively. Rounding out the top ten were tomatoes, mandarins, and oranges. Just out of the top ten were peaches and melons, valued at more than $200 million each.
“We talk about the enormous diversity of the crops that we have here, but the top ten crops do contain 73 percent of the value of that $7 billion dollar figure,” Jacobsen noted. “So, where those generally trend, give a better idea of where we’re going to be overall.”
Fruits and nuts made up the majority of value in 2019, accounting for more than 57 percent of the overall value. Vegetables made up nearly 19 percent, and milk, and livestock and poultry products collectively made up more than 17 percent of the total value. Although the gross production value declined by a little more than two percent, 2019 remained the second-best year for value over the past two decades.
Listen to Jacobsen’s interview below.
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