Marilyn Kinoshita,
Tulare County Ag Commissioner
One of the state’s biggest ag-producing counties releases its 2013 crop report, and there’s a big increase in it. Sabrina Hill reports.
Tulare County Agriculture Commissioner Marilyn Kinoshita released her county’s 2013 crop report this week. It shows an increase of more than 40,500 acres in permanent plantings, with the biggest jump being in pistachios. There was nearly a 13,000-acre jump for pistachios. Despite that, milk and milk products remain the county’s top commodities, bringing in more than $2 billion in value. Grapes came in second, at $984 million, followed by oranges, cattle and calves, then pistachios. Tulare County’s total crop and livestock value was more than $7,800,000,000.
This is the third consecutive year that Tulare County has reached record-high crop value.
The Fresno County Ag Commissioner is officially releasing his crop report next week. For years, Tulare and Fresno have run neck-and-neck for the top spot in the state, along with Kern County, which has yet to release its crop report numbers. Fresno has held the number-one position for several years.