Some winter crops are increasing in production
Who doesn’t love a classic crisp Romaine salad stocked with carrots, broccoli, and a plump heirloom tomato covered with a cilantro dressing? Or maybe you enjoy a heartier meal of pasta with a cauliflower cream sauce.
Whatever your dietary preference may be, rest assured, something you ate today was made using a commodity grown in Imperial County.
Imperial County is ranked 10th in the state
of agricultural California in production. In 2016, our gross production
value was $2 billion. That is quite an impressive feat in our small desert community.
If you’ve driven around the ag fields lately, you have witnessed lots of activity. Farmers have prepared their ground and planted winter crops. You may have noticed a variety of, sometimes unrecognizable, plants sprouting up from the dirt.
As the temperature cools, you will soon begin to see more and more activity of crews harvesting these crops.
Vegetables from Imperial County, along with the Yuma region, provide approximately 95 percent of our nations winter supply. Truckloads of produce with Imperial County labels are shipped throughout the United States each and every year.
Projecting the 2017/2018 produce season, it looks like across the board we will have about the same amount of acreage planted in the top produce crops as last year.
For instance, at the height of the season in December 2016, Imperial County farmers had planted 7,867 acres of romaine lettuce. Looking at the current acreage compared to October 2016, we are projecting to see just a minor decrease in the overall figures.
However, if you compare 2017 broccoli acreage with the same crop in 2016, there is a slight increase.
Carrot crops are trending to over 33,000 acres in 2016. And this is not just our region, farmers around the country have increased their organic production expeditiously over the past few years.
Back to my original point, I challenge you this week to take a look at your daily food intake and identify how many Imperial County commodities are represented in your menu. I’m sure you’ll be amazed just how much of an impact Imperial County farmers have on your daily life.
Have you thanked a farmer today?