Yuba County releases 2019 Crop Report
Agriculture is big business in the Yuba-sutter area. In Yuba County, it contributes more than $1 million a day to the economy – or approximately $391.8 million a year – and makes up roughly 1 in every 11 jobs.
The value of just the Yuba County
agricultural production for 2019 was $234.5 million, down by 3 percent from the year before, according to the most recent crop report released by the county this week. Yuba County Ag Commissioner Stephen Scheer said the decrease in value can be attributed to the significant decrease in prune prices and yield, as well as the reduction of timber production.
Still, he said, agricultural production has remained strong despite the fluctuation in value in multiple leading crops.
“I think it was a decent year,” Scheer said. “We had several commodities that lost value due to decreased yield or prices, but we had other commodities that just about made up for it.”
The county’s top six crops remained the same in 2019, with rice being the most valuable at $58.9 milion. The commodity saw a decrease in yield, and while there was a slight increase in pricing, it experienced a decrease in value of nearly $4 million from the year before.
Walnuts came in second and were valued at $54.3 million. The commodity saw a $12 million increase from the year before due to a $500 increase in value per ton.
Prunes came in third, valued at $25.5 million. The commodity saw a decrease of nearly $7 million from the year before due to a decrease in both price and yield.
Next came livestock, valued at $22.7 million
– an increase from 2018 of $1.7 million due to an increase in prices. Peaches were right behind with a value of $22.24 million, up $2.3 million from the year prior due to an increase in price and yield.
Other commodities that made the county’s top 10 list included kiwis (valued at $13 million), pastures ($5.7 million), almonds ($5.5 million), nursery stock ($3.9 million), and timber ($2.5 million).
The 3 percent decrease in overall value of the county’s crops isn’t alarming, Scheer said. Despite fluctuations in values over the past several years, the county has been making steady gains overall thanks to its diversification of crops, he said. For instance, where prunes, almonds, timber and rice lost value last year, walnuts, peaches and nursery stock saw gains.
“It’s very important to have different commodities because they can help buffer any changes in values,” Scheer said. “Inevitably, some commodities will go down in value, so it’s about not having all your eggs in one basket.”
There haven’t been any real issues so far in 2020 with any of the county’s major crops. Most commodities have had a good grow year so far, Scheer said, and all signs indicate that almonds are in for a record year.
The biggest impact due to COVID-19 will likely be to the export market. Scheer said his office has seen a decrease in the amount of export certificates it typically issues a year.
“We didn’t have any real crazy weather in the spring, and while we did have some hot weather and smoke, from what I can tell, it seems we will be on par for an average or better than average year for some commodities,” Scheer said. “COVID is definitely going to leave its mark in the export market. Nobody really knows how significant it will be, it’s just too early to know.”
To view the most recent crop report, go to https:// bit.ly/33rnrsd. The county also released a report earlier this year that shows the economic contributions of agriculture in Yuba County. To view that document, go to https:// bit.ly/3hvgsbu.
Sutter County is still in the process of creating their 2019 Crop Report, which is expected to be released within the next two months.