Tulare County falls to No. 2
Total value was $6.37 billion in 2016
Tulare County’s threeyear run as the top agricultural county in the nation came to end in 2016.
Tulare County Agricultural Commissioner Marilyn Kinoshita delivered her department’s latest crop report to the Tulare Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.
She reported the crop value in 2016 was $6.37 billion an 8.8 percent decrease from 2015. Kinoshita attributed the drop to lower prices for commodities, adding that overall production was virtually the same as in 2015.
Overall, Kinoshita said it was a “very positive” year. “The 2016 report that I presented is the fourth largest overall dollar value that we have seen,” she said.
The county has topped $6 billion in each of the past five years.
Kern County was the top farm community at $7.187 billion and Fresno remained in third at $6.183 billion. All three of the counties — Kern, Tulare and Fresno — saw ag sales decline from 2015 to 2016.
Milk remained the top commodity in Tulare County and the nation with more than $1.645 billion in sales, despite seeing a decline of $72.4 million compared to the previous year. The average price for a hundred pounds of fresh milk came in at $14.90 in 2016. In 2015, the price was $15.30.
Kinoshita noted that while some of the larger dairies in the county could probably weather the lower prices, the same could not be said for smaller dairies and as a result the number of operations continues to decline. In 2016, there were 269 dairies, down from 282 in 2015.
Declines were seen almost across the board for Tulare County. Livestock and poultry’s gross value of $742 million represents a decrease of 27.4 percent from 2015, “mostly due to lower per unit value for cattle and a decrease in the head county of poultry.”
Field crops were down by 36.5 percent from the previous year. Total production was $520 million. The loss was attributed to a decrease in price per ton and reduced acreage.
There were some bright spots in crop report. Oranges, which include navels and Valencias, moved up from third to second in Tulare County with a total value of $838 million, followed by cattle and calves at
$660 million, Grapes at $600 million and fresh tangerines rounded out the top five at $343 million.
Pistachios, almond meats and hulls, corn (grain and silage), walnuts, and fresh lemons comprised the top 10. Lemons with only 7,190 bearing acres made the top 10 for the first time.
Fruit and nut sales increased by 1 percent to $3.288 billion, with most of the increase being attributed to the increase of harvested acres of navel oranges, walnuts and pistachios. Vegetable crops were valued at $26.315 million an increase of 5.7 percent. Ornamental trees and shrubs were valued at $46.391 million an increase of 9.7 percent from 2015.
Total production of honey-orange jumped by 2.5 million pounds with total sales coming in at $21.714 million.
Permanent planting acreage increased in 2016 by 13.2 percent.
The 2016 crop report includes more than 120 different commodities, 45 of which have a gross value over $1 million. The county produces crops to more than 90 countries.