SANTA CRUZ — Impacts from the high-intensity 2023 winter storms proceed to be felt in Santa Cruz County, with the most recent instance coming from the agricultural sector.
Agricultural commodities hit $654.7 million in 2023, representing a 1.8% drop in comparison with the earlier 12 months’s complete, based on the county’s annual crop report launched final week. The worth dip is the primary time crop totals have declined in 4 years.
County Agricultural Commissioner David Sanford wrote within the report that whereas flood waters that inundated the county’s pristine farmland have lengthy since dried, different impacts from the devastation proceed to ripple out.
“Severe storms can have a significant impact on agricultural operations, and these declines were not unexpected,” Santa Cruz County Agricultural Commissioner David Sanford stated in a launch. “While the fields have recovered and returned to full productivity, damages and delays caused losses that persisted throughout 2023 and underscored how climate change can impact our economy.”
Strawberries, which have lengthy been a formidable financial engine within the county, took residence the “top crop” crown but once more in 2023 by bringing in additional than $184.8 million from 74,269 tons of complete manufacturing throughout 2,363 acres. Nonetheless, the full worth of strawberries was down greater than $35 million in comparison with 2022. Within the report, Sanford attributed this to storm harm and flooding from late 2022 and early 2023.
Nursey inventory–indoor potted crops, panorama crops, transplants and Christmas timber–got here in second behind strawberries by raking in additional than $128 million in 2023–a rise of practically $24 million in comparison with 2022.
Raspberries got here in third at simply shy of $115 million throughout 1,712 acres, a monetary sum that was $13.6 million extra in comparison with 2022 totals.
Altogether, the berry class had an estimated worth of $184.8 million over 2,363 acres in 2023, representing 60% of the full gross manufacturing worth of the county’s agricultural crops.
Planting delays and different weather-related points additionally prevented vegetable totals from surpassing 2022’s figures, with $90.9 million produced in 2023–a ten% drop in comparison with the earlier 12 months.
“It is important to note that figures presented in this report are gross values and do not include costs incurred by growers such as labor, land preparation, irrigation, integrated pest management, transportation, marketing, and regulatory costs,” Sanford famous within the report.
Wine grapes and apples appeared to dodge any main setbacks from final 12 months’s damaging deluges as manufacturing totals have been decrease in comparison with 2022, however solely to a comparatively minor diploma.
Natural farming skilled a lift in 2023 with roughly 160 registered operations throughout 9,287 acres all through the county that produced a cumulative worth of $147.6 million. That acreage complete is 1,276 greater than the 8,011 registered in 2022 and the gross worth is $29 million greater than the $118 million skilled in 2022.
The total report is obtainable at agdept.com.
Prime crops
1. Strawberries, $184.8 million2. Nursery inventory, $128 million3. Raspberries, $114.9 million4. Blackberries, $84 million5. Broccoli & misc. greens, $54.9 million
Supply: Santa Cruz County 2023 crop report
Initially Printed: September 24, 2024 at 5:32 a.m.
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