The San Luis Obispo County Department of Agriculture/Weights and Measures released the 2018 crop production statistics Tuesday.
Agricultural production in the county hit a major economic record, earning $1,039,499,000 in 2018. This amount marks a 12 percent increase compared to the money made from production in 2017. The 2018 value accounts for overall commodity gross values and does not reflect net profits received by local agricultural producers.
The top commodities ranked by value in 2018:
- Wine Grapes – all
- Strawberries
- Broccoli
- Avocados
- Cattle and Calves
- Vegetable Transplants
- Cauliflower
- Cut Flowers
- Head Lettuce
- Lemons
Wine grape growers experience an 8% increase in production, and an overall price increase of 3% for 2018. The total value of wine grapes reached a record high of $276 million.
Despite a drop in the price of strawberries due to oversupply, the crop value was up by 18% to amount to more than $276 million.
Vegetable acreage bounced back because of the increased rainfall throughout the past couple years.
The nursery industry is switching over to the cannabis industry, but it was still able to remain quite stable with the overall value of the industry dropping by 2%.
The animal category of production jumped by 1% compared to 2017, with a production value totaled at $48.5 million.
Statistics from the San Luis Obispo County agricultural industry can beviewed online here.
