In 2022, strawberries remained the top crop in Santa Barbara County but second place may come as a surprise — cauliflower.
“The popularity of cauliflower rice — it’s one of the reasons why it went up to the second most valuable crop in the county,” said Jose Chang, Santa Barbara County Agricultural Commissioner.
The demand for this crop has increased since the pandemic.
“The pandemic and the weather — there are multiple reasons that contribute to the crop being more successful in some years than in other years,” Chang said.
Chang said the weather is one of the most important factors when it comes to growing any crop.
“For some crops, it’s great and for cauliflower, there was great weather last year,” Chang continued.
He said it is hard to predict what this year’s crop will look like.
However, one grower in the Lompoc Valley told us that we might see less cauliflower grown locally because of concerns over the diamondback moth.
The caterpillars can bore into the flower heads and cause damage to the crop.
“The two different things is that feeding on the growing point of the plant and actually preventing the plant from developing or at the caterpillar stage, boring into the flower bud which would affect the visual appearance of the cauliflower head,” said Christopher A. Greer, University of California Cooperative Extension Integrated Pest Manager.
Chang said that the moths like warm temperatures.
“Oftentimes, they don’t reproduce that much when the weather is cool and so it might be a good thing in that respect but it’s not good for the crop itself because they like the weather to be a little warmer,” Chang said.
Other factors, including the economy, will also impact the season, according to Chang.
If you are looking for a good place to find cauliflower, Chang recommends stopping by a local farmer's market.
"They sell directly to consumers and that’s another way in which cauliflower and other vegetables are being sold,” Chang said.
The cauliflower crop in Santa Barbara County last year was valued at more than $96 million.
Wine grapes were the number three crop in Santa Barbara County in 2022.
