California: $50 billion farm sales in 2019
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April 22, 2021
California’s 70,000 farms sold farm commodities worth $50 billion in 2019, almost twice the $28 billion in farm sales of Iowa.
California has led among states in farm sales since 1950
| Rank | State | Crop Cash Receipts |
|---|---|---|
| $1,000 | ||
| United States | 370,636,400 | |
| 1 | California | 50,116,898 |
| 2 | Iowa | 27,535,876 |
| 3 | Nebraska | 21,594,555 |
| 4 | Texas | 21,117,057 |
| 5 | Minnesota | 16,858,883 |
The 11 California commodities that each had sales of over $1 billion accounted for 72 percent of the state’s farm sales, and the six whose farm sales each exceeded $2 billion accounted for over half of the state’s total farm sales: milk, $7.3 billion; almonds, $6.1 billion; grapes, $5.4 billion; nursery and greenhouse commodities, $4.3 billion; cattle, $3.1 billion; and strawberries, $2.2 billion.
11 commodities whose sales were each over $1 billion accounted for 72% of California’s farm sales in 2019
| Value and Ranks 1 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commodity | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |||
| $1,000 | Number | $1,000 | Number | $1,000 | Number | |
| Milk and Cream | 6,561,720 | 1 | 6,371,017 | 1 | 7,340,707 | 1 |
| Almonds (shelled) | 5,603,950 | 3 | 5,602,500 | 3 | 6,094,440 | 2 |
| Grapes | 5,847,966 | 2 | 6,260,348 | 2 | 5,411,688 | 3 |
| Miscellaneous crops 2 | 4,088,169 | 4 | 4,273,231 | 4 | 4,286,518 | 4 |
| Cattle & Calves | 2,647,838 | 6 | 3,189,177 | 5 | 3,064,300 | 5 |
| Berries, All Strawberries | 2,530,903 | 7 | 2,086,077 | 7 | 2,221,320 | 6 |
| Pistachios | 1,014,507 | 1 | 12,615,550 | 6 | 1,938,800 | 7 |
| Lettuce, All | 3,017,377 | 5 | 1,786,564 | 8 | 1,824,435 | 8 |
| Walnuts | 1,568,700 | 8 | 916,650 | 1 | 31,286,410 | 9 |
| Floriculture | 1,171,900 | 9 | 1,215,997 | 9 | 1,215,997 | 10 |
| Tomatoes, All | 1,075,824 | 1 | 01,197,642 | 1 | 01,174,395 | 11 |
| 1 Total value is based on USDA Economic Research Service cash receipts, September 2020 release. | ||||||
| 2 Includes nursery/greenhouse crops (excluding Floriculture), Christmas trees, seed crops, and miscellaneous field, vegetable, berry, tree fruit, and nut crops. | ||||||
Four counties accounted for over half of the state’s farm sales. Fresno county led the state with over $7.7 billion in farm sales, slightly ahead of Kern county with just under $7.7 billion in farm sales, Tulare county with $7.5 billion, and Monterey county with $4.4 billion.
4 counties led by Fresno and Kern accounted for over half of California’s farm sales
| County | Total Value and Rank | Leading Commodities | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1,000 | |||||
| 2018 | 2019 | ||||
| Fresno | 7,942,018 | 1 | 7,714,540 | 1 | Almonds, Pistachios, Livestock (Unspecified), Grapes (Table) |
| Kern | 7,469,670 | 2 | 7,692,667 | 2 | Almonds, Grapes (Table), Pistachios, Milk |
| Tulare | 7,113,392 | 3 | 7,508,852 | 3 | Milk, Oranges (Navel), Grapes (Table), Cattle & Calves |
| Monterey | 4,258,628 | 4 | 4,426,625 | 4 | Strawberries, Lettuce (Romaine), Lettuce (Head), Broccoli |
| Stanislaus | 3,528,222 | 5 | 3,526,856 | 5 | Almonds, Milk, Chickens, Nursery (Fruit/Vine/Nut) |
| Merced | 3,252,659 | 6 | 3,270,959 | 6 | Milk, Almonds, Cattle & Calves, Chickens (Broilers) |
| San Joaquin | 2,594,221 | 7 | 2,638,145 | 7 | Almonds, Milk, Grapes (Wine), Walnuts |
| Kings | 2,280,675 | 8 | 2,187,693 | 8 | Milk, Almonds, Cotton (Pima), Pistachios |
| Imperial | 2,226,030 | 9 | 2,015,843 | 9 | Heifers & Steers (Fed), Hay (Alfalfa), Vegetables (Unspec.), Hay (Other) |
| Madera | 2,055,845 | 11 | 1,998,826 | 10 | Almonds, Milk, Pistachios, Grapes (Wine) |
The value of the state’s farm exports were $22 billion or 44 percent of the state’s farm sales in 2019, led by $4.9 billion worth of almonds, $2 billion worth of pistachios, and $1.8 billion worth of dairy products. Five commodities accounted for 52 percent of the state’s farm exports.
5 commodities accounted for over half of California’s $22 billion in farm exports in 2019
| 2019 Rank | Product | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | Change in Value 2018 to 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1 Million | (In Percent) 1 | ||||
| 1 | Almonds 2 | 4,482 | 4,531 | 4,901 | 8.2 |
| 2 | Pistachios | 1,518 | 1,736 | 2,010 | 15.8 |
| 3 | Dairy and Products 3 | 1,599 | 1,618 | 1,805 | 11.5 |
| 4 | Wine | 1,401 | 1,327 | 1,253 | -5.6 |
| 5 | Walnuts 2 | 1,370 | 1,280 | 1,250 | -2.4 |
| 1 Total export values for each year are rounded to the nearest million dollars. More precise values are used in the percent change calculations. | |||||
| 2 Export values for 2018 were revised based on updated production data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture/National Agricultural Statistics Service. | |||||
| 3 Dairy and product export values were updated for 2017 and 2018 using improved estimation methods. | |||||
Fruits and vegetables. Farm sales are divided into broad crop and livestock categories. Fruits and nuts were worth $21.4 billion; vegetables and melons $8.2 billion; greenhouse, floriculture, and horticultural specialties $5.7 billion; and livestock products $12.3 billion.
FVH commodities accounted for 70 percent of the state’s $50 billion in farm sales
| Source of Income | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1,000 | |||
| Field Crops | |||
| Corn for Grain | 72,498 | 55,445 | 47,926 |
| Cotton Lint | 431,943 | 477,510 | 425,094 |
| Oil Crops | 39,255 | 37,969 | 47,064 |
| Rice | 699,401 | 780,221 | 896,790 |
| Wheat | 72,979 | 71,135 | 43,889 |
| Other Field Crops | 859,544 | 853,864 | 888,815 |
| Total | 2,175,620 | 2,276,144 | 2,349,578 |
| % of Gross Cash Income | 4.1 | 4.4 | 4.4 |
| Fruit and Nut Crops | |||
| Total | 21,461,745 | 21,923,678 | 21,419,425 |
| % of Gross Cash Income | 40.6 | 42.5 | 40.5 |
| All Other Crops | |||
| Total | 4,379,186 | 4,545,161 | 4,555,477 |
| % of Gross Cash Income | 8.3 | 8.8 | 8.6 |
| Floriculture | |||
| Total | 1,171,900 | 1,215,997 | 1,215,997 |
| % of Gross Cash Income | 2.2 | 2.4 | 2.3 |
| Vegetables and Melons | |||
| Total | 9,200,385 | 7,816,047 | 8,237,276 |
| % of Gross Cash Income | 17.4 | 15.1 | 15.6 |
| Livestock, Poultry, and Products | |||
| Cattle and Calves | 2,647,838 | 3,189,177 | 3,064,300 |
| Hogs | 25,040 | 27,453 | 26,664 |
| Milk and Cream | 6,561,720 | 6,371,017 | 7,340,707 |
| Poultry and Eggs | 1,410,914 | 1,624,000 | 1,311,869 |
| Other Livestock/Poultry | 544,297 | 600,069 | 595,605 |
| Total | 11,189,809 | 11,811,716 | 12,339,146 |
| % of Gross Cash Income | 21.2 | 22.9 | 23.3 |
| Total Cash Income From Marketings | |||
| Total | 49,578,643 | 49,588,742 | 50,116,898 |
| Farm Related Income | |||
| Total | 3,288,067 | 2,051,929 | 2,771,190 |
| % of Gross Cash Income | 6.2 | 4.0 | 5.2 |
| Gross Cash Income From Farmings | |||
| Total | 52,866,710 | 51,640,671 | 52,888,087 |
Within each broad FVH category, a handful of commodities accounted for most of the category’s sales. For example, almost 80 percent of fruit and nut sales were from five commodities: $6.1 billion from almonds; $5.4 billion worth from grapes; $2.2 billion worth from strawberries;, $1.9 billion from pistachios; and $1.3 billion from walnuts.
Similarly, 56 percent of vegetable and melon sales were from four commodities: lettuce was worth $1.8 billion (including almost $1 billion for leaf and romaine); tomatoes $1.2 billion (including $0.9 billion for processing tomatoes); and broccoli and carrots were each worth $0.8 billion.