California Farm Sales: $51 billion in 2021

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April 7, 2023

California had farm sales of $51 billion in 2021, up from $49 billion in 2020 and 1.5x the farm sales of Iowa. California accounted for 12 percent of US farm sales of $434 billion in 2021, including $238 billion from the sale of crops and $195 billion from the sale of animal commodities.

CA’s farm sales of $51 billion were 1.5x Iowa and 2x Texas in 2021

The most valuable California commodity was milk worth $7.6 billion, followed by grapes worth $5.2 billion and almonds and nursery crops each worth $5 billion. Cattle and calves, strawberries, pistachios, lettuce, tomatoes, walnuts and rice were among the 11 commodities that each had farm sales of over $1 billion in 2021.

11 California commodities had farm sales of more than $1 billion in 2021

California exported farm commodities worth $22 billion in 2021, led by $4.6 billion worth of almonds (88 percent of the almonds were exported), $2.5 billion worth of dairy products, and $2 billion worth of wine. Tree nut exports of almonds, pistachios, and walnuts were over a third of California’s farm exports.

Tree nuts were over ⅓ of CA farm exports

The three leading farm counties, Kern, Fresno, and Tulare, each had farm sales of over $8 billion and collectively accounted for over half of the state’s farm sales. The leading commodity in Kern and Fresno county was grapes, and in Tulare county oranges.

Kern, Fresno, and Tulare counties accounted for ½ of California’s farm sales

FVH Commodities. California agriculture specializes in high-value fruits and nuts, vegetables and melons, and horticultural specialties (FVH commodities). California’s fruits and nuts were worth $22 billion in 2021, vegetables and melons were worth $7 billion, and nursery and floriculture products were worth $6 billion, making FVH commodities worth $35 billion or almost 70 percent of the state’s farm sales.

FVH commodities were worth $35 billion or 70% of CA’s farm sales in 2021

Within each FVH commodity group, a few crops dominate. The three tree nuts, almonds, pistachios, and walnuts, accounted for $9 billion or 40 percent of fruit and nut sales. Tree nuts are not labor intensive, but their large acreage means that 1,900 establishments hired an average 18,000 workers directly in 2021, second only to strawberries, where 300 establishments hired an average 25,000 workers. These data do not include workers brought to farms by FLCs and other crop support service firms, and some of the directly hired tree nut workers could be employed in packing plants that clean and sort the farm’s harvested nuts.

The leading labor-intensive fruit crops by value included strawberries worth $3 billion, oranges worth $900 million, tangerines and mandarins worth $800 million, and lemons worth $600 million. Raspberries worth $400 million were more valuable than cherries, $300 million, and blueberries, $200 million. Peaches were worth $400 million and avocados $300 million.

The value of labor-intensive fruits was $7 billion or a third of the total value of fruits and nuts in 2020. The acreage of labor-intensive fruits such as blueberries increased over the past decade while the acreage of raspberries and strawberries has been decreasing. The acreage of oranges declined over the past decade, the acreage of lemons increased, and the acreage of mandarins and tangelos rose by over 50 percent over the past decade to 66,000.

Blueberry acreage is rising; strawberry acreage is stable

Orange acreage is declining, lemon acreage is stable, mandarin acreage is rising

The acreage of apples and apricots declined over the past decade, the acreage of avocados (47,000 acres) and sweet cherries (33,000 acres) was stable, and the acreage of table grapes rose over the past decade. The acreage of peaches, pears and raisin grapes fell over the past decade.

Raisin grape acreage is declining; table grape acreage is increasing

California crushes about 3.5 tons of wine-variety grapes a year, with the crush exceeding four million tons in some years. About 55 percent of the crush in 2021 involved red varieties worth $1,100 a ton, and 45 percent were white varieties worth $700 a ton.

Most of California’s wine grapes are more valuable red varieties

Within the $7 billion vegetable and melon sector, hand-harvested lettuce worth $2 billion accounted for almost 30 percent of the value of the state’s vegetables and melons, followed by $800 million worth of carrots, $600 million worth of broccoli, and over $300 million worth of spinach. Shrinking production of melons ($300 million of cantaloupes, honeydews, and watermelons) and fresh tomatoes ($275 million) is reflected in falling acreage and sales of these commodities.

There are three major types of lettuce, head, leaf, and Romaine. Head lettuce acreage declined over the past decade, leaf lettuce acreage rose, and Romaine acreage was stable.

Leaf and Romaine lettuces are more valuable than head lettuce

The top 15 commodities as reported by county agricultural commissioners generate a similar picture. Kern is the leading producer of grapes, almonds, pistachios, and tangerines and mandarins, while Fresno is the leading producer of peaches and number two in grapes and pistachios. Tulare is the leading county for dairy, cattle, and lemons, and second in peaches and alfalfa.

Kern, Fresno, and Tulare counties lead in sales of the most valuable commodities

Trends. Rising farm labor costs are encouraging producers of labor-intensive commodities to invest in (1) machines to replace workers and mechanical aids that make them more productive, (2) housing for H-2A guest workers, and (3) production outside CA to take advantage of lower labor and other costs. The mix of machines, H-2A workers, and imports and other state production varies by commodity.

For example, the production of milk may shift from California to midwestern states due to lower feed costs, lower wages, and fewer environmental restrictions on dairies. Americans are consuming more milk products as cheese and butter rather than fluid milk, which makes it easier to separate the production and consumption of dairy products. Grape production, by contrast, is likely to remain centered in California, albeit with more mechanization in raisin grapes and mechanical aids that make table grape workers more productive.

Lettuce and strawberries are also likely to remain in California, with mechanical aids making the field workers who hand harvest most of these commodities more productive. Technology that increases efficiency in packing sheds may increase also efficiency in the field, as with workers who cut lettuce that is washed and bagged in salad plants. Similarly, workers can pick strawberries faster into lugs that are taken to packing houses for sorting and packing rather than having workers sort and pack in the field.

Mature-green tomatoes, cantaloupes, asparagus are among the commodities whose production is likely to continue to shrink in the face of declining consumption and rising imports from lower wage countries.

References

California Agricultural Statistics Review 2020-21.

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