Placer County AG Up: Rice Top Local Crop

The value of Placer County’s agricultural crops and products was up 12.9 percent during 2013, reaching its highest total in almost 20 years.

The 2013 Placer County Agricultural Crop Report was presented to the Board of Supervisors as an informational item on June 3.

“Placer County’s total gross value of agricultural crops and products for 2013 was $82,625,000,” explained Joshua P. Huntsinger, the county’s agricultural commissioner and sealer of weights and measures. “This represents an increase of $9,428,000, or 12.9 percent above 2012’s value of $73,197,000.”

Last year’s total was the largest since the $83,607,350 recorded in 1993.

Huntsinger noted that the report reflects the gross value of agricultural crops and products and not the net income producers receive.

Placer County’s top five crops for 2013 were:

• Rice, with a total value of $22,968,000, up 2.6 percent from the preceding year;
• Cattle and calves, $11,894,000, unchanged from 2012;
• Timber, $8,998,000, up 166 percent;
• Nursery stock, $8,854,000, up 23.3 percent; and
• Walnuts, $5,349,000, up 50 percent.

Total values also were up for high-profile crops such as mandarin oranges and vegetables that often are sold at local farmers’ markets and other direct-marketing outlets.

The gross value of the 2013 mandarin orange crop was pegged at almost $1.8 million, a 9.4 percent increase from the total for the preceding year.

The value of vegetable crops was up 20 percent to $1.5 million. Crops in that category include melons, peppers, pumpkins, squash and fresh tomatoes. The value of the wine grape crop jumped 19.5 percent to $919,000.

For more information, contact the Agricultural Commissioner’s Office at 530-889-7372.