Madera County’s 2014 crop values hit
record-high $2.2 billion

Almonds,
milk, grapes are top 3 crops

By Robert
Rodriguez

                Strong
market prices and increased production helped push Madera County’s 2014 crop
values to a record-high $2.2 billion. The 2014 gross agriculture values rose
19.5 percent over the previous year, said Stevie McNeill, Madera County
agricultural commissioner.

                McNeill, who presented the
annual report to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, said that despite a
devastating drought, farmers benefited from higher dairy prices and the
continued growth of the almond industry.  “This demonstrates the ability of Madera
County producers to adapt and increase efficiencies while facing the ongoing
drought conditions,” McNeill said. Madera County’s top five crops in 2014 were:
almonds, milk, grapes, pistachios and cattle and calves.

Almonds have remained the county’s top crop for the fifth year in a row
with a value of $771 million. Madera County increased its acreage of almonds by
7 percent in 2014 to 106,000 acres. The crop has remained a hot commodity in
the San Joaquin Valley, bolstered by steady consumer demand domestically and
abroad. “Farmers are getting out of other crops and getting into almonds
because the crop is making more money,” McNeill said.

Pistachios and walnut growers also are planting more trees in hopes of
tapping the growing demand for nuts. Positive health claims about nut
consumption have helped drive that growth. Last year, pistachio acreage rose 6
percent to 31,000 acres and walnuts grew 11 percent to 1,900 acres, the crop
report shows. Also contributing to Madera County’s record-breaking year was the
booming dairy industry. Last year, dairy farmers enjoyed the highest dairy
prices in history. The production from the county’s 43 dairies was valued at
$415 million, an increase of 28 percent from 2013.

Hardest hit by the drought were field crops, including cotton, corn, oat
hay and wheat. The entire field crop category declined in acreage by 4 percent
and nearly 9 percent in revenue.  Figs, a
crop that once was in decline in the central San Joaquin Valley, has made a
comeback over the last decade. Acreage in Madera County grew 19 percent last
year to 5,600 acres and revenue jumped 22 percent to $19 million. “What we are
seeing is an increase in plantings of specialty figs, like the tiger fig,”
McNeill said. “And we are still the No. 1 fig-producing county in the state.” Madera
County’s report, the last of the year in the central San Joaquin Valley,
follows record values set in neighboring counties. Tulare County led the state
with an overall crop value of $8 billion. Taking the No. 2 spot was Kern County
with $7.5 billion and Fresno County’s overall crop value was $7 billion. Kings
County’s crop value was $2.4 billion.

Robert
Rodriguez: 559-441-6327, @FresnoBeeBob

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