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Drought affects agriculture values 

paso-robles-wine-grape-growersDespite the continued drought, San Luis Obispo County Agricultural Commissioner and Sealer of Weights and Measures Martin Settevendemie said, the county saw a smaller drop in net values for its agricultural industry in 2014 than expected. The overall gross value of agriculture in the county dropped from more than $921 million in 2013 to nearly $903 million in 2014.

“It is a little surprising given the drought we are in, but I think it speaks to the diversity of agriculture we have here in San Luis Obispo County,” Settevendemie said during a presentation to the SLO County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. “When we have one commodity group that may be down, we have other commodity groups that may be up to help balance that. How long that will be sustained considering the drought is moving into its fourth year is unknown, but I think it’s a strength of our agricultural community.”

Animals, field crops and fruit and nut crops saw an increase from 2013 to 2014, while nursery and vegetable categories both saw decreases.

Settevendemie attributed the increase of animal values to ranchers selling off herds, rather than selling calves. He said the larger and older animals fetched higher prices than the calves. He said he expects next year’s numbers for animals to remain the same or even drop because of the cattle being sold off due to the low foliage and reduction in grazing land.

Avocados were down by 50 percent. Besides the drought, the commissioner also attributed the lower numbers to significant pest issues, as well as labor shortages. The labor shortages resulted in some crops going unharvested. The quality of some vegetable crops were affected by high soil salinity. Vegetable crops saw a $42 million decline in 2014 over 2013.

“Just looking forward, 2015 is starting out as another dry year,” Settevendemie said. “There will be continued challenges for agriculture.”

Top 20 value crops in 2014 for SLO County

  • Strawberries $205,765,000
  • Wine grapes $203,785,000
  • Cattle and calves $129,600,000
  • Broccoli $57,158,000
  • Vegetable transplants $33,679,000
  • Cut flowers $27,043,000
  • Avocados $22,714,000
  • Head lettuce $20,480,000
  • Lemons $15,864,000
  • Napa cabbage $14,007,000
  • Cauliflower $13,478,000
  • Outdoor ornamentals $10,306,000
  • Bell peppers $7,188,000
  • Rangeland grazed $7,105,000
  • Leaf lettuce $6,893,000
  • Cabbage $4,805,000
  • Alfalfa hay $4,201,000
  • Grain hay $2,554,000
  • Valencia oranges $1,735,000
  • Squash $1,310,000

 

Settevendemie said a hardcopy of the report will be released in June.

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