Solano cashes in on crops, livestock

Solano cashes in on crops, livestock
SOLANO'S TOP 2007 CROPS
By Danny Bernardini
Article Launched: 07/18/2008

Around 80 different crops of Solano County agriculture brought in more than $268 million in 2007, setting a new record.

The Solano County 2007 Annual Crop and Livestock Report will be released Tuesday and it will boast a gross value of $268,255,200, which is up nearly 15 percent from last year. The report will be presented to the Solano County Board of Supervisors at its meeting Tuesday.

Nursery products retained the number one ranking from 2006, bringing in $56,610,700. The biggest mover on the list was corn from fields, which shot up from number 20 in 2006 to number nine while earning $6,761,100. In addition, 22 of the county's more than 80 different crops and commodities exceeded $1 million in value.

Second on the list is alfalfa ($24,679,900), up one from last year; processing tomatoes ($23,955,200) rose one to number three and cattle and calves ($23,273,200) dropped from number two to four.

The remainder of the top ten was identical to 2006 with walnuts ($21,955,300) at number five; market milk ($17,022,200) at six; wine grapes ($8,095,000) at seven; almonds ($6,935,100) at eight; and, sheep and lambs ($6,489,300) at number 10.

The quarantine in the Dixon area due to the Mediterranean fruit fly infestation impacted the profit margins of tomato growers who were required to perform proactive measures to ensure the devastating pest did not spread, said Steve Pierce, Solano County public information officer.

Growers benefited from higher prices paid to producers of many of the crops as well as better weather than in 2006, according to staff reports. Ag production values dipped in 2006 due to a triad of weather factors: New Year's floods, late spring rains and record summer heat.

But with the increase in returns, many growers saw shrinking profits because of an increase of energy and transportation costs. Also vexing farmers in the area were rising wages for labor, the report said.

"The report gives us an opportunity to focus on the benefits that good weather and commodity prices bring to our agricultural industry," Supervisor Mike Reagan said in a press release. "At the same time, it emphasizes the importance of the board's efforts to improve ... the net profit of farmers."

SOLANO'S TOP 2007 CROPS
Value '07 rank '06 rank
Nursery Stock $56,610,700 1 1
Alfalfa $24,679,900 2 3
Tomatoes, processing $23,955,200 3 4
Cattle and calves $23,273,200 4 2
Walnuts $21,955,300 5 5
Milk, market $17,022,200 6 6
Grapes, wine $8,095,000 7 7
Almonds $6,935,100 8 8
Corn, field $6,761,100 9 20
Sheep and lambs $6,489,300 10 10