​Milk Is Marin County's Top Agricultural Commodity, Report Says

MARIN COUNTY, CA – Milk is Marin County's top agricultural commodity, according to an annual report from the county's Department of Agriculture, Weights and Measures that was presented to the county's Board of Supervisors Tuesday.

Milk accounted for 45 percent of the $96.5 million total gross value of the county's agricultural crops and livestock products in 2016, according to the report.

Organic milk accounted for $39 million of the county's $43 million gross value of milk, and prices for organic milk are now double the price of conventional milk, Agricultural Commissioner Stacy K. Carlsen said in the report.

Supervisor Dennis Rodoni called organic milk "the savior" of dairy farming in the county.

Poultry production scratched its way to become the county's second highest commodity and is now 20 percent of the county's total agricultural gross value.

The gross value of cattle, formerly the second best commodity, decreased 53 percent in 2016. The value of a head of cattle fell from $1,596 in 2015 to $724 per head last year. Marin's decrease in the gross value of
cattle reflects falling beef cattle prices nationally, Carlsen said.

Led by falling gross values of cattle, there was a 13 percent reduction in the value of all crops and livestock in Marin County in 2016 with steep dives also in the values of hay (47 percent), fruits and vegetables (29 percent) and aquaculture (26 percent) because of decreased oyster harvesting, Carlsen said.

By Bay City News

Photo caption: Cattle prices declined, but there was good news about organic milk in the new Marin County Livestock and Crop Report. / Credit County of Marin