Crop Production Rises 17 Percent In Santa Cruz County

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA — Crop production in Santa Cruz County increased 17 percent in 2018 over the previous year, according to figures released Thursday. The 2018 Santa Cruz County Crop Report showed the county's overall 2018 crop value of $683,012,000 represents a $101,812,000 million increase over 2017.

Strawberries remain the top crop in acres under production, yield and overall value, but raspberries saw a 52 percent increase in value over the previous year. Raspberries' total value of $168,465,000 is the highest figure ever recorded in Santa Cruz County, and was second behind strawberries' value of $220,653,000, according to the report.

In addition to the dramatic rise in raspberry values, nursery stock (plants including landscape and indoor) rose 85 percent over the prior year to $83,204,000. The value of apple stocks also rose significantly to $23,705,000, a 74 percent increase, likely due to favorable weather patterns, the report showed.

Santa Cruz County is also a key incubator of the organic farming movement, and organic farming continues playing a significant role in overall crop production. With 140 registered organic growers in Santa Cruz County, the total value of organic crops was$126,376,000, a 16 percent increase over the prior year, according to the report.

"Weather, low prices and oversupply impacted our local growers in 2017, making for a challenging year," Santa Cruz County Agricultural Commission Juan Hidalgo said. "We're happy to see significant rebound in 2018 to put us back in line with historic growth in crop values. It demonstrates how resilient our local industry is."