Kirby Rodriguez shows off a flat of Santa Barbara County’s No. 1 crop in 2018: strawberries, at the Daren’s Berries stand on East Betteravia Road in Santa Maria. 
With a production value of $479 million in 2018, strawberries continued their years-long reign as Santa Barbara County’s top crop. 
The Santa Barbara County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office reported that wine grape production value slipped in 2018, to $121 million, but the crop was No. 2 on the county’s list.
Strawberries were again Santa Barbara County’s top crop in 2018, followed by wine grapes and nursery products, but the overall production value of agriculture dropped by 4.9 percent, down to $1.52 billion.
County Agriculture Commissioner Cathleen Fisher attributed the drop to a decrease in vegetable crops and wine grapes.
“This report is our yearly opportunity to recognize the growers, shippers, ranchers and other businesses ancillary to and supportive of agriculture, which is the largest driver of Santa Barbara County’s economy,” she said.
Although the county endured heavy rains between January and April 2018, the seven-year drought prior to that likely led to a drop in broccoli production, to fifth place from second.
Raspberries and celery fell out of the Top 10 agricultural commodities, while cattle and avocados moved into it.
Avocados saw an increase in harvested acreage, yield per acre and total production and total value, while the county’s outreach efforts to cattle ranchers resulted in better data collection and a rise in total value, according to the county Agricultural Commissioner’s Office.
When it comes to agriculture, the weather is always a factor — and 2018 saw its share of extremes, starting with the winter rains that caused so much devastation countywide.
A February freeze last year damaged strawberry crops, while frost two months before didn’t help. Meanwhile, a March 2018 heat wave forced some blooming plants to prematurely drop their flowers, according to the report.
County crops in 2018 also were hurt by a July heat wave that was accompanied by heavy winds.
In an effort to stay competitive in the global commodities market, the county has begun cultivation of new crops, such as coffee, finger limes and agave. Future reports likely will include cannabis, but that was not a factor in the 2018 compilation.
The 2018 top commodities — in order — were:
» Strawberries, $479 million
» Wine grapes, $121 million
» Nursery products, $104 million
» Cut flowers and foliage, $88 million
» Broccoli, $80 million
» Cauliflower, $75 million
» Head lettuce, $61 million
» Leaf lettuce, $53 million
» Avocados, $53 million
» Cattle, $51 million
Santa Barbara County exports a majority of its crops to Canada, which welcomed 38,686 tons of cucumbers, peppers, strawberries and cauliflower in 2018. The second biggest country for exports is Japan, followed by Mexico, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
In the past 10 years, county crops have grown in value from $1.2 billion in 2016 to $1.6 billion in 2017, but that figured eroded in 2018, to $1.52 billion, the report said.
The top vegetable crops are bell peppers, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, head lettuce, leaf lettuce, spinach, summer squash and miscellaneous vegetables.
The top wine crops are chardonnay, syrah, sauvignon blanc, cabernet sauvignon, grenache, merlot, viognier, pinot gris, cabernet franc, white reisling and grenache blanc.
Click here for the complete report.
— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
