Strawberries continue to reign supreme among the top crops in Santa Barbara County, bringing in more than $775 million in revenue, according to the 2023 Crop and Livestock Report.

The county saw $1.8 billion in revenue from agriculture in 2023. It represents a drop of 2.8% from the 2022 revenue of $1.93 billion, according to the report.

Jose Chang, the agricultural commissioner for Santa Barbara County, appeared before the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday to present the report.

“As you recall, in 2023, we had a series of atmospheric storms that caused significant damage to our county, including the agricultural industry,” he said.

The loss in produce is estimated to be near $169 million, according to the report.

Out of the fields that were affected, strawberries were hit the hardest by the storms, seeing their total revenue fall from $810 million in 2022 — a loss of $56 million.

Following strawberries, the next highest were nursery products, at $122 million, which cover products such as flowers and potted plants.

Wine grapes came in third with $98.5 million, a 2.3% increase that Chang attributed to an increase in volume, a longer blooming period, and better soil.

Chang also mentioned that the storm changed the normal makeup to the top 10 list and that raspberries, blueberries and avocados were most affected by the cold weather.

Avocados dropped off the list, which Chang attributed to the weather and other countries growing their own avocados.

Overall, fruits and nuts made up the bulk of agriculture production with 50% of the yearly gross. Vegetable crops were second with 33% of the gross, and nursery products made up 7%.

Additionally, Chang announced that the number of registered organic farms in the county has increased to 197, with the main crop being strawberries.

One of the largest money-makers in the report is not listed with the other crops: cannabis. The industry generated more than $333 million in total product value last year, according to the county.

During Tuesday’s board meeting, Supervisor Bob Nelson of the Fourth District asked Chang to explain why cannabis was listed separately, under Other Commodities.

Chang said his department listed it under that label because of the legal status of cannabis. Even though it is legal in the state of California, the U.S. government has not legalized cannabis on a national level.

“If that ever happens at the federal level, of course, at that point, it could be considered an agricultural commodity. But at this point it is not, although it is included in the report,” Chang said. “It’s just not in the total gross production value.”

He stated that if cannabis is legalized in the future, it could benefit Santa Barbara County’s agricultural industry.

Read the full 2023 Crop and Livestock Report in English or Spanish online here.