Yuba and Sutter Counties

 

The following information was used by permission from the Yuba and Sutter County Ag Commissioners’ Annual Crop Reports. We thank them for the privilege to use this information, as well as for the work they perform daily to help protect our farming families and the communities that surround our agricultural lands.

 

Sutter County

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The gross value of Sutter County agricultural production for 2021 was $621,366,000. This is an increase of $52,509,000 or 9.2% above the 2020 total value.

Rice remains the top-ranking crop in 2021 despite a 30.5% decrease in acreage. An increase in yield and price offset the reduction in acreage as the total value fell to $174,352,000. In second place, walnuts total value increased 60.9% to $121,405,000 due to increases in harvested acreage and price. Cling Peaches remained in third with increases in acreage, yield and value to a total value of $55,765,000. Remaining in fourth, processing tomatoes increased in acreage and price and decreased in yield to a total value of $54,964,000. In fifth, nursery products total value rose to $45,782,000 despite decreases in acreage and quantity sold.

 

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Yuba County

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The gross value of Yuba County’s agricultural production for 2021 is $278,931,580 up approximately 29% from the 2020 value estimate of $215,152,000. The increase in value can be attributed to the increase in commodity prices for rice, walnuts, kiwi, prunes, livestock and almonds. Peaches and timber declined in value due to decreases in yield and price.

The overall value of Yuba County’s agricultural production remains strong with this year’s values nearly reaching the counties all time high of $281 million in 2014. The figures presented in this report are estimated gross values with no consideration of production costs and do not reflect net income to producers.

Higher prices for many crops benefited many producers in 2021, but fluctuating commodity prices continue to pose significant challenges for producers in the long run. The rank of the counties top two crops remained the same in 2021. Rice remained Yuba County’s top crop generating $100 million in gross value. At $55 million, walnuts remained second in rank. Prunes/Dried Plums take over third place amidst increasing values at $28 million. Livestock-All drops to number four at $25 million despite increasing in value from the previous year.

The contribution of agriculture to the economy of Yuba County is not totally reflected in the values contained in this report. Processing, transporting, marketing and other farm related services directly or indirectly tied to agriculture, benefited appreciably.

According to a recent study conducted by Agricultural Impact Associates, Yuba County’s agricultural industry can be estimated to have returned an additional 62.5% of the gross agriculture value for an estimated total value of $453,263,817 in 2021. Agriculture accounts for 1 out of every 11 jobs in Yuba County.