Colusa County’s agriculture production continues to decline amid severe drought conditions, dropping more than $98 million in a single year.
Agricultural Commissioner Anastacia Allen on Tuesday released the 2021 Colusa County Crop Report, which showed gross crop values decreased 12 percent from the previous year, from about $927 million in 2020 to $828 million.
“This (report) reflects the second year of our drought and we really felt it,” Allen said. “Keep in mind, this was the 2021 crop year – not this year. We know that this year is much worse.”
Due to the drought, 2021 again saw the lowest amount of planted rice in decades (historically 145,000 acres), dropping from 125,504 acres in 2020 to just 99,214 acres in 2021.
That being said, market values for rice were higher in 2021, rising to $482 per ton from $432 in 2020, which made rice the county’s top crop for the first time since 2013, exceeding almonds, which grossed $217.7 million.
Almonds have been the county’s most valued crop since it dethroned rice nearly 10 years ago, Allen said. The top nut crop was harvested on 67,714 acres in 2021, down from 68,604 acres in 2020.
While farmers harvested slightly fewer acres of almonds last year, the value of almonds increased slightly from $3,900 per ton in 2020 to $3,921 per ton, but far below 2019 values of $5,500 per ton and the all-time high of $7,191 per ton in 2015.
English walnut production increased in 2021 to $80.4 million, up from $78.5 million in 2020, to keep its third place position.
The gross value of walnuts also increased significantly to $1,660 per ton, from $1,290 per ton in 2020.
While farmers harvested about 26,749 acres of walnuts in 2021, up from 23,886 acres in 2020, they did experience lower yields than the previous year.
Tomatoes remained in the fourth position at $52.9 million, up from $50 million in 2020.
Miscellaneous fruit and nut crop values, at $25 million, once again switched places with Almond pollination, which dropped to sixth position at $24.9 million.
Miscellaneous fruit and vegetable crops held seventh position at $24 million in both 2021 and 2020.
Likewise, the value of cattle and calves remained in eighth position, but at a value of $22.7 million, up from $21 million in 2020.
For the third straight year, seed crops held their ninth place position in the top 10 list of farm commodities, but with a gross value of $21.7 million, up from $17 million in 2020.
Miscellaneous non-certified seed crops, which include asparagus, cabbage, cantaloupe, grass, and herb seeds, managed to hold on to the 10th position with a value of $14 million, down from $17.9 million in 2020.
The 2021 crop report includes graphs depicting commodity trends and crop value trends. It also has a full-page world map of leading export countries.
Colusa County exports commodities to approximately 70 countries, Allen said. The majority of Colusa County rice is exported to Mexico, the United Kingdom, Japan, Belgium, and New Zealand.
Almonds are largely exported to India.
Allen said the devastating impact of California’s third year of drought will be reflected in the mandatory crop report for 2022 – to be released next fall.
The fact that the local agriculture industry can flip from an upward trajectory in value to complete devastation – due to extreme weather – serves as a reminder of how important it is for Colusa County farmers to complete the annual crop survey, Allen said.
“When we had our freeze in February, our crops reports became vital to declaring that disaster designation,” she added. “Our crop report data is where we get that from. We want to be sure that everyone fills out the survey.”
This year, the crop surveys will be sent out to all producers electronically.
“It is very important to get that data in,” Allen said. ■