LAKEPORT, Calif. – Last week Lake County’s agriculture commissioner presented the 2017 crop report to the Board of Supervisors, a document that shows an overall increase in agriculture’s gross value, which he said may be the last increase for some time.
At the Jan. 15 meeting, Agriculture Commissioner Steve Hajik said that for 2017 the gross value of agriculture in Lake County totaled approximately $120,753,532, an increase of 6 percent over 2016.
“Probably be the last increase for a while, which I’ll explain later,” he said.
In 2017, Lake County’s No. 1 agricultural commodity was winegrapes, with a gross value of $85.2 million, Hajik said. Production was down 7 percent, the price per ton rose 5 percent.
He said there were 9,508 total acres, an increase of only 88 acres, which is low considering trends.
The No. 2 commodity was pears, with a gross value of $26.9 million. Hajik said the commodity value was up 25 percent, with production also up 25 percent. However, the price per ton was down 3 percent and acres stayed the same.
He said in the next crop report there will be a significant difference in the pear acreage.
Supervisor Rob Brown asked about impacts of smoke from wildland fires on winegrapes. Hajik said he didn’t have reports of smoke taint in 2017.
Brown said he wondered how much impact the fires over the past four years have had on winegrapes, which have been hit the hardest. The fires haven’t impacted pears and walnuts.
He said he heard there were 1,500 tons of winegrapes left on the vines in 2018 due to smoke damage. “I think it’s important to find out what that cumulative impact has been on the economy,” Brown said.
Hajik agreed. He said that if growers accepted a lesser price for grapes in 2018, it would impact prices per ton in future years. “If they don't pick, that’s actually better for the price in the future.”
For 2018, Hajik said he expects a $10 million hit on winegrapes.
Board Chair Tina Scott asked if it’s known how many growers chose not to pick their grapes.
“Quite a few,” said Hajik.
Brown said it wasn’t that they decided not to pick, but that those contracted to buy their grapes wouldn’t accept them.
Hajik said he received a lot of calls during grape season about grapes and smoke taint. “I’m an official agency. If I was to respond to those questions, it’s going to impact the grape industry, so I purposefully stayed out of it, ‘cause if I get figures, I have to give them to the public.” He said he told the winegrape commission, which will do its own survey.
Brown added that the county didn’t have accurate information because those who had purchasing contracts did their own independent testing and wouldn't release the information.
Supervisor Bruno Sabatier pointed out that the hottest points of the fire season coincide with harvest season. “The difficulties of dealing with harvest while dealing with the fires is also another cost that is attributed to agriculture that we don’t see that report, so I agree that we need to protect our commodities if we can.”
Hajik said that he didn’t hear anyone speaking of smoke taint in 2017. In 2018, “That was all I heard about.”
In reporting other top commodities, Hajik said walnuts were No. 3, with $3.6 million in gross value, a production decline of 9 percent, an 11 percent increase in price per ton, and acreage of 3,550, which he said is dropping.
Cattle came in at No. 4, at $1.5 million, down 20 percent. That year saw a selloff of cattle from the drought, with ranchers wanting to build up their herds again, Hajik reported.
The only other commodity that went up in 2017 was nursery production, which rose to $980,891, while Hajik said the timber harvest dropped significantly, dropping to $143,447 from $5.1 million in 2016.
Brown said there has never been more timber harvested than the last three years, which he said wasn’t shown the report.
Hajik said the timber market was flooded by lumber and legitimate growers “got killed.”
Other notable commodities and their gross value reported by Hajik included livestock and poultry products, $45,000; field and seed crops, $1.8 million; vegetables, $210,000; miscellaneous fruits and nuts, $103,500; and miscellaneous livestock, $45,100.
In 2017, the county had 90 organic farms, with 2,028 acres and $5.4 million in gross value. Making up roughly two-thirds of organic production are walnuts, with organic walnuts valued at $2.1 million from 1,688 acres, according to Hajik.
In 2018, pears, walnuts and grapes were down, which Hajik said will be reflected in the next report.
Hajik said Washington state this year had its earliest pear growing season ever, and beat local pears to market.
Brown explained that Lake County has long been known for its Bartlett pears. However, over the past four decades, more pears have been planted in the Sacramento area along the river, in Mendocino and in Washington.
Because of the climate, the pears in those other areas are harvested about two weeks to a month ahead of Lake County’s. “Our pears are actually higher quality, but the market’s flooded,” Brown said.
That has contributed to the decline of Lake County’s pear industry, as has the influx of Chilean fruit over the past 30 years. Brown said Lake County today probably has 20 percent of the market that it had 40 years ago.
Hajik said California is down to one cannery and acreage also is dropping in neighboring Mendocino County.
He said there were 2,011 pear acres in Lake County in 2018, but that will probably drop 200 to 300 acres because of a large number of trees that were pulled, with grapes planted in their stead.
“I like variety. I like having grapes, pears and walnuts. I really do,” Hajik said, adding he wouldn’t want to be like Napa, with just grapes.
“It depends which constituents you ask,” said Supervisor Moke Simon.
Simon asked if it would be possible to do a review of the value agriculture has for Lake County’s economy. Hajik said such a study is expected to cost about $13,000, and he didn’t think he had the money to do it.
Simon also asked about the one organic hop grower included in the report. Hajik said he couldn’t give a lot of specifics, but that the grower’s production remained the same compared to the previous year.
Brown suggested there may be a way to partner with organizations to pay for getting that information to study the economics of agriculture in the crop report. Hajik said he could suggest it to pear and winegrape growers.
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Board of Supervisors hears from ag commissioner about latest crop report
- Elizabeth Larson
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