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After experiencing a slight drop in gross sales in 2023, San Benito County’s agriculture industry bounced back in 2024 with an increase of $46.6 million compared to the previous year.
That boosted agricultural sales to a record $406 million last year, according to the San Benito County Crop & Livestock Report, which was approved without discussion by the Board of Supervisors on Nov. 18.
This is the first time local agricultural sales have topped $400 million.
| Monterey County | $4.99 billion |
| Santa Cruz County | $741.9 million |
| Fresno County | $9 billion |
| Santa Clara County | Not available |
“In 2024, farmers and ranchers prospered with a good rainy season followed by warm sunny spring and summer which ultimately led to producing bountiful harvests all around,” acting Agricultural Commissioner Ken Griffin states in the report.
Agriculture is separated into five commodity categories, including vegetable and row crops which account for the majority of sales at $271.3 million. That commodity also accounted for the largest increase among the five categories at $37.2 million over the previous year.
The second largest increase was in cattle, which grew by $8.7 million for a total of $34 million.
Field crops and other livestock and poultry accounted for $36.2 million and $3.8 million, respectively, and saw increases of $235,000 and $788,000, respectively.
The only category that dropped from the previous year was fruit and nut crops, which fell by $332,000, to a total of $60.7 million.
The commodity with the largest gross sales was spinach, with a value of $42.9 million, followed by romaine lettuce at $38.7 million and wine grapes at $31.9 million.
According to the data included in the report, a total of 548,477 acres were used for agriculture in the county. That represents a decrease of 3,129 acres from 2023.
“San Benito County saw a decrease in fertile croplands due to housing development and commercial businesses alike,” the report states. “Despite these hardships, the San Benito County agricultural industry continues to thrive.”
The county’s agricultural gross sales first topped $300 million in 2013, and they have steadily increased.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture Crop Report Manual notes that crop reports are sometimes the only source of crop sales information because many specialty crops are not included in national and state data collection systems.
“County crop reports in California are especially valuable since counties cover large areas, vary in climate and crop production capabilities, and produce as many as 400 commodities,” the manual states. “Nine of the nation’s top 10 producing counties are in California.”
San Benito County has published its crop reports annually, dating back to 1941, and they’re available here.
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