Placer County agriculture value hits new record of $100 million; almonds value increased 48%
Auburn, Calif. – An increase in almond production put the nut crop into Placer County's top four crops last year, helping drive a 48% increase of overall crop value to an all-time high in 2021.
Rice, along with beef cattle, walnuts and nursery, remained among Placer County's top five highest-gross-value crops. That's according to the 2021 Placer County Agricultural Crop Report, presented to the county Board of Supervisors as an informational item at its meeting Tuesday in Auburn.
"The state of the agricultural industry in Placer County is strong"
Josh Huntsinger, Placer Ag Commissioner
10 Percent Year-over-Year Rise
In a Placer County first, total gross value of agricultural crops and products for 2021 was $100,817,713; representing an increase of $10,107,597 or 10% above 2020's value of $90,710,116.
"The state of the agricultural industry in Placer County is strong," said Placer County Agricultural Commissioner Josh Huntsinger. "Our agriculture community continues to be blessed by healthy water systems and strong partnerships with Placer Grown and Visit Placer."
The annual totals reflect the gross value of agricultural crops and products, not the net incomes producers receive.
Rice is tops again!
Rice retained its spot as Placer County's top-grossing crop with a value of $27,917,400 – a $4,467,090 million increase from 2020.
Walnuts took over the second position at $14,460,744 with a significant increase in value of more than $1.3 million, due to much of the recently planted new acreage coming into production.
Beef cattle moved from second to third place with an overall value of $11,872,000.
Almonds increased their ranking to the fourth most valuable crop at $11,830,455, marking a $5.7 million increase as thousands of acres of new almonds have begun bearing nuts.
Nursery stock production entered the top five list for the first time with a value of $7,619,594 from 2020's value of $5,536,833.
Placer County's top five crops for 2021 were:
- Rice: $27,917,400
- Walnuts: $14,460,744
- Cattle and calves: $11,872,000
- Almonds: $11,830,455
- Nursery: $7,619,594
The annual crop report, published between August and September, continues to evolve its content with additional agricultural data and history.
This year's crop report offers a 100-year historical snapshot of the 1921 agriculture report that was researched and located by the Placer County Museums and Archives Division.
The report also includes data points about farmers' markets, local and organic products, the equestrian industry, weighing devices, noxious weed control and more.
For more information, contact the Agricultural Commissioner's Office at 530-889-7372.
