Editor’s note: This is part of the annual Pride section. This year’s theme is “Made in Hollister”.
If one thing is a certainty in tenuous times here, it’s that agriculture will remain a stronghold in San Benito County.
Despite several major challenges for the local industry in recent years – the recession, water shortages and unkindly weather, to name a few – the numbers simply don’t lie: With a gross value for county agriculture topping $260 million in the most recently published crop report – for 2011 – it is by far the biggest industry in a community built by farming and ranching roots.
While 2011 was a good year overall, it looks like 2012 wasn’t all that shabby, either, said Ron Ross, the county’s agriculture commissioner. His office is compiling the 2012 data for release later this year in a new report.
“We had a lot of spring rains, which hindered tree fruits and some of the vegetable crops,” Ross said. “When the year ended, at the end of the year, generally it was – everything was pretty positive.”
Ross remains optimistic about the state of agriculture, but also weary of some challenges facing local farmers and ranchers. In the short term, two of the bigger ones are a potential water shortage – with drought conditions the past few years – and also a shortage of labor.
As for water, he said the county is “pretty lucky” because it has two sources, groundwater and blue valve imported water. With a second straight year of below-normal snowpack, though, it may limit availability of water moving forward.
“They may have to switch over to the well water,” he said. “The quality is OK, but not as good as the Sierra snowpack water.”
The water shortage caused by the drought has already had an impact on ranchers, he said.
“What it hurts the most is probably the cattle industry,” Ross said. “If they ship their cattle early, they haven’t gained as much weight as they would have.”
While water could be an issue in 2013, availability of labor was one of the primary concerns here last year, Ross said, noting it has been a statewide problem.
He surmised that it could be due to conditions with the state’s slow-moving economy and seasonal workers choosing to stay away.
“The biggest impact seems to be the harvest time,” he said.
There are trends elsewhere in the industry – one area being the fluctuating popularity of types of produce.
Generally, vegetable crops have done well the past few years, he said. Vegetable and row crops in 2011 produced $171.1 million in value here. Ross also pointed to the growing popularity of walnuts and said it likely has to do with increased health awareness about the benefits of consuming the nuts.
Another area of agriculture benefiting from health consciousness is organic farming. It has grown tremendously in the past two decades, with acreage jumping almost eight-fold to nearly 8,000 acres in that latest crop report.
Ross said specialty crops are gaining popularity and will likely continue to do so. That was reflected locally with the county’s lettuce crops, and growth in the leafy greens and salad mixes. He explained what can be a cyclical market, though, considering those crops can’t be processed.
“It’s very sensitive to the market and it can’t be processed,” he said. “Some, like tomatoes, can be processed. The prices are more stable.”
Long-term trends, meanwhile, have shown a decrease in the amount of acreage dedicated to orchards.
“But we’ve noticed there has been two new orchards planted, one apricot and one walnut,” Ross said. “It’s a matter of crop rotation. Crop rotation’s been practiced since biblical times, you could say.”
Farmers will keep planting because San Benito County has its unique soil, climate and water availability – part of the reason why wine grape production has grown so much in the past decade.
“I think the future of agriculture is more growing for specialty-type markets rather than growing the usual thing year after year,” Ross said.
One local company that knows a thing or two about markets is Earthbound Farm. The San Juan Bautista-based company is the largest producer and grower of organic produce in the nation – processing 2.5 million pounds per week, which amounts to about 25 million servings of salad on a weekly basis, said company spokeswoman Samantha Cabaluna.
Earthbound is also the county’s largest employer, with a workforce of around 1,200 people – many working in the continually expanded, 295,000-square-foot facility in San Juan.
“We’re growing fast,” Cabaluna said.
She also attributed the popularity of organic produce to health awareness.
“It’s sort of the intersection of people understanding how their health and wellness is connected to food, and a greater interest by the general public,” she said.
CROP REPORT
Here are some interesting facts from 2011:
The county’s total value increased from $201.6 million in 2001 to $263.4 million in 2011.
The county’s highest overall ag value was in 2007, with $293.1 million.
Vegetable/row crops made up $171.12 million in value – about 65 percent of the overall agriculture values – and up from $159.51 million in 2010.
Field crops were down about $400,000 in value in 2011, to $26.96 million.
Fruit/nut crops took a dip, from $44.48 million to $35.61 million.
Cattle saw a healthy increase, from $14.18 million to $16.64 million.
The total number of cattle, or head, was at 35,900 in 2011, up by 100 from 2010.
Other livestock also went up big, from $9.97 million to $13.03 million.
In the vegetable/row crops category, lettuce was drew the most value, with these varieties:
Iceberg lettuce was at $6.34 million, up 94 percent from 2010.
Leaf lettuce was at $4.04 million, down more than 50 percent from 2010.
Romaine was up slightly, to $11.75 million.
And the salad mix was at $22.34 million, down about 5 percent.
Canned tomatoes are still going strong, at $9.18 million, down about $50,000.
Bell peppers are always a big player, with $22.32 million in 2011, up slightly.
By weight, canned tomatoes are tops in the county, with 135,000 tons in 2011.
By land size, cattle are first with 508,000 acres – or about half of the entire county.
In the field crops category, nursery stock was number one, with $16.9 million in value.
Among fruit/nut crops, wine grapes were tops, with $14.06 million, down from $16.9 million in 2010.
Outside of beef, the county’s livestock/poultry products include chickens, turkeys, eggs, hogs, lambs, milk and wool.
Organic farming has jumped from seven growers of 33 crops on 949 acres in 1990 – the first year of recorded data on organic farming – to 64 growers of 74 crops on 7,900 acres in 2011.
The oldest crop report in online records, from 1941, showed overall values at $7.22 million.
Back then, beef was the number one commodity at $910,000. Beets were a close second with $894,000 and apricots were right behind with $840,000 in value.
And wouldn’t you know – here are some crops and products from San Benito County that locals might not be aware are being grown here: Chinese cabbage, eggplant, frisee, leeks, radicchio, shallots, arugula, endive, garbanzo beans, kale, okra, snow peas, bok choy, chard, escarole, kohlrabi, rapini, chicory, watermelons, borage, collards, dandelion greens, fennel, tomatillos, persimmons, kiwi, figs
