San Benito County’s agriculture industry experienced an
”
unprecedented
”
11 percent decline in production during 2008, largely due to
persisting drought conditions, according to the annual crop report
released today.
HOLLISTER
San Benito County’s agriculture industry experienced an “unprecedented” 11 percent decline in production during 2008, largely due to persisting drought conditions, according to the annual crop report released today.
The drop in overall dollar production – from $293 million to $262 million – gave the county its lowest total since 2003. It also ended a six-year streak of production increases before 2008 for San Benito County’s largest industry, according to the document.
Many of the major crops and types of livestock took a big hit. Among the top 10 commodities here, seven of them experienced declines in 2008. But the two biggest categories – nursery stock and miscellaneous vegetable and row crops – actually had slight increases in production, according to the report, required by the state and approved Tuesday by supervisors.
The crop with the largest decline of any was wine grapes, the value of which dropped by $10.3 million.
For the full story, read The Weekend Pinnacle on Friday.
