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Agriculture Department recommending the Board receive and file the El Dorado-Alpine Counties 2023 Agricultural Crop and Livestock Report.
FUNDING: General Fund/Unclaimed Gas Tax.
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DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
An annual El Dorado and Alpine Counties crop report is required in accordance with Sections 2271 and 2279 of the California's Food and Agricultural Code for the purpose of publishing an accurate and meaningful report of the agricultural conditions. Lending/financial institutions, news outlets, statistical services, education centers, realty agencies, and prospective agricultural land purchasers are extremely interested in the annual crop report. The crop report represents an overview summary of our top commodities, thus protecting the privacy of our growers and ranchers while emphasizing the importance of agriculture to our local economy.
The gross crop value for the County of El Dorado was $80.5 million, representing an increase of 64.9% over the 2022 value and an increase of 1.1% over the 2021 value. Apples thrived in 2023, producing over 10 tons per acre and resulting in a total value for apples of $23.2 million. This is a 344% increase over 2022, when production was extremely low due to damage from a hard April freeze. Livestock was the second highest value crop at $16.8 million, a 27.4% increase over the 2022 value. Wine grapes also rebounded after a hard year, yielding a total value of $9.75 million, a 133% increase over the 2022 value.
Monetary values in this report are F.O.B. (Freight On Board) and do not reflect net returns or products realized by the growers. It is estimated that the impact of agriculture to the County of El Dorado’s economy totaled approximately $823 million in 2023, of which, Apple Hill and value-added products contributed an estimated $395 million while the wine industry added another $409 million.
Alpine County’s gross crop value for 2023 was estimated to be $7.34 million. This represents an increase of 10.2% fr...
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