CA Ag Economy
Calfiornia Department of Food & Agriculture (CDFA)
has released its production data summaries for 2021 in California, with a total for the year of $51.1 billion, a 3.6% increase over 2020. California remains the leading agricultural state in the nation, with about 14 percent of total US production. California leads the country in dairy production and many other commodities, and it provides roughly half of the nation’s fruits, nuts and vegetables.
Here are the Top-10 California commodities for 2021:
- Dairy Products & Milk – $7.57 billion
- Grapess = $5.23 billion
- Almonds = $5.03 billion
- Cattle & Calves = $3.11 billion
- Strawberries = $3.02 billion
- Pistachios = $2.91 billion
- Lettuce = $2.03 billion
- Tomatoes = $1.18 billion
- Walnuts = $1.02 billion
- Rice = $1.00 billion
Relative Agricultural Productivity
| Average Agricultural Output per Employee | |
| Monterey County |
$183,331 |
| United States |
$43,177 |
| (Monterey County: DRI-WEFA; US Bureau of Labor Statistics) | |
California Agriculture’s Impact on the Nation’s Food Supply
According to the California Department of Food & Agriculture, California produces 99% or more of the supply of these crops:
- Almonds
- Artichokes
- Celery
- Figs
- Garlic
- Grapes, Raisins
- Kiwifruit
- Melons, Honeydew
- Nectarines
- Olives
- Peaches, Clingstone
- Pistachios
- Plums
- Plums, Dried
- Rice, Sweet
- Seed, Ladino Clover
- Walnuts
- Almonds
- Artichokes
- Celery
- Figs
- Garlic
- Grapes, Raisins
- Kiwifruit
- Melons, Honeydew
- Nectarines
- Olives
- Peaches, Clingstone
- Pistachios
- Plums
- Plums, Dried
- Rice, Sweet
- Seed, Ladino Clover
- Walnuts
California is the “sole producer” of those commodities, but the state leads the nation in many more categories – well over 50.