More than half a billion dollars…that’s how much San Joaquin County lost in farm production last year. The drought and lower prices were to blame.
The prices for milk, almonds, walnuts, and grapes dropped in 2015 and those commodities make up 70 percent of San Joaquin County’s agricultural worth.
According to the county’s Annual Crop Report, fields went unplanted due to the drought.
According to Agricultural Commissioner Tim Pelican, production dropped 15 percent from the previous year but it wasn’t alone in seeing major losses.
“Our percentage isn’t that far off from most of the other counties that have released their crop report," saysPelican. "If you look at Tulare, their production went down over a billion dollars, it’s something we’ve seen up and down the valley.”
Pelican says California’s top 10 crop producing counties all saw decreases.
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