Nevada County’s total gross value of all agricultural commodities in 2022 was $18.8 million, according to the County’s Annual Crop and Livestock Report released earlier this month. That was a 12 percent decrease from the year before.
The single biggest factor for this decline was the extreme weather (frost) experienced in April and again in May of 2022. Freezing temperatures led to a significant decrease in productivity across many commodities in Nevada County, with the highest impacted commodity being winegrapes. Nearly all the white winegrape varietals, as well as approximately 55 percent of the red winegrape varietals, were lost due to these two events alone. The total loss of winegrapes was approximately $1.8 million.
“While Nevada County suffered from extreme weather, we value the partnerships and relationships we have with local producers throughout the region from the various industries,” said Luci Wilson, Agricultural Biologist III. “Without these collaborative relationships, we could not create the annual crop report and report on the prior year’s impacts on Nevada County’s economic development tied to agriculture.”
To learn more about the permitted cannabis industry, the Nevada County Department of Agriculture produced the second supplemental cannabis report. In 2022, the gross value of legal cannabis grown in Nevada County was $6.9 million, down nearly 45 percent. This is largely due to a deflated market from a combination of oversupply and the transition to the legal marketplace. This value is not included in the county’s total gross value mentioned above.
It should be noted that the values in both reports are gross values and do not attempt to measure farm profitability, value-added products, nor does it try to quantify the economic contributions to Nevada County.
To review the 2022 Crop and Livestock Report for Nevada County, visit www.nevadacountyca.gov/CropReport. For further questions or concerns, please contact the Agricultural Commissioner’s Office at (530) 470-2690, or by email at AGDept@nevadacountyca.gov if you have any questions.
