Washington’s 2010 Agricultural Value Second Highest on Record
Washington Farm Bureau
October 17, 2011 – 3:14pm
The value of Washington’s 2010 agricultural production reached $8.25 billion (including government payments), 13 percent above the 2009 revised figure of $7.30 billion. This is the second highest value on record-second only to 2007’s $8.35 billion.
Record Highs: Record high value of production was set for blueberries, corn for grain, dry edible beans, cherries, grapes, pears, sheep and lambs, wool, non-storage onions, and fresh sweet corn. Among the major crops, cherry producers contributed $367.2 million to the State’s agricultural economy surpassing the previous high of $327.1 million set in 2007. “Last year, the hard work of Washington’s farmers paid off as they grew the second most valuable harvest in state history,” said Dan Newhouse, director of the Washington State Department of Agriculture. “While rising costs of agricultural production have had an impact on the bottom line, farming, food production and agricultural exports remain bright spots in Washington’s economy. Our growers continue to produce a wide range of the finest-quality crops and livestock for the neighborhood market and consumers around the world.”
Top Five: Apples remain the leading agricultural commodity in the State with a 2010 value of $1.44 billion, a 2 percent increase from 2009. Apples represented 18 percent of the total agricultural value compared with 20 percent in 2009. Milk ranked second with a value of $950 million, 39 percent above 2009 followed by wheat with a value of $925 million. Wheat posted a 56 percent gain from the 2009 crop. In fourth place were potatoes with a value of $654 million and in fifth place were cattle and calves at $568 million. These five commodities had a combined value of $4.54 billion, or 57 percent of the 2010 value for all commodities (excluding government payments). The same five commodities in 2009 had a combined value of $3.81, or 54 percent of the total value. In 2008, comparable figures were $4.22 billion and 55 percent.
Commodity Groups: the value of field crops, at $2.83 billion, was 13 percent above last year. Fruit and nut crops, at $2.23 billion rose 10 percent from 2009. Livestock, at $1.90 billion, registered an increase of 25 percent. Alternately, Commercial vegetables, at $483 million, were 14 percent below last year. The value of specialty products, at $371 million, fell 2 percent from last year. Rounding out the groups were berry crops at $120 million.
Non-storage onions had the highest value per harvested acre for 2010 with a value of $16,533 per acre. Next in line were blueberries with a value of $10,512 per acre and third were sweet cherries with $9,830 per acre.
For more statistics on specific commodities go to: http://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Washington/Publications/Current_News_Release/.
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