Rice remains the top-ranking crop in 2024 with a total value of $201.3 million. Photo by Vietnam Photographer via Pexels

YUBA CITY, CA (MPG) - Rice maintained its longstanding reign as Sutter County’s top crop in 2024, but the county’s annual Crop and Livestock Report revealed a year marked by sharp shifts, unexpected rebounds and dramatic reversals across nearly every commodity.

Walnuts stole the spotlight with a stunning leap to second place, more than doubling in value from the previous year, noted Sutter County Agricultural Commissioner Lisa Herbert, in her 2024 report issued to the Board of Supervisors and the California Department of Food and Agriculture in October.

“Rice remains the top-ranking crop in 2024 with a total value of $201.3 million,” Herbert wrote. “Second was walnuts, due to a significant increase in price, to a total value of $106.4 million, which is a 106 percent increase from 2023.”

Despite nearly identical acreage and yield, the walnut price per ton jumped from $802 to $1,682, pushing total value from $52 million to $106 million. The crop’s rise from fifth to second place was one of the report’s most striking surprises.

Almond meats also staged a comeback, climbing 83 percent to $70 million. The increase was driven by gains in harvested acreage, yield and price per ton. Bearing acreage rose from 18,500 to 21,500 acres, while nonbearing acreage dropped by nearly 2,000 acres — an indicator that more orchards are entering full production.

Clingstone peaches, once a top-three crop, slipped to fifth place at $66 million, down slightly from $68 million. The decline was due to modest drops in yield and price, with harvested acreage remaining nearly flat. Production per acre fell from 15.62 to 14.86 tons, and the price dipped from $615 to $626 per ton, reflecting market softening despite strong demand.

Prunes held steady at $60 million. Processing tomatoes, however, took a steep dive. Their value dropped 36 percent to $75 million, a fall attributed to simultaneous declines in harvested acreage, yield and price. Tomatoes ranked second in 2023, making their tumble one of the report’s more dramatic reversals.

Field crops saw the steepest overall decline, falling from $329 million in 2023 to $231 million in 2024. Rice, though still dominant, dropped 27 percent in value. Acreage dipped from 125,000 to 119,000 acres, and the price per ton fell from $488 to $370. Wheat was nearly wiped out, plummeting from $32 million to just under $5 million. That loss stemmed from a sharp drop in acreage and a price collapse, with tonnage falling by more than two-thirds and the per-ton value dropping by more than half. Alfalfa hay followed suit, falling from $8 million to just under $5 million.

Not all field crops suffered. Corn for grain more than doubled in acreage and rose to $12 million in value, up from $8 million. Safflower also saw gains, increasing from $2.5 million to $4.3 million.

Vegetable crops dropped 32 percent to $83 million, largely due to the tomato freefall. Miscellaneous vegetables, including sweet corn, melons, squash and leafy greens, rose from $5 million to $8 million but couldn’t offset the tomato losses.

Seed crops were hit even harder, falling 54 percent to $20 million. Sunflower seed acreage collapsed by more than 75 percent, and its value fell from $27 million to just $2.7 million. The crop ranked in the top 10 last year, making its disappearance from the leaderboard especially notable. Rice seed held steady at $9 million, while watermelon seed rose slightly to $4.5 million.

Nursery products fell from $27 million to $19 million, with fewer trees and vines sold. Livestock saw modest gains, rising from $6 million to $7 million. Cattle and calves brought in $4.7 million, up from $3.9 million, while miscellaneous livestock — including poultry, aquaculture and wool — added another $2.7 million.

Apiary products, including pollination services and honey, dipped slightly to $5.3 million. The number of colonies used for pollination dropped from 24,500 to 22,000, and the price per colony fell from $193 to $148. But in a quiet twist, miscellaneous apiary products — such as honey, wax and queen bees — more than doubled in value, rising from $911,000 to $2.1 million. That growth outpaced pollination services despite fewer colonies and lower per-colony rates.

Despite the year-over-year decline, 2024’s total gross production value of $684 million still ranks among the top five years in county history. The all-time high was set in 2023 at $772 million. For context, the county’s agricultural output was just $51 million in 1959 and didn’t surpass $500 million until 2015.

Crop values listed in the report represent gross production figures and do not account for growers’ expenses, input costs or net profits.

This year’s crop report also spotlighted three organic producers — Taylor Brothers Farms, Pleasant Grove Farms and Park Farming Organics. Each transitioned from conventional farming for reasons ranging from high chemical costs to environmental and employee health concerns. Their stories reflect a growing trend toward sustainable practices in Sutter County and mark the first time the report emphasized organic transitions as a strategic response to industry pressures.

The report also detailed the work of the Agricultural Commissioner’s Office, which oversees programs ranging from pesticide enforcement to seed certification and pest management. In 2024, staff spent more than 11,500 hours on pesticide use enforcement alone and recycled nearly 88,000 pounds of pesticide container plastic through a grant-funded program, Herbert noted.