AT $4.99 BILLION, Monterey County’s crop value is back on the rise — and reaching historic numbers in some cases — with the help of high-tech equipment, according to a new report released this week
The 2024 Crop and Livestock Report, published by the county, shows a 14.7% increase from the previous year’s $4.35 billion value.
The report’s theme, “Smart Agriculture: Growing the Seeds of Change,” focuses on the importance of the partnership between farmers and tech companies.
“The incorporation of artificial intelligence and using some of the robotics and machinery in agriculture definitely offers some great opportunities for our county,” Juan Hidalgo, the county’s agricultural commissioner, said in a press briefing. “Our county has been a leader in working with tech companies to incorporate some of those technologies, which will then benefit other parts of our nation and even the world.”
Farmers in the county have already started using drones to improve efficiency in production and autonomous technology, including tractors.
But the current increase, which doesn’t take into account the costs associated with labor or other operational costs, was already a trend the county had noticed over the years.
In 2023, excessive rain was given as one of the reasons for the then-6.14% decrease from the 2022 report. Two storms at the beginning of 2023 caused flooding in the county that impacted planting schedules and resulted in some commodity losses.
Before the decline, the county’s crop value had seen increases each year since 2019, apart from 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
For the 2024 report, the value of strawberries increased by 16% to a historic number: $1 billion in value.
“The Monterey Canyon provides the best climate in the world for growing strawberries and is a key component of our success here,” said Chris Christian, senior vice president of the California Strawberry Commission.
The other top four commodities trailing behind strawberries are leaf lettuce, with a $933 million value; head lettuce, with a $595.6 million value; broccoli, worth $578.78 million; and cauliflower, worth $228.1 million.
Wine grapes, which in 2023 was ranked as the county’s fifth most valued commodity, dropped by more than $42 million to the seventh most valued. Celery, spinach, nursey and flowers, and livestock and poultry were also in the top ten commodities.
Ag gains shadowed by uncertainty
But even with all the good news, “it’s not an indication that everything is well in the ag community,” said Norm Groot, the county’s Farm Bureau executive director.
Costs for labor and other operational and production costs are on the rise, said Groot, which is in addition to fluctuations regarding tariffs.
Other actions on the federal level — such as recent immigration enforcement — are “presenting new challenges” for growers, Groot said.
After taking office in January, President Donald Trump has cracked down on immigration across the country. Raids by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency have since happened in the Bay Area, resulting in several people being detained. One person in southern Monterey County was detained in early June.
Hidalgo said the county has “been a leader” in making sure people are aware of their rights in an attempt to reduce fears around recent immigration enforcement.
“This is going to continue to be a challenge, unfortunately, until the federal administration decides how they’ll find a solution that hopefully supports our communities, but also supports our growers and our businesses to reduce any potential impacts this may have on myself, you and all of us because agriculture workers are the backbone of agriculture in our counties,” he said.