California ag industry passes $60 billion in value for first time

FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – For the first time in the Golden State’s history, a new report shows the state’s agricultural industry produced over $60 billion worth of crops. 

It’s a new record for California farmers, surpassing the 2023 total by 3.6%, for a total of $61.2 billion in 2024. 

Dairy took the lead, with a value of $8.6 billion, followed by almonds at $5.7 billion, and grapes not far behind at $5.6 billion

“For most folks that are involved in the industry, this was probably a surprise,” CEO of the Fresno County Farm Bureau Ryan Jacobsen said. 

Jacobsen said California’s ag industry is not just breaking records, it’s leading the nation. 

“California isn’t number one just by a little. We’re number one by a lot,” he added. “The number two farm state, Iowa, has approximately hovering right around $40 billion, followed by Texas, Nebraska, and Kansas.” 

Jacobsen said the San Joaquin Valley was crucial to these totals, and the eight counties in the region brought in three-quarters of that total. 

Still, Jacobsen said this doesn’t tell the whole story about what’s happening on California farms. 

He said farmers are still struggling with low commodity prices and high interest rates. He also said a lot of the profits get eaten up by other parts of the production chain. 

For every dollar spent at the supermarket, farmers may only ever receive 10% of it. 

“This is a gross value, meaning that this is not the profitability side or the net side when it comes to farm operations. This is just the farm gate value and doesn’t necessarily reflect the health of the farms,” Jacobsen said.