Despite a worldwide pandemic and a historic drought, Marin’s agricultural production grew 4% in 2020, according to a report released Tuesday by the county’s Department of Agriculture, Weights and Measures.
“Through all of these challenges, the 2020 Crop and Livestock report represents the second highest gross dollar amount ever at nearly $102 million,” Agricultural Commissioner Stefan Parnay told supervisors.
The annual report prepared by the county’s Department of Agriculture shows that the gross value of agricultural production in Marin County amounted to $101.8 million in 2020, compared to $97.9 million in 2019.
“Our producers are used to change and having to adapt and innovate on the go, and 2020 challenged their resilience and resolve and their adaptability,” Parnay said. “Some had great success and others struggled to a degree.”
Parnay warned, however, that Marin agriculture faces even tougher times ahead.
“Next year’s 2021 crop report will reflect some of the challenges our local producers have faced, but I’m more concerned about the long-term impacts and the viability of our livestock and crop industries,” he said.
Parnay said much of Marin’s livestock industry has had to reduce its herd size, due to a lack of forage and water, and that will decrease the overall agricultural output of meat, milk and value-added products in the coming years.
“It takes years to rebuild a livestock herd for specific traits and genetics,” the agricultural commissioner said.
Parnay said Marin crop producers have had to fallow about half their land this year due to the drought, and much work needs to be done over the coming months and years to build drought resilience into local agricultural production systems.
He thanked supervisors for allocating $150,000 in the fiscal 2021-22 budget to provide short-term aid to Marin agricultural producers during the drought. The money will be used to help get water to livestock and to provide some economic relief to those who have had to fallow their land.
Allison Klein, an inspector for the department, provided more detail on which sectors of Marin agriculture prospered and which struggled in 2020.
“For the third year in a row, Marin’s top three commodities are milk, poultry and livestock,” Klein said. “These commodities make up 72% of the total gross value or approximately $73 million.”
The value of poultry, which includes eggs, increased 5% to $21.2 million; the value of cattle grew 9% to $16 million; and the value of sheep shot up 22% to $2.6 million.
Klein said the department expects to see the value of cattle and sheep rise again in 2021 “as many livestock producers sell animals to other operations or send them to slaughter due to the drought’s severe impact.”
The value of organic milk increased 11% to $36.5 million while the value of conventional milk dropped 2% to $2.2 million.
Klein said the value of fruits and vegetables rose 11% to $4 million despite production acreage decreasing slightly; that was due to higher prices fueled by demand for local produce during the pandemic.
With the help of the Agricultural Institute of Marin, producers of fruits and vegetables pivoted from supplying restaurants to selling their products directly to consumers at farmers markets.
The value of nursery products jumped 17% to $365,000 due in large part to an increase in garden hobbyists during the shelter-in-place order.
Some sectors of Marin agriculture, however, were unable to adapt so easily to the radically new world created by the pandemic.
Aquaculture saw a decrease in value of 46% to $3.7 million.
“When COVID hit, most shellfish producers could no longer sell to restaurants and faced challenges pivoting to direct retail marketing, both from their own constraints and consumer unfamiliarity,” Klein said.
Wine grape value dropped 31% to $938,000.
“Roughly 146 tons of wine grapes, or 65 of the 195 acres planted in Marin, were left hanging in the vineyard because of smoke damage caused by the Woodward wildfire,” Klein said. The fire burned through parts of the Point Reyes National Seashore in August 2020.
Parnay told supervisors, “Helping to deal with the immediate needs of our ag producers and building in drought resilience through the ag sector must be a top priority.”
