Tulare County agricultural output rises to $8.3 billion in 2024, ag commissioner reports

Christopher Greer, a Tulare County Agriculture Department staff member, told the Board of Supervisors that the county’s 2024 crop and livestock value rose about 6%, or roughly $477 million, bringing the total to about $8.3 billion for 2024.

Greer presented the department’s annual report and outlined the office’s four divisions — pesticide use enforcement; pest exclusion and standardization; weights and measures; and pest detection, management and crop statistics — and said the department employs 66 full-time staff plus roughly 15–16 extra-help employees.

The report showed about 448,000 acres in commercial production and permanent plantings in 2024, a decrease of approximately 9,581 acres from 2023. Greer said field crops accounted for roughly 1,100,000 acres of commercial production in 2024, an increase of about 5,958 acres, and that staff recorded 12,485 acres left fallow in the past year because of water availability or Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA)-related issues.

“Again, whereas overall acreage difference in 2024, if you combine permanent and field, only shows a decrease about 3,600,” Greer said, adding the department will track commodity-level changes more precisely in future reports so officials can estimate the value lost when particular crops are left fallow.

Greer also described how the county compiles milk statistics this year: because the National Agricultural Statistics Service experienced staffing disruptions, several counties used a three-year average for fluid milk and related dairy figures. “Unfortunately, it’s not the most accurate number we could possibly have. But we did the milk statistics off a 3-year average,” he said.

Greer identified the county’s top commodities in 2024 as milk, cattle and calves, table grapes, navels and Valencia oranges, and tangerines. He said tangerine value rose by about $111 million from 2023 and that table grape value fell by about $32 million (a 3.2% decline). He also reviewed export patterns and phytosanitary activity, noting a post‑COVID shift in top destination markets and that the county is rebuilding its phytosanitary certificate activity after a prior drop from a peak of about 39,000 certificates.

Supervisors praised the department’s work and asked for more granular data on acreage taken out of production. Supervisor Vanderpool asked staff to track which commodities were removed from production so the county could estimate the dollar impact. Supervisor McCarrie and others commended inspectors and enforcement work that protects local producers’ markets.

The presentation cited the statutory requirement for a county crop and livestock report under the California Food and Agricultural Code and included a brief history and description of the department’s programs and enforcement activities. Greer said the department will refine its data collection to capture commodity-level reasons for acreage changes.

The board did not take action on the report; it was presented for information and discussion.