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Solano County agricultural production totals $438 million in 2024; almonds top the county list
Summary
Solano County’s agricultural commissioner told the Board of Supervisors that the county’s 2024 gross agricultural production totaled $437,938,000, with almonds the top crop and processing tomatoes and cattle also among the largest contributors.
Solano County’s agricultural commissioner presented the 2024 crop and livestock report to the Board of Supervisors, saying gross agricultural production in the county totaled $437,938,000 for the year — the second-highest value on record.
Agricultural Commissioner Ed King told the board that almonds were the county’s highest-value crop in 2024 at $78,351,000, up about $34.5 million from 2023. Processing tomatoes were second at $55,800,000 — down sharply from a 2023 record of $101.5 million — and cattle and calves were third at $48,861,000. King said almond acreage increases and higher prices following a smaller 2023 crop contributed to the almond gain; the tomato decline reflected lower per-ton prices and a return toward a more typical harvested tonnage.
King and department staff said the county’s gross production value does not account for downstream economic activity such as processing, transportation and related jobs; the department is preparing a broader economic analysis partly funded through a Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation (SALC) grant and planned future consultant work.
The presentation also highlighted the county’s agricultural history and infrastructure, including the Solano Project (Monticello Dam and Lake Berryessa) and the county’s ongoing involvement in groundwater and land-conservation issues. King noted that the Solano Subbasin Groundwater Sustainability Plan has been approved by the Department of Water Resources under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), and that Williamson Act contracts continue to cover approximately 250,000 acres countywide.
Other 2024 highlights presented by King and staff included: nursery stock at $38.2 million; wine grapes at $30.5 million (second-highest wine-grape value on record); alfalfa at $15.2 million (prices down two years running); walnuts falling to their lowest acreage harvested since 2001; and prune values down due to heat-related quality issues. Matt Carl, deputy commissioner, and Priscilla Yaney, assistant agricultural commissioner, reviewed export activity, inspections and pest-detection work: the department issued more than 700 export certificates and inspected thousands of plant shipments and commercial measuring devices.
Board members and the commissioner discussed longer-term issues raised by the report, including orchard removal and biomass processing, export markets and the lag between planting and production for perennial crops such as vines and orchards. No formal action or vote was taken on the report; the board received the report and thanked staff for the department’s work compiling the annual data.
