Solano County reports record $460.4 million in 2023 crop value as tomatoes top the list

Agricultural Commissioner Ed King told the Solano County Board of Supervisors that Solano County's 2023 crop and livestock report estimates total gross production value at $460,391,000, an increase from 2022 that King said was largely driven by a record processing-tomato harvest and higher tomato prices.

King, presenting the 74th annual report, said growers planted more tomato acres after processors raised prices from about $75 per ton several years ago to roughly $138 per ton last year, producing more than 700,000 tons and pushing the county's tomato crop past $100 million. "For 2023, we estimate the total gross production value for ag in the county for 2023 to be $460,391,000," King said.

The report places tomatoes at the top of the county's crops for the second consecutive year. King also highlighted the county's agricultural diversity and the role of indoor agriculture: "our indoor ag production accounts for about 75% of the total fresh value of fresh vegetable production in the county," he said, and cited Gotham Greens' greenhouse and other indoor producers as significant contributors.

King reviewed weather impacts and losses earlier in the cycle, noting heavy winter rains that helped lift Lake Berryessa and move the county out of drought but also caused infrastructure and crop damage. He said cooperative-extension surveys estimated roughly $3,000,000 in crop losses and related infrastructure damage from wind and storms, and that geese caused an estimated $3,600,000 in damage and losses across about 45,000 acres on the East side of the county during a prior year of heavy migration.

The commissioner ran through the county's top commodities: tomatoes, almonds (about $44 million), nursery products (about $41 million), cattle (over $40 million), wine grapes (over $35 million) and others. He noted nursery production dipped slightly year-over-year and said that was likely a normal fluctuation tied to housing and market conditions rather than a single identifiable cause.

King also described export activity: the county issued about 600 export certificates for goods shipped abroad, though he cautioned not all goods exported from local ports are grown inside Solano County. He closed by thanking growers and staff who contributed data and photographs for the report and offered to take feedback.

Board members asked follow-up questions about nursery-product declines and port logistics; King said port movement had improved and that exports remain market-driven and subject to receiving countries' phytosanitary requirements. The presentation did not include formal board action; it was received for the record.