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Ag industry helps Inyo coffers grow |
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Thursday, 26 July 2007 |
By Jon Klusmire
Register Staff
The value of agriculture keeps growing in Inyo County.
Thanks to historically high prices for beef and alfalfa, the county’s agricultural output topped $18 million in 2006, a jump of nearly $1.4 million from the year before.
Mono County also had a strong year, with crop and livestock values hitting $29 million in 2006, an increase of more than $2 million from the previous year.  High prices for alfalfa and hay, along with almost record high cattle prices, helped Inyo County?s agricultural sector to grow and expand in 2006. Agriculture output reached about $18 million in 2006, which was $1.4 million more than in 2005. Photo by Jon Klusmire
Taking a longer-term view, in the past five years, the combined agricultural output of both counties has jumped by about $11 million, with most of that increase coming from Mono County. The figures for both counties were compiled in the yearly 2006 Annual Crop and Livestock Report, a product of the Inyo and Mono Agricultural Department, headed by Agricultural Commissioner George Milovich. The report represents “gross agricultural values” compiled from crop production totals and estimated values of the various commodities grown in both counties, the report notes.
“We thought we might hit $50 million for the year” in agricultural output from both counties, said Milovich when presenting the crop report to the Inyo County Board of Supervisors, but the numbers fell a bit short and the final tally was $47.3 million for the two neighboring counties.
Beef production and prices “remain solid” and form the foundation for the agricultural sector, he noted. Price levels for beef, thanks in part to low-carbohydrate diets which increase demand, are close to “historic highs,” he noted.
With beef demand strong, and starting to actually pick up a bit because of a better export picture, especially to Asia, the demand for hay and alfalfa is also strong. That has pushed alfalfa prices higher, which has helped increase the value of the two counties’ second-largest cash crop – alfalfa hay and hay, he noted.
Mother Nature also helped out in 2006. “An exceptionally wet year provided excellent forage and field crop yields,” the report notes.
Agriculture remains the second-largest contributor to the economy of Inyo County, noted Milovich. Although it might be a distant second in terms of generating overall cash for businesses and taxes for the county, agriculture “continues to be a significant factor” in the area’s economy.
While some might see the film industry as coming close to agriculture when it comes to economic impact, Milovich noted that agriculture’s economic benefits “are steady, year after year.”
This year saw a big boom in film activity and money generated by film shoots thanks mainly to the massive effort and expense of shooting the major studio film, “Iron Man” in the county. The county can’t rely on landing a huge production (with a cast and crew of about 500 coming for weeks to shoot) every year, officials have noted.
Milovich also pointed out that agricultural land and operations, be they emerald green alfalfa fields, grassy pastures and the idyllic view of cows and calves roaming the range, provide a benefit to citizens and visitors that cannot be measured in dollars or head of cattle.
Those types of rural scenes and green open spaces are part of the overall appeal and attraction of the Owens Valley to visitors seeking to escape from their urban surroundings, he noted. Ranchers and farmers leasing land from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power also allow public access through those lands to lakes, streams and public lands, he noted, which helps the area’s recreation industry.
On a different level, agriculture has always been a mainstay, for generations, in Inyo County, noted Milovich. “It’s more than economics, it’s our life, history and traditions.”
In 2006, Inyo County farmers and ranchers saw the value of their output – from bees to bulls – increase in every category.
Cattle and calves led the way, with a total value of $9.4 million. Prices for all types of cattle, except cows, rose in 2006, as did the number of cattle and calves in the county.
The value of the different categories of cattle hitting the market in 2006 was as follows (followed by the 2005 numbers):
• Calves and steers, $3.4 million, up from $3.1 million.
• Heifers, $2.7 million, up from $2.4 million.
• Cows, $1.8 million, which was about the same as in 2005, due to a drop in prices and a small increase in numbers.
• Bulls, steady over both years at about $200,000.
• Stockers (cattle brought in to the county for a short time to rapidly gain weight before slaughter) $1.26 million, up from $1.22 million.
The number of sheep and lambs rose in 2006, but prices dropped, resulting in a small gain in value of about $70,000.
All in all, the value of all livestock in Inyo County in 2006 hit $9,755,120, compared to $9,117,850 in 2005. Livestock accounted for 55 percent of the county’s total agricultural output.
Field crops showed about a $600,000 increase in value, to almost $4.4 million, from $3.8 million, to led by a big jump in dry grazing. Alfalfa and miscellaneous hay also saw slight increases. Those field crops represented 15 percent of the county’s output.
Miscellaneous crop production was steady. Inyo County 375 acres of turf farms generated about $3 million of the green stuff, which miscellaneous fruit production hit $100,000.
It was also another sweet year for bee keepers, with honey production jumping more than $300,000 to t total of $780,000.
Mono County saw its agricultural production in 2006 jump by about $2.6 million, to a total of $29.3 million.
Livestock (cattle and sheep) was the big-ticket item in Mono County, with a value of $17.5 million, up about $400,000 from 2005. Livestock made up 60 percent of Mono County’s agricultural output.
The big jump in values, however, came from alfalfa and other hay and grazing lands. The value of alfalfa hay jumped almost $1 million, to $8 million, and miscellaneous hay production also jumped by nearly $1 million.
The total value of field crops rose to $11.6 million, up $2.2 million from 2005.
Garlic and timber made minor contributions to Mono County’s output for 2006. Unfortunately, the value of the 2006 garlic crop dropped by about $200,000, which left a bit of a bad taste in the garlic fields.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 10 September 2007 )
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