Almonds nearly break dairy's grip on the top crop in Stanislaus County

Milk, the top-grossing farm product in Stanislaus County for at least seven decades, came darn close to losing the crown last year.

The county's 2009 crop report by the agricultural commissioner's office shows almonds nearly overtaking dairy after 17 straight years at No. 2.

The report reflects the dreadful condition of dairy farming last year, when milk prices plummeted amid the global recession.

Almond producers, meanwhile, had increased acreage and prices.

Dairy farms grossed $462.3 million in 2009, compared with $689.3 million in 2008, ag commissioner Gary Caseri reported Friday.

Almonds brought $455.6 million last year, up from $424.2 million.

The $6.7 million gap between milk and almonds last year was the smallest by far in crop reports dating to 1941.

"To be that close to dairy, with the problems dairy was having, makes sense," said Janine Goubert, president of the Stanislaus County Farm Bureau and a grower of almonds and several other crops on the West Side.

The county totaled $2.31 billion in gross farm income last year, down 7 percent from 2008 and breaking a three-year string of increases.

Chickens and tomatoes posted big gains, while nurseries and dairy feed crops dropped. Walnuts and peaches had modest increases.

"Overall, everything is doing pretty well," said Goubert, adding that farmers are used to economic challenges.

Stanislaus is likely to remain among the top 10 farm counties in the state -- and among the nation's leaders -- once all the 2009 reports are in.

Caseri cautioned that the report does not include farm production costs, which can eat into profits or even bring a loss for the year.

The gross income total also does not account for the jobs and income for people who process the raw farm products or supply farmers with tractors, fertilizer and other needs.

In a memo to county supervisors, Caseri estimated that each ag dollar changes hands 4.5 times as it works its way through the local economy. That turns $2.31 billion in gross income into $10.4 billion in total economic activity.

Dairy dominated the crop reports since at least the 1940s, when almonds were a minor crop.

The nuts started to make their move in the early 1970s, as mechanical harvesting and marketing efforts took off. They reached No. 2 for gross income in 1979 and never were lower than No. 4 after that.

Almonds were second every year from 1992 on, usually trailing milk by a few hundred million bucks, until last year when they trailed by just 1.4 percent.

The gap likely will open back up. Milk prices have started to recover, reaching close to the break-even point for efficient dairy farms, said Ray Souza, who is in the dairy business west of Turlock.

"I think we will see enough recovery by next year that we will regain our prominence," he said.

Bee staff writer John Holland can be reached at 578-2385 or jholland@modbee.com.

This story was originally published June 28, 2010 at 5:20 AM with the headline "Almonds nearly break dairy's grip on the top crop in Stanislaus County."