Agricultural production in Fresno County increased in 2023, with grapes once again leading the region’s overall production.
Fresno County released the 2023 Crop Report on Tuesday, highlighting one of the nation’s most successful agricultural regions.
The big picture: Grapes were Fresno County’s most valuable crop at $1.34 billion, staying in the top spot from 2022.
- Almonds and pistachios repeated as the second and third most valuable crops, respectively.
- Almonds were valued at $1.02 billion in 2023 with pistachios coming in at $862 million.
- Tomatoes rose from seventh in 2022 to fourth in 2023 at $601 million, with cattle and calves following at No. 5 at $572,000.
- Poultry, milk, peaches, garlic and nectarines rounded out the top 10.
Driving the news: Fresno County’s total gross production value was $8.59 billion in 2023.
- That was an increase of $493 million from 2023 – a 6.1 percent rise.
- Last year was the third straight year that Fresno County topped $8 billion in total crop value.
Zoom in: Fruits and nuts were Fresno County’s most successful crop, making up 55.37 percent of the total crop value.
- Vegetables were next at 17.9 percent, followed by livestock and poultry at 13.32 percent.
- Milk made up 6.27 percent of the county’s crop value, while field made up 4.04 percent.
Around the world: Farmers in Fresno County made nearly 14,000 shipments to 90 other countries, with 114 unique commodities exported.
- Mexico was the top destination with nearly 2,500 exports, followed by Japan and South Korea around 1,500 each.
- India and Canada rounded out the top five.
- Almonds were crowned the king export for Fresno County, comprising of 34.16 percent of all crops sent across international borders.
- Peaches were next in line at 13.41 percent, followed by oranges at 8.66 percent, grapes at 7.13 percent and plums at 7.12 percent.
