By Shannon Klisch
It’s coming up on Crop & Livestock Report time! The Santa Barbara County Agricultural Commissioner released their 2025 report at the June 23rd Board of Supervisors meeting. The report shows that the value of Santa Barbara County Agriculture continues to grow, with over $2.2 billion in total value, an 11% increase over 2024. Unsurprisingly, strawberries hold steady in the #1 spot.
Also, the San Luis Obispo County Agricultural Commissioner recently published a new report on the Economic Contributions of SLO County Agriculture
The report highlights the important economic contributions of agriculture to our local economy, contributing over $9 million dollars per day, or $3.4 billion per year to our local economy when taking economic multipliers into account. Further, the report highlights a strength somewhat unique to our county, the diversification of our different commodities and the resilience that provides. The authors state that, during the wildfires and pandemic of 2020, CA's overall agricultural production declined by 3% per year, with some counties heavily reliant on two major commodities seeing up to 51% decline in total value. In contrast, SLO County, which has a high rate of diversification, saw .03% decline followed by a 10% rebound in 2021.
“Agriculture contributes far more to our community than what we capture in the annual
crop report,” Settevendemie said. “This report illustrates agriculture’s significant
influence on our economy and the daily lives of our residents.
Source : ucanr.edu