Santa Clara County agriculture grew 4.3 percent in 2007, with nursery crops, mushrooms and bell peppers holding strong as the top three crops in the county.
The total gross value of the county's agricultural production for 2007 was $254,926,200, up 4.3 percent from $244,460,880 in 2006.
"Once again, nursery crops remained the county's number one agricultural crop in 2007 with a value of $87,891,700," said Greg Van Wassenhove, county agricultural commissioner.
Nursery crops include bedding plants, Christmas trees and perennials.
"The nursery industry follows the construction industry," said Bill Blocher, vice president of Western Tree Nursery on Hecker Pass Road. "It's just as slow or bumpy as the construction industry. This year is going to be a challenge."
Despite the challenges nurseries faced in 2007 - hurdles many businesses overcame, like the skyrocketing cost of diesel fuel, fluctuating weather patterns and an increase in the minimum wage - their product held steady in the number one spot.
While nursery crops were up, mushrooms were slightly down, bringing in $37,000 less than the previous year, "a nominal decrease," Van Wassenhove said.
Bell peppers came in third, raking in $14,747,000, largely due to additional acreage. Growers harvested 1,678 acres of peppers in 2007, 235 more acres than the previous year.
"We're big into bell peppers," said George Chiala, president of Chiala Farms in Morgan Hill.
Acreage, price and yield for bell pepper were all up in 2007, O'Day said.
While the county's pepper crop was strong last year, Chiala sees several challenges brewing on the horizon, namely the drought conditions.
Chiala Farms depends on growers from all over the region to supply the crops that become Chiala's tasty roasted, frozen and pureed varieties.
"In 2007, we had good crops. We just had a hard time getting them picked," he said. "We depend on other growers to keep our plant going. This year, we're not getting as many crops in. Water is certainly an issue. Freight is an issue. Processing costs have really climbed."
Chili peppers also jumped a couple spots in 2007, up $1.2 million to $4,547,000.
The rest of the top 10 crops on the list loosely mirror last year's, with steers and heifers remaining in fifth place and romaine lettuce in eighth. Tomatoes, cherries, grapes and cut flowers traded places with each other but held fast in the top ten.
"Weather had both positive and negative effects on local crops in 2007," Van Wassenhove said.
"Low rainfall significantly reduced yields of grain hay and the forage produced on local rangeland," he continued. "Consequently, cattle ranchers were forced to sell calves early and reduce the size of their herds."
Similar conditions this year may yield similar products, O'Day said. He named expensive fuel, difficulty in securing adequate labor and drought conditions as threats to the 2008 crop.
"These are some of the difficulties farmers face," he said. "Being a farmer doesn't come with a retirement plan or medical insurance. Sometimes you hit it, sometimes you don't."
Sara Suddes Sara Suddes is the education reporter for South Valley Newspapers. Send her an email or (408) 847-7158.
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