Stanislaus County’s agricultural report for 2021 was released this week. It revealed that for the ninth consecutive year, almonds rank as the number one commodity, seeing as they make up nearly a third of the county’s entire agri production. The total value of almonds in 2021 was $1,084,744,000 — or 32 percent of the county’s agricultural production. That figure was down about $39 million from the previous year. Considering that the US still was dealing with the Covid pandemic for much of 2021, that number isn’t too bad.
Stanislaus County Supervisor Vito Chiesa, himself an almond grower, wasn’t surprised that almond production dipped for a second consecutive year. But he warns that next year could look much different: “I don’t want to sound too whiny … 2022 is going to be much worse. Ag is cyclical, and nuts tend to do better with a weak dollar and in a weaker economy. But with inflation and interest rates rising, your guess is as good as mine as to what it will look like. I’ve never been as uncertain. Do I think it will work itself out? Hopefully. But it’s an uncertain world right now, that’s for sure.”
Source: turlockjournal.com