Solano County almond, walnut farmers fret massive hit to crop revenue in 2022

Tomatoes (processing): $47.3 million

Nursery products: $43.6 million

Cattle and calves: $36.2 million

Alfalfa: $30.9 million

Wine grapes: $26.1 million

Almonds: $21.2 million

Pollination: $9.3 million

Sheep and lambs: $9 million

Prunes (dried): $9 million

Source: Solano County Agriculture Commission

The 2022 Solano County Crop Report released this week has shown a 4% downturn year over year.

Total agricultural production was $390.8 million.

With drenching rainstorms and freezing temperatures last year that continued into 2023, the value of almonds fell $50 million from $71.1 million year over year. Harvested acreage dropped by about 4,500 acres to 17,940 for the county in 2022. Walnuts didn’t fare much better in value, almost cut in half to $11.3 million.

Times have been so tough for Joe Martinez of Martinez Ranches in Solano and Yolo counties that he walked away from the more than 1,500 acres of walnuts, almonds and prunes he managed on leased land. He sold off his equipment and closed on his business in April on his 75th birthday.

“Walnuts were in the toilet. I’m going to try to hold onto my house for my remaining years,” he said of the Solano County home he built 15 years ago.

Martinez has remained an active member of the farm bureaus in Solano and Yolo counties for at least two decades and had farmed the land for over a half century.

His Solano County Farm Bureau friends have said they feel his pain.

“Walnuts right now are worth half of the cost of what it takes to produce them,” Solano County Farm Bureau President Will Brazelton said. “The frost happened in the bloom. Then, we got 10 inches of rain in 12 hours.”

Drenched almonds on the ground tend to mold.

“You can’t market that,” he said.

Ditto, Solano County Agriculture Commissioner Ed King confirmed.

“With a crop loss of 60% and prices lower, even if it was a comparable harvest, it would still be down,” King said.

As the top grossing crop since 2015, tomatoes used for processing showed a 7% increase at a record value of $47 million.

The positive haul erased concerns the tomato crop was doomed in California this year. In the Central Valley, farms were flooded during the atmospheric river events, re-creating an ancient lake in Tulare County.

“In Solano County, we planted later. It was driven by the weather,” Brazelton explained, further indicating that even a drive across the county may constitute a 10-degree difference in temperature. “They need warmer soil temperatures.”

As far as overcoming drought, Solano County doesn’t share the same water woes as other North Bay counties by tapping into a usually ample supply from Lake Berryessa.

But heat can play a role in many crops.

Wine grapes, which are gaining in popularity in Solano County’s Suisun Valley, came in as a smaller crop in 2022 compared to the previous year due to a late summer heat wave. As for production, tonnage added up to 23,160, opposed to 24,930 in 2021.

Still, improvement in pricing offset the drop. Total value of wine grapes increased in 2022 from $25.4 million to $26.1 million. The top red varietal was pinot noir, producing 4,590 tons at $882 per ton over 766 harvested acres. Chardonnay topped the whites, with 5,421 tons brought in at $979 per ton over 914 harvested acres.

But the county average wine grape price is affected heavily by the higher-tonnage, lower-priced grapes grown on the eastern edge of Solano. Those grapes are often sold to vintners making wine retailing for significantly less per bottle than grapes grown on the western side.

That’s why local growers are petitioning state agriculture regulators to separate east Solano from the county’s grape pricing benchmark district.

Nursery products ranked second in value, nudging up 1% to $43.6 million. The value in cattle and calves rounded out third place at $36.2 million, up 14% due to higher prices that dwarfed herd reductions caused by drought conditions.

Sonoma County’s crop report is expected to be released in September.

Susan Wood covers law, cannabis, production, tech, energy, transportation, agriculture, banking and finance. She can be reached at 530-545-8662 or [email protected]