Value of wine grapes slips

Wine grape production remains king in Sonoma County agriculture, although the value of reds and whites slipped in value almost 4 percent in 2007.

Reasons for the decline include vineyard owners getting fewer dollars per ton for their grapes and bad weather creating a lackluster blooming season in the spring, Agriculture Commissioner Lisa Correia said Tuesday.

She also said some vineyard owners took their land out of production to plant other varieties.

The off year for grape production was one of the few downsides for local agriculture, which overall registered an 7.6 percent increase last year, chiefly due to a rebound in milk and egg prices.

The annual accounting of Sonoma County’s agricultural industry was presented Tuesday to the Board of Supervisors.

The survey set the 2007 value of all ag production at just over $639 million, a new record that exceeded by about $1.3 million the previous high for the county’s gross agricultural value set in 2005.

“It is proof positive that agriculture is key to the economic strength that we have,” said Supervisor Paul Kelley.

The report showed that the value of livestock, apples and field crops jumped in 2007.

Still, wine grapes remained the dominant ag product, registering a gross value of more than $416 million, or about two-thirds the county total agricultural value.

Highlights of the report include:

Although the price per ton that vineyard operators received for both red and white grapes increased over the previous harvest, the total value of those grapes slipped from about $433 million in 2006 to $417 million last year.

The value of apple production jumped from $5.2 million to $7.1 million even though the number of apple-bearing acres slipped from 3,042 to 2,901.

Field crops — including hay, oats, corn silage and straw — surged in value from about $6 million to $7.4 million.

A revival of milk prices led the jump in livestock products from about $75 million in 2006 to almost $119 million last year. Milk sold to wholesale producers brought dairy farmers higher prices, which went from $14.65 a hundredweight in 2005 to $11.56 in 2006 and to $18.02 in 2007.

Correia noted that her office is receiving reports that some farmers and ranchers are selling livestock early and reducing reliance on hay and corn for animal feed because they fear drought-like conditions this year may make those operations unprofitable.