California Farm Revenues Reach Record High in 2011

State’s dairy sector led the revenue increase, with milk production income rising 30% over 2010.

Source: USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) and Economic Research Service

California’s 81,500 farms and ranches received a record high $43.5 billion for their output in 2011, according to a report from USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) and Economic Research Service.

The state’s agriculture revenues increased 15% for 2011 from the revised 2010 income level of $38 billion. California’s cash receipts represented 11.9% of the U.S. total for 2011.

The dairy sector led California’s revenue increase. Dairy producers received $7.68 billion for their milk production in 2011, up 30% from 2010. Herd size change from 2010 was a negligible 0.9%. Milk production from the state’s dairy farmers increased 3%. Milk prices received by producers rose from $14.69 per cwt. of milk sold in 2010 to $18.54 in 2011. California produced 21.1% of the nation’s milk supply last year.

The beginning of 2011 saw a recovery in milk prices until April, when prices stalled. In June, prices increased to above $20 per cwt. Fall prices dropped off to end the year below April’s price. 2011 milk prices, excluding January’s, were higher than in the previous two years.

Dairies' cost of production was up 17.8%, based on the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Cost of Production Survey. The high production costs, primarily feed, kept California dairies struggling financially in 2011. Last year, the state lost 48 dairy farms, and the prior year saw a decline of 37 dairies.

Eleven California products exceeded $1 billion in receipts for 2011, the same as in 2010. Ten of the 11 commodities registered an increase in value.

The commodity with the largest percentage increase was hay, at a 68% increase in value, with a return to the $1 billion plus mark last held in 2008.

The value of almonds edged higher than that of grapes in 2011, ranking second in the top 10 commodities by cash receipts.