Countywide : 1984 Was Record Year in Agricultural Revenues

A strong economy and harsh winter conditions in other parts of the country combined to make 1984 a record year for agricultural revenues in Orange County, according to figures released Thursday.

The total value for all crops was $269,814,500, an increase of 26% from 1983 crop production, said county Agricultural Commissioner William Fitchen in his annual report.

The favorable weather conditions here and heavy freeze damage to crops in other agricultural areas such as Florida were the key factors in arresting a three-year decline in the county’s production, Fitchen said.

Even with a record year, however, agriculture--once the county’s leading industry--amounted to less than 1% of the gross county product of $39.6 billion, as estimated by the Center for Economic Research at Chapman College in Orange.

In all, 18 categories of agricultural production exceeded $1 million.

For the 16th straight year, nursery stock and cut flowers headed the list with a total value of $124,145,500, a 51% increase over 1983 and the first time it has exceeded $100 million, according to the county report.

Strawberries ranked second at $66,144,000, while Valencia oranges were a distant third at $21,931,500. They helped boost total fruit and berry crop production to $95,243,300 in 1984.

Truck crops, asparagus, cabbage, cauliflower, celery and mushrooms accounted for a total of $46,568,200.

Categories experiencing decreases during 1984 were field crops, which were off 29%, and livestock production, down 57%.

Total acreage utilized for agricultural production decreased to 30,708 in 1984 from 34,521 acres in 1983.