County Harvests Record $877 Million in 1990 : Agriculture: Strawberry crop gains 49%. Losses from the drought and the freeze are expected to appear in next year’s report.

Growers reported a record $877-million harvest last year, but the continuing drought and the effects of frost damage could cloud the immediate future of the Ventura County farming industry, Agricultural Commissioner Earl McPhail said Wednesday.

The wholesale value of the county’s farm products grew by $72 million over 1989, aided in part by an outstanding strawberry harvest and expansion in nurseries, according to a report McPhail issued.

The annual crop report shows losses and gains in individual crops. But the overall growth figure for agriculture, the county’s leading industry, was a solid 8.8%, McPhail said. There was no loss of acreage in agriculture and the number of farms remained constant at roughly 2,000.

“Excluding the freeze and the drought, agriculture is still fairly healthy in this county,” McPhail said.

However, the report did not reflect severe losses farmers suffered last year in the catastrophic December freeze, with an estimated $128 million in crop damage during three consecutive days of frost.

Those losses will be reflected in next year’s report, when the value of the harvest is expected to plummet to below $800 million, McPhail said.

It was the second year in a row that record harvests pushed the totals above the $800-million mark. Last year, farmers reaped an $806-million harvest.

The year 1990 was a positive year “even though we were in the fourth year of a drought,” McPhail said. However, he added, “1991 is a different story.”

The farming industry has not suffered an economic setback since 1985, when the county’s crop values dropped from $580 million to $567.5 million, according to past agricultural reports.

McPhail said growers will probably not recover from last year’s freeze for several years, as citrus and avocado farmers nurture damaged trees back to fruition.

Ventura County Farm Bureau Executive Director Rex Laird said growth in the industry is positive. But he said the crop production figures are deceptive because they do not reflect the higher cost of farming, he said.

“These are all gross figures. We’ve got increased costs, increase in regulations,” Laird said. “In 1991, you’ll see a decline in gross dollars, but you’ll also see a steep escalation in operational costs.”

Still, Laird said: “I think the most significant thing you can draw from the crop report is that agriculture continues to be a viable economy. It’s a large economic base for Ventura County.”

The record harvest could help the county’s agricultural rating in the state, elevating its ranking to eighth or ninth, McPhail said.

Ventura County now ranks 10th in agricultural production among 58 counties in the state, said Dave Kranz, a spokesman for the California Farm Bureau Federation in Sacramento.

Two staples--lemons and strawberries--remained at the head of the county’s top 10 crops.

Lemons brought in $175 million, an increase of nearly $11 million compared to 1989. Local growers produce the only summer lemon crop in the world, allowing farmers to sell lemons when other growers are still cultivating a fall crop.

McPhail credited growth in the strawberry harvest’s value to two factors: a major increase in strawberry production and a jump in the wholesale price of strawberries.

Farmers last year added 262 more acres in strawberries, resulting in a 27% increase in production. Wholesale prices also rose by 17%. The combination helped augment the value of the strawberry harvest to $126.4 million last year, $41 million more than in 1989.

In addition to old staples such as strawberries and lemons, sales of nursery stock and cut flowers, once a minor industry in Ventura County, have surged in recent years, the agricultural commissioner said.

With pressure from development, cut flower and nursery farmers “have been getting forced out of Los Angeles and other counties, and that’s why they’re coming here,” he said.

The nursery sales ranked third in value in the county last year, at $113.9 million, reflecting a $20-million increase over 1989.

McPhail also reported a decline in four of the top 10 crops, including avocados, celery, Valencia oranges and lettuce.

A devastating frost in January and February, 1990, was responsible for much of the economic damage dealt to citrus and avocado growers.

Although the value of Valencia oranges actually increased last year, total production fell off by about 16,300 tons. Oranges brought in only $51 million, declining $11 million compared to the previous year.

Avocado production also fell off 15,000 tons, causing a nearly $2-million drop in the harvest. Last year, the crop was worth $53 million.

Despite gloomy predictions about next year’s crop, McPhail said some row crop farmers are buoyed by the apparently rosy future of some vegetables, such as broccoli. Broccoli growers reported an $8.2-million harvest, despite the well-publicized rejection of the vegetable by President Bush.

“There’s a lot of people out there who like broccoli, even though the President doesn’t,” he said.

TOP 10 CROPS

1989/1990 VALUE RANK CROP % CHANGE 1 Lemons +6.4% 2 Strawberries +49.5 3 Nursery Stock* +21.5 4 Celery -1.1 5 Avacados -3.3 6 Valencia Oranges -17.6 7 Cut Flowers +23.5 8 Lettuce -18.1 9 Broccoli +21.7 10 Grapefruit +61.3

* Does not include Cut Christmas Trees

Source: Ventura County Agricultural Comission