Value of Crops Grown in O.C. Dips 14.3% for ’93 : Agriculture: Production totals, including those for top grossers nursery stock and strawberries, fall due to a drop in acreage farmed.

Peppers were hot last year, but oranges were caught in a squeeze, according to the Orange County crop report released Wednesday.

The value of all crops grown in Orange County continued to fall, with agricultural production totaling $216 million for 1993. That was down 14.3% from $252 million for the previous year.

The overall decrease reflects dwindling acreage for crops and grazing because of residential and commercial real estate development, said John Ellis, deputy agricultural commissioner at the Anaheim office of the federal Environmental Management Agency.

The total area being farmed in Orange County last year was 51,628 acres, down from 54,868 acres during 1992 and 61,226 acres in 1988.

For those reasons, the county’s two biggest crops--nursery stock and strawberries--fell in value to a total of $144 million for 1993, down from $172 million for the previous year.

Bell peppers and celery, however, bucked the trend, showing sales increases.

Long sold on the marketability of sweet red and yellow peppers, Orange County growers are experimenting with other unusual varieties, such as purple and white peppers, Ellis said. Their rarity allows growers to fetch a high price for them.

Chili peppers, which have grown increasingly popular as Southwestern cuisine has caught on nationally, also boosted 1993 pepper values. Last year, pepper production was worth nearly $12 million, according to the crop report. That compared to $9.5 million for 1992.

But oranges, the county’s namesake, dropped in value by nearly half, to $8.5 million.

Ellis said that trees here are aging and producing smaller fruit. They cannot compete with Central Valley fruit for the chief export market: Asia.

Orange County growers also lost a window of opportunity for early sales because of heavy rain in January, 1993.

“When we lose that,” Ellis said, “we’re in the marketplace with everyone else,” and that increased competition drives prices down.

Crop values are calculated according to the prices paid to growers. Because the farming community is scattered across the county, collecting and calculating year-end figures takes months.

This year’s report includes for the first time information on the county’s farmers markets. Ellis said their growing popularity warranted the inclusion. In 1992, there were two certified farmers markets; for last year, the crop report listed six.

The markets are popular with growers, Ellis said, because they can sell the produce at its highest quality, when it is vine-ripened and fresh.

Changing Agricultural Picture

The value of Orange County’s 1993 agricultural products fell 14% from the previous year, largely because of a 6% drop in the acreage planted. Total value of all products, in millions of dollars and production acres:

1993 Value: 216 Acreage: 51,600

Top Crops Drop

The value of the county’s two top crops, nursery plants and strawberries, as well as its citrus namesake, has declined along with the overall decrease:

Nursery plants Strawberries Oranges 1989 $133 $37 $14 1990 135 35 22 1991 142 44 24 1992 131 40 16 1993 117 27 9

Nursery Crops

Nursery stock--valued at $117.4 million--remains Orange County’s top crop. What the nursery industry grows and the value of each type of crop, in millions of dollars:

Value Ornamental plants $94.3 Potted plants 13.0 Flat stock 7.2 Cut flowers 1.4 Christmas trees 0.9 Miscellaneous nursery* 0.6

* Includes stolons, strawberry crowns and field-grown vegetables sold to farmers or nurseries, sod, aquatic plants and miscellaneous seeds.

Source: Orange County agricultural commissioner; Researched by JANICE L. JONES / Los Angeles Times