Strawberries Remain Santa Barbara County’s Top Crop in Annual Agriculture Report
SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) - According to the 2025 Santa Barbara County agriculture report, strawberries remain by far and away the county's the top crop.
This week, Santa Barbara County has released the annual report, which shows in 2025 strawberries had a combined gross value of $941,012,000, marking an increase of 9% from 2024.
Overall, the entire agricultural crop a gross production value of $2,240,877,000, an amount that represents an 11.5% increase compared to 2024.
In 2024, Santa Barbara County agriculture surpassed the $2 billion mark for the first time ever.
The county said in a statement those numbers do not represent gross values and do not account for production costs such as labor, planting, irrigation, harvesting, packaging, distribution, as well as other production activities.
"The significant increases we’re seeing in production value highlight both improved growing conditions and the continued demand for Santa Barbara County’s agricultural products," said said Jose Chang Santa Barbara County Agricultural Commissioner/Director of Weights & Measures. "These numbers represent the hard work and dedication of every person involved in bringing food to our tables."
Behind strawberries in the second spot in the county's top 10 commodities list was nursery products, which posted a production value of $126,501,000.
In the third position was broccoli and its gross value of $124,521,000. The amount represented a 33% increase from last year, a number the county attributed to higher yields and stronger market prices.
Other commodities on the top 10 list included head lettuce in the fourth position, followed by leaf lettuce in fifth, wine grapes at number six, cauliflower was seventh, celery in the eighth spot, with blackberries and livestock in ninth and tenth.
The wine industry, which has long played a vital role in the county's economy, trended upwards from 2024, moving up two sports from eighth to sixth.
Wine grapes represented had a value last year of $87,793,000, and amount that represented 4% of the county’s gross agriculture production value.
In terms of varieties, Pinot Noir had the highest value, followed by Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.
The county pointed out the rise came that despite a decline in harvested acreage, significantly higher yields per acre drove an increase in total production. Other factors included strong market demand for high-quality grapes that resulted in a substantial rise in overall production value.
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