Yields rise as local agriculture continues growth

Local agriculture continued growing last year, both in volume and value.

That's according to the latest official annual crop report for Sonoma County.

Wine grapes showed the most impressive increases, with yields up more than a quarter in 2023 compared to the prior year.

The average price paid per ton also rose, pushing the total value of wine grapes up by nearly 31 percent, compared to 2022 to more than $700 million.

That was all despite a late spring that delayed harvests.

The amount of apples grown and sold rose nearly nineteen percent,

but with lower market prices and less demand, the value of apples sold rose just 11 percent.

Financials were less rosy in the livestock and poultry sector, largely due to an epidemic of bird flu.

According to a county report...avian influenza led to the loss of over 91 percent of the county's poultry population.