Value of Washington’s farm goods unchanged in 2021

Published 10:00 am Wednesday, October 19, 2022

The value of Washington farm goods was flat in 2021, barely exceeding the worth of crops and livestock in 2020, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Farmers and ranchers produced products valued at $10.2 billion. The value was $19,499 higher in 2021 than the year before. The record is $10.7 billion set in 2015.

Five commodities made up 55% of the value. Apples are unchallenged as Washington’s flagship crop. Milk kept its hold on the second slot.

Cattle and calves climbed two spots to third. Wheat, which suffered through a drought year, fell one slot to fourth. Potatoes also fell one spot, slipping to fifth.

Hay had a good year and climbed one notch to sixth. Hops also had a solid year and went up one step to seventh.

Sweet cherries fell two spots to eighth. The crop in 2021 was bigger than the year before, but prices were lower.

Grapes were steady in ninth place. Blueberries enjoyed a record year and supplanted eggs at No. 10.

Outside the top 10, raspberries enjoyed a 75% increase in value to a record $110 million. Corn for grain was up 34% to $122 million.

The value of Washington’s canola crop increased for a sixth straight year, rising to $44.3 million.

Eggs were down 16% to $184 million. Onions declined 28% to $101 million.

Washington led the U.S. in six crops: apples, blueberries, hops, pears, spearmint oil and sweet cherries.

The values reported by the USDA do not include government payments.

Here are more details about the top 10:

• The apple crop was worth $2.19 billion, up 4%. Apples made up 21% of the value of the state’s farm goods, the same as in 2020. The state produced 68.6% of the commercially grown U.S. apples.

• Milk was up 1% to $1.21 billion. Washington ranks 10th in the U.S. in milk production.

• Cattle and calves were up 14% to $802 million. Washington ranks 27th in the U.S. in number of cattle.

• Wheat was down 20% to $757 million. Per-acre yield was 39.1 bushels, down by 33.3 bushels from 2020. Washington slipped to fifth from fourth among wheat-producing states.

• Potatoes were down 5% to $712 million. Production was up, but average prices were down. Washington trailed only Idaho in growing potatoes.

• Hay was up 20.2% to $601.8 million.

• Hops jumped 8.4% to $482.2 million. Washington growers produced 73.2% of the U.S. hops. By that yardstick, hops are the state’s most prominent commodity.

• Sweet cherries dropped in value by 15.2% to $476.4 million. Washington produced 62% of the sweet cherries grown in the U.S. in 2021.

• Grapes were down 0.5% to $300.7 million.

• Blueberries were up 5% to $228.3 million, setting a record for value. The record wasn’t old. It was set in 2020.

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