Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

18 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

18 hours ago

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

2 days ago

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

2 days ago

Trump’s Sweeping Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Wins Congressional Approval

2 days ago

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

2 days ago

US Supreme Court to Decide Legality of Transgender School Sports Bans

2 days ago

Nvidia Set to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company in History

2 days ago

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

2 days ago
Grapes Help Push Fresno County Ag to Record $8.6B. Cracks Show in Almonds, Pistachios.
Edward Smith updated website photo 2024
By Edward Smith
Published 10 months ago on
August 26, 2024

The value of grapes helped push Fresno County ag values to a record $8.6 billion, according to the 2023 Fresno County Crop Report. (GV Wire Composite/Paul Marshall)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Fresno County’s crops brought in a record $8.6 billion in 2023 with grapes holding the top spot for the second year after displacing almonds, which continue to decline.

“Although individual commodities may experience difficulties from year to year, Fresno County continues to supply the highest quality of food and fiber nationwide and abroad to more than 90 countries around the world,” said Melissa Cregan, Fresno County ag commissioner in the 2023 Crop Report.

No Wrath From These Grapes

Kern County and Tulare County crop reports have yet to come out, so those following the three-way competition between the farming giants have to wait to see who will herald the spot for top ag county in the nation. But Fresno County is off to a good start.

The Fresno County Department of Agriculture measured a sharp 6.1% increase in ag values from 2022.

Grapes experienced a return to the head of the table as the county’s premiere crop. For years, the price of almonds pushed the nut well beyond the raisins, wine, and table grapes coming off the vine.

But consumers’ appetite for fresh table grapes made up for losses on the wine side. A significant rise in values made up for a small drop in acreage, pushing table grape values up nearly $100 million to $743.8 million.

Raisins also experienced a modest increase. The two sub-categories made up for losses in wine. Across the state, winemakers are in a panic about inability to sell their product. Experts have predicted many acres in the San Joaquin Valley may need to be pulled up for the market to reach a balance.

Wine grape acreage decreased by 7% from 2022 to 2023, going to 50,760 acres last year.

Prices Are ‘Nuts’

For the first time in years, the ag department valued the county’s almond crop below $1 billion. However, almond byproducts — namely the hulls — pushed the nut just beyond the billion mark. High input costs, especially with water, have harried growers as have collapsing values.

In February, Trinitas Farming LLC, one of the largest almond growers in California, filed for bankruptcy. Even with strong water rights, the hedge fund subsidiary could not make enough of a profit with the nut.

The ag department noted an increase in acreage from 2022 to 2023 and an increase in price per ton, but decreased productivity offset gains, resulting in almond values at just under $950 million. With hulls, almonds came in at $1 billion.

Increased pistachio acreage and strong production numbers offset lower prices, grossing $861 million for the nut, up 25% the year before. Like almonds, pistachio prices have been falling.

Earlier this year, pistachio prices opened at the lowest price in 10 years, according to Charlotte Avila, senior director of sales at Touchstone Pistachios.

The price later stabilized, but the initial price scared growers. The 2023 crop is expected to set a record.

Other crops of note: blueberry production per acre doubled, increasing crop values 42% from the year before.

Cherry production nearly tripled, pushing the value up 173% to $95.9 million.

(Disclosure: GV Wire Publisher Darius Assemi is a partner in Touchstone Pistachios.)

 

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

DON'T MISS

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

DON'T MISS

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

DON'T MISS

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

DON'T MISS

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

DON'T MISS

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

DON'T MISS

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rachelle Maria Blanco

DON'T MISS

Russia Pounds Kyiv With Largest Drone Attack, Hours After Trump-Putin Call

UP NEXT

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

UP NEXT

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

UP NEXT

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

UP NEXT

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

UP NEXT

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

UP NEXT

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

UP NEXT

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

UP NEXT

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rachelle Maria Blanco

UP NEXT

Russia Pounds Kyiv With Largest Drone Attack, Hours After Trump-Putin Call

UP NEXT

Boxer Chavez Jr Expected to Be Deported to Mexico to Serve Sentence, Mexican President Says

Edward Smith,
Multimedia Journalist
Edward Smith began reporting for GV Wire in May 2023. His reporting career began at Fresno City College, graduating with an associate degree in journalism. After leaving school he spent the next six years with The Business Journal, doing research for the publication as well as covering the restaurant industry. Soon after, he took on real estate and agriculture beats, winning multiple awards at the local, state and national level. You can contact Edward at 559-440-8372 or at Edward.Smith@gvwire.com.

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

18 hours ago

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

18 hours ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

18 hours ago

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

18 hours ago

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

18 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rachelle Maria Blanco

18 hours ago

Russia Pounds Kyiv With Largest Drone Attack, Hours After Trump-Putin Call

18 hours ago

Boxer Chavez Jr Expected to Be Deported to Mexico to Serve Sentence, Mexican President Says

18 hours ago

Markets’ 90-Day Tariff Pause Rollercoaster Nears an Uncertain End

18 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

18 hours ago

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

President Donald Trump is scheduled to sign a massive package of tax and spending cuts into law at a ceremony at the White House on Friday, ...

17 hours ago

President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 12, 2025. (Reuters File)
17 hours ago

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

The Madre Fire burning near New Cuyama has scorched 70,801 acres as of Friday, July 4, 2025, afternoon, making it California’s largest wildfire of the year, with only 10% containment and multiple evacuation zones in place. (CalFire)
17 hours ago

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

17 hours ago

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

A pumpjack operates at the Vermilion Energy site in Trigueres, France, June 14, 2024. (Reuters File)
18 hours ago

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

Palestinians gather to collect what remains of relief supplies from the distribution center of the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 5, 2025. (Reuters File)
18 hours ago

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

Billy Wayne Sinisgalli, a 54-year-old transient known locally as Wayne, was found dead along a rural Fresno road Wednesday in what authorities are investigating as a suspicious death. (Fresno County SO)
18 hours ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

Israel Builds a Fence Around the West Bank
18 hours ago

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

A view of the site of Thursday's Israeli strike that damaged and destroyed residential buildings, at Shati (Beach) refugee camp, in Gaza City, July 4, 2025. (Reuters/Mahmoud Issa)
18 hours ago

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend