United States Department of…

                                           United States Department of Agriculture
                                           National Agricultural Statistics Service



                          California Farm News
                           Cooperating with the California Department of Food and Agriculture
          California Field Office · P.O. Box 1258 · Sacramento, CA 95812 · (916) 498-5161 · www.nass.usda.gov/ca
                                Media Contact: Jack Rutz, 1-800-851-1127 · August 28, 2008




                    CALIFORNIA FARM REVENUES REACH NEW HIGH IN 2007


Led by a surge in the dairy sector, California agriculture saw a 15 percent gain in the sales value of its products in
2007, according to a report issued today by USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service and Economic
Research Service. The state's 75,000 farms and ranches received a record $36.6 billion for their output last year, up
from $31.8 billion in receipts for 2006. The previous high was reached in 2005 when sales totaled $32.4 billion.

California's largest-in-the-nation dairy industry saw a major recovery in 2007 from the depressed milk prices that
plagued it a year earlier. Dairy producers received $7.33 billion for their milk production during 2007 compared
with $4.49 billion during 2006. The state's dairy farms increased milk output 4.8 percent in 2007, while the price
producers received rose from $11.58 to $18.03 per hundred pounds of milk sold. The Golden State produced 22
percent of the milk in the U.S. last year, with most of it used to make cheese and butter.

A total of nine California products exceeded $1 billion in receipts for 2007. A combination of stronger prices and
higher production resulted in eight of the nine registering an increase in value from the previous year. The only
exception was the almond crop, which, based on preliminary grower prices, is down 6 percent in value despite a
record large crop. Final grower returns could change the sales value for almonds or other commodities, resulting in
an updated dollar amount in next year's report.


                                                  2005             2006               2007         2007/2006
                    Commodity                                                                       Percent
                                                              Million Dollars                       Change

          All Commodities                        32,352           31,816              36,575           15

          Milk                                    5,223            4,492               7,328           63
          Grapes                                  3,195            2,998               3,082             3
          Nursery Products *                      2,695            2,899               3,075             6
          Lettuce, All Types                      1,416            2,054               2,178             6
          Almonds                                 2,526            2,259               2,127           -6
          Cattle, Calves                          1,744            1,676               1,784             6
          Strawberries                            1,123            1,199               1,339           12
          Tomatoes, Fresh and Processing            919            1,166               1,242             7
          Floriculture                            1,020              999               1,003           ---

          * Excludes Floriculture


More information on California's cash receipts from farm marketings is located at www.ers.usda.gov/Data/FarmIncome/.


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