Roger Coryell/Sonoma County Gazette Westside road farming, Healdsburg. (Roger Coryell/Sonoma County Gazette)

Expect some candid crop talk at the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday. The newly released 2024 Sonoma County crop report is on the agenda, and it shows the county’s agricultural production grossed about $857.6 million last year – down roughly 9.3% from 2023. In an informal preview ahead of the Sept. 9 meeting, we’ve distilled the report’s key findings. The tone among farmers is realistic: after a banner 2023, several of Sonoma’s signature products hit headwinds in 2024. Still, a few bright spots emerged in the mix.

The report puts the total gross farm value at $857.6 million in 2024, a 9.3% decline from $945.7 million in 2023. This figure reflects gross production value, not profits, across all Sonoma County agriculture.

Winegrapes came in at 211,512 tons crushed, down 12.2% year over year, at an average $2,962 per ton. The total winegrape value reached $626.55 million, about 12.6% lower than 2023.

Apples saw a 21% jump in overall value as growers brought 9.2% more tonnage to market than the previous year. Improved winter chill hours and abundant soil moisture helped boost the apple harvest.

The value of milk production surged 37.4%, driven largely by organic milk output skyrocketing nearly 50%. Conventional milk volumes dipped, but higher organic production and pricing lifted the overall dairy take.

Poultry and eggs plummeted 49% in value after a harsh bout of avian flu wiped out roughly 1.2 million birds in the county. Once known as the nation’s “egg basket,” Sonoma’s poultry sector now faces steep losses from highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreaks.

Nursery crops were down 7.3% in total value from 2023. Demand softened particularly for bedding plants, which fell 9.6%, and young vineyard stock, even as cut flower sales rose modestly. Christmas tree farms had a small growth spurt of 33% in value, but not enough to offset declines in landscaping ornamentals and grapevine nursery orders.

Cannabis continued its slump at $12.2 million in total value in 2024, less than half of 2023’s $25.7 million. Cultivated acreage barely shrank, with about 13.5 acres countywide similar to 2023, but low prices and a market glut dragged the crop’s value down. Cannabis figures are reported as an addendum to the main crop report.

Winegrapes remain Sonoma County’s agricultural heavyweight – accounting for roughly 73% of total crop value – but 2024 brought the industry back to earth. Growers harvested about 211,512 tons of grapes, down more than 12% from the prior year. Two wet winters in a row meant vines had plenty of groundwater to draw on, so the yield potential was strong. Paradoxically, significant tonnage was left unpicked in 2024 due to decreased demand and a wine market glut. In other words, some grapes never made it off the vine because wineries weren’t buying – a stark change from the buying frenzy of years past.

On the pricing side, grape values held steady. The average price paid to Sonoma growers was about $2,962 per ton, essentially flat, just a $13 drop, from 2023. But with fewer tons sold, the overall winegrape crop value fell to $626.6 million, a 12.6% decrease year over year. This pullback comes after 2023’s bumper results, which had followed an end to the drought. The 2023 season was unusually cool and misty, delaying ripening, whereas 2024’s growing season was more normal – until a late heat spike forced a speedy final pick in some vineyards. The combination of ample rain, good for vines, and a soft market, bad for sales, defined the grape economy last year. It’s a dynamic that farmers and vintners will be eager to discuss at the board meeting: Sonoma’s vineyards produced quality fruit, but the industry is adjusting to a buyers’ market.

Sonoma County’s apples, while a far smaller player than grapes, had a notably good year. Apple orchards saw a value increase of 21% in 2024 – a pleasant surprise for an industry often overshadowed by wine. Growers credit the cooler winter with ample chill hours, the cold weather that fruit trees need for dormancy, and improved soil moisture from the rains for a better crop. In fact, 9.2% more apples by tonnage were harvested compared to 2023.

There was a twist in pricing: Gravenstein apples, the county’s heritage variety, saw their price per ton drop about 8.4%, likely due to a bigger supply. Late-season apple varieties, however, earned about 8.2% higher price per ton. That late-season price strength, combined with the bigger harvest, boosted growers’ revenue. It’s a welcome bit of good news for local apple farmers, who have fought to keep orchards viable amid pressure from imported fruit and vineyard expansion. With consumers and cider-makers showing renewed interest in local apples, 2024’s rebound is encouraging.

The story in Sonoma’s livestock sector was mixed – a boom-and-bust scenario depending on which barn you looked at. Dairy farmers enjoyed a boom: milk production value jumped 37.4% last year. The report notes this leap came primarily from organic milk. Organic dairies ramped up output by nearly 50%, capitalizing on strong prices and consumer demand. Conventional milk production declined about 19%, but high organic yields more than made up the difference. The net result was significantly larger milk checks, providing a buffer of good news in agriculture.

Poultry producers, on the other hand, had a brutal year. Our once-mighty chicken and egg industry – a feathered history proudly recalled in the crop report – was hammered by disease. An outbreak of HPAI swept through in 2024, forcing drastic flock reductions. The report confirms poultry product value fell about 49% compared to the prior year. Roughly 1.2 million birds were lost to the virus and related culling measures. This is a staggering hit for local egg farmers, some of whom can remember when Sonoma was dubbed the “egg basket of the world” for its 600 million annual eggs. Today the poultry sector is much smaller, but it remains a critical local food source. The combination of rising feed costs and the HPAI losses has made survival challenging. County officials are likely to discuss how to help poultry and egg farms bounce back, even as animal disease threats and regulatory pressures continue to mount.

For context, the crop report notes that livestock and poultry products together showed only a 1.97% increase in value overall. That modest uptick was entirely thanks to dairy gains offsetting the poultry plunge. In short, milk covered for chickens in the bottom line.

Sonoma’s nursery crop producers – the folks growing ornamental plants, landscaping stock, cut flowers and nursery seedlings – felt a downturn in 2024. The sector’s total value was down 7.3% from 2023. Industry analysts pointed to waning consumer demand for bedding plants and a drop in orders for grapevine starts from other vineyards. With the wine industry pumping the brakes on new plantings due to market uncertainty, nurseries saw sales soften. Not all was bleak: cut flower sales rose 8.6% and even Christmas trees had a banner year, up 33% in value, as more families shopped local for their holiday fir. But those gains were niche. The core nursery businesses are navigating a post-pandemic cooling of the gardening boom, and it showed in last year’s receipts.

Finally, cannabis cultivation in Sonoma County continues to struggle. The 2024 crop report’s cannabis addendum paints a sobering picture: only $12.2 million in total value for the county’s legal cannabis crop. That’s less than half of what it was worth just the year before. What happened? In short, a market glut and falling prices. The licensed cultivation footprint didn’t change much – about 13.5 acres of cannabis canopy, outdoor, indoor and mixed-light combined, across unincorporated areas. But the price per pound farmers could fetch crashed amid statewide oversupply and competition. Sonoma’s cannabis farmers, once hopeful for a green rush, are now grappling with a bear market for buds. Local officials have already slashed cannabis business taxes to try to help, but the cash cow turned out to be a fizzle. The crop report’s numbers underscore that reality, and they may spur more discussion on how – or whether – the county can prop up this faltering industry.

All told, Sonoma County’s 2024 agricultural snapshot is a mixed bag. The total gross value – $857 million – is healthy but off its peak, illustrating how quickly fortunes can flip with changing weather, market demand and disease pressures. Policymakers and growers will likely use these findings to strategize: how to navigate

grape oversupply, support struggling sectors like poultry and cannabis, and sustain the momentum in areas like organic dairy and specialty crops.

One takeaway is clear: diversity and resilience in agriculture are more important than ever. As Sonoma heads into another year, the crop report’s ups and downs offer a roadmap of where the local farm economy is thriving – and where it’s hurting. Come Tuesday’s board meeting, those numbers will spark plenty of conversation about keeping Sonoma County’s heritage farms prosperous amid the unpredictability of both markets and Mother Nature.