Agriculture & Forestry Yakima County

Item	Quantity	State Rank	Universe	U.S. Rank	Universe
MARKET VALUE OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS SOLD ($1,000)
Total value of agricultural products sold	1,645,510	2	39	12	3,077
Value of crops including nursery and greenhouse	1,069,497	2	39	12	3,072
Value of livestock, poultry, and their products	576,013	1	39	33	3,076

VALUE OF SALES BY COMMODITY GROUP ($1,000)
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans, and dry peas	52,796	9	34	798	2,926
Tobacco	-	-	-	-	436
Cotton and cottonseed	-	-	-	-	635
Vegetables, melons, potatoes, and sweet potatoes	(D)	7	39	(D)	2,802
Fruits, tree nuts, and berries	810,881	1	39	9	2,724
Nursery, greenhouse, floriculture, and sod	(D)	10	38	(D)	2,678
Cut Christmas trees and short rotation woody crops	(D)	27	33	(D)	1,530
Other crops and hay	160,693	1	39	3	3,049
Poultry and eggs	(D)	11	39	(D)	3,013
Cattle and calves	128,577	3	39	97	3,056
Milk from cows	436,745	1	30	7	2,038
Hogs and pigs	93	14	37	1278	2,827
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair, and milk	2,554	1	39	66	2,988
Horses, ponies, mules, burros, and donkeys	1,826	2	39	109	3,011
Aquaculture	(D)	27	34	(D)	1,366
Other animals and other animal products	(D)	2	39	(D)	2,924

TOP CROP ITEMS (acres)
Apples	50,270	1	39	1	2,167
Forage-land used for all hay and haylage, grass silage, and greenchop	36,849	6	39	434	3,057
Corn for silage	31,879	1	24	26	2,237
Grapes	19,421	2	36	15	2,144
Wheat for grain, all	16,337	14	32	532	2,537

TOP LIVESTOCK INVENTORY ITEMS (number)
Cattle and calves	258,663	1	39	23	3,063
Layers	(D)	7	39	(D)	3,040
Colonies of bees	20,357	2	39	25	2,761
Sheep and lambs	6,525	1	39	138	2,897
Horses and ponies	3,931	3	39	112	3,072

See “Census of Agriculture, Volume 1, Geographic Area Series” for complete footnotes, explanations, definitions, and methodology. - Represents zero. (D) Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual operations. 1 Universe is number of counties in state or U.S. with item. 2 Data were collected for a maximum of three operators per farm

Tree Fruit Crops

Yakima County is the leading County in Washington State in the production of apples, sweet cherries, pears (including Bartlett pears). There are hundreds of acres of peaches, nectarines, plums/prunes, apricots, and other soft fruits.

Vegetable Crops

There is sizable acreage of vegetable crops in Yakima County that feeds the truck market, local farmer markets and roadside vegetable stands. So don’t forget your vegetables! Yakima County is the leading producer of squash (summer and winter) and peppers (bell and chile) in Washington and has over 3,600 acres of sweet corn.

From May to September, roadside vegetable stands are loaded with asparagus, onions, snap beans, cucumbers and tomatoes. Sometimes you may find crops like sweet potatoes, peanuts or okra where producers rely on greenhouse plantings to extend the growing season for crops normally found further South.

Fruit & Berry Crops

Yakima County has over 19,000 acres of grapes including juice grapes like Concord as well as wine and table grapes. The production of wine grapes has exploded in the past ten years as Washington State wines garner national and international recognition and a plethora of wine tasting rooms contribute to a robust tourist trade.

Premier grape varieties like Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Riesling and Chardonnay are grown here to feed a growing wine industry that has earned the Yakima Valley the designation as one of the American Viticultural areas found in Washington. The Yakima Valley has become the home to the State’s highest concentration of wineries.

In addition, a number of berry crops including blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and currants find their way to niche markets, broaden the selection of fruits at numerous fruit stands in the area, and contribute to the growing fruit juice industry in the region. Yakima County is the number one producer of melon in the State including watermelon, cantaloupe and muskmelon.

Nut Crops

There has been a modest increase in acreage devoted to nut crops as local producers diversify their crops and discover that there are some ideal climatic areas that can give rise to a quality walnut, chestnut and filberts right here in Yakima County.

Other Crops

Yakima County is the leading county in the nation in the production of hops. There are nearly 19,000 acres of hops planted and harvested annually. Hops are the essential ingredient in the world-renown brews of the Pacific Northwest

Agricultural Production Zone Port of Grandview

The agricultural production zone associated with the Port of Grandview (POG) in Yakima County is approximately a square that extends northwest from the corner where Benton and Klickitat County meet to Toppenish. Based on data from the Washington State Department of Agriculture Cropland Data Layer there is approximately 66,783 acres of land tied to an agricultural use in this area. This accounts for 19% of all the agricultural land in Yakima County. The POG contains a disproportionate amount of the county acres of pasture and fallowed land, cereal grains, orchards, and oilseeds. It contains less of herbs, hay/silage, and vineyards.

Crop Group	Port of Grandview Acres	Yakima County Acres	% of County Total
Other (primarily pasture and fallowed land)	21,738	84,785	26%
Cereal Grain	20,465	86,626	24%
Vineyard	8,481	71,274	12%
Herb	5,025	33,493	15%
Orchard	4,120	20,135	20%
Hay/Silage	5,622	35,944	16%
Nursery	372	903	41%
Vegetable	796	8,425	9%
Turfgrass	100	235	43%
Berry	17	17	100%
Green Manure	10	801	1%
Commercial Tree	6	22	27%
Oilseed	0	909	0%
Seed	30	276	11%
Melon	0	13	0%
Flower Bulb	0	1,609	0%
Total	66,783	345,467	19%

According to the 2007 Census of Agriculture (the most recent iteration), the market value of all agricultural products sold in Yakima County was $1.2 billion. This breaks down to $787,459,000 for crops with the remaining $416,347,000 coming from livestock sales. Total gross income from farm-related sources was $20,655,000. Net cash farm income was $372,055,000. While the crop mix in the POG area is different than the rest of Yakima County it does appear that a rough approximation can be made by multiplying county totals by 19%. While the POG has a small portion of all vineyards it has a greater share of orchards and cereal grains. Assuming these differences balance out so that the 19% can be applied, then the value of crop production in the POG is estimated to be about $300 million for the market value of crop production and $7.8 million for total farm-related income.

While the crop mix in the POG area is different than the rest of Yakima County it does appear that a rough approximation can be made by multiplying county totals by 19%. While the POG has a small portion of all vineyards it has a greater share of orchards and cereal grains. Assuming these differences balance out so that the 19% can be applied, then the value of crop production in the POG is estimated to be about $300 million for the market value of crop production and $7.8 million for total farm-related income.

Data from IMPLAN® provides additional detail on the local economy directly and indirectly related to farm production. There are an estimated 20,000 jobs from agriculture related to production up to the farm gate. About 7,000 of these jobs are from agricultural support activities like fertilizer sales, machinery sales, seed sales, etc. Fruit farming provides the largest direct jobs impact with just over 5,000 jobs. Another 1,800 jobs are in food processing industries in Yakima County from frozen food, as well as fruit and vegetable processing. Indirect business taxes, which includes taxes paid in the normal operation of

Fruit farming provides the largest direct jobs impact with just over 5,000 jobs. Another 1,800 jobs are in food processing industries in Yakima County from frozen food, as well as fruit and vegetable processing. Indirect business taxes, which includes taxes paid in the normal operation of business but excluding taxes on profits, are estimated to be $38 million. Fruit farming is estimated to contribute over $15 million of that total.

The agricultural area within the zone of the Port of Grandview leads Washington in terms of value of production. It is also known for its immense diversity of crops which contribute further to the state economy with downstream food processing industries. Increased agricultural commodity prices are expected to continue in the future and will disproportionately benefit areas like the Yakima Basin that have the capacity to take advantage of changes in relative prices due to the diversity of crops that can be grown. Reduced uncertainty over water resources as a result of the completion of the Yakima Basin Adjudication should also improve the economic potential of agriculture in the Basin.