Shasta County’s Agriculture Commissioner has submitted the annual report, which shows overall county-wide production of over $98 Million, which is a nearly 10% increase over the previous year. The value of cattle shot up 25.7% because of price increases, while nursery stock rose nearly 40% due to an increase in strawberry production. A commodity that took a big loss was most varieties of hay, which decreased in value by 7.7%. AG Commissioner John Ingram said the costs of diesel, fertilizer and insurance are driving many hay producers to the brink of bankruptcy. The top three highest value crops in Shasta County were cattle at $33.2 Million, hay at $21.8 Million and bees, primarily queen bees, at $9.6 Million. Timber is counted separately and was valued at $28.2 Million. Licensed commercial producers of cannabis, permitted only within Redding and Shasta Lake City limits, harvested 300,251 plants and yielded 158,222 pounds of useable material.
-Steve Gibson