Santa Cruz County agriculture industry valued at $1.6 billion, report shows

Santa Cruz County’s agriculture industry contributed nearly $1.6 billion to the local economy in 2023, according to a new report showing the sector’s far-reaching economic influence. That’s around $4.2 million every day. 

That’s a much larger figure than what’s typically seen in the industry’s annual crop report, which in 2023 showed a total crop value for the area’s berries, nursery stock, vegetables and other products of around $654 million. But that doesn’t account for processed and packaged foods made from local agriculture products, a cornerstone of the industry that adds hundreds of millions of dollars. The crop report’s figure also doesn’t include indirect economic impacts, such as spending by companies and employees in the industry within the county. (The 2024 crop report will be released later this summer.) 

A report on “Economic Contributions of Santa Cruz County Agriculture” released last week by the county took a broader view of the sector’s economic footprint beyond the dollar value of its commodities, and includes direct and indirect jobs and money spent locally by agriculture companies and their employees.

Of that $1.6 billion, the direct economic output is valued at $1.05 billion and includes the value of the crops themselves, as well as many types of processed foods created from farmed goods, like frozen vegetables, wine made from locally grown grapes, flower services provided by nurseries and meat processed into items like sausages. Multiplier effects, or dollars spent locally by workers and companies, accounts for $508 million, for a total of $1.558 billion. 

The report paints a clearer picture of the health and resilience of the industry, said Santa Cruz County Agriculture Commissioner David Sanford. He worked closely with industry analyst Agriculture Impact Associates to complete the research in three months earlier this spring. The last time the report was released was 2013.

“My biggest takeaway from when we last did the report isn’t what’s changed, but what hasn’t. Agriculture remains a critical cornerstone of the county’s economic strength and jostles with tourism for the top industry in the county,” said Sanford. “A lot of people drive through agriculture or notice it in the periphery, but it’s a huge driver of our local economy.” 

The findings come at a crucial time for the industry, when tariffs and deportations within the immigrant labor force are top of mind. “There are so many things going on that this was a good time to shine a light on what it really means for us in the county, how huge the industry is and why it’s so important,” Sanford said. 

The report shows that the industry grew in output, impact and jobs between 2013 and 2023. 

In 2013, the direct economic output was valued at around $900 million – and increased by about 15% over the next decade to just over $1 billion. 

More than $500 million is generated indirectly by business-to-business purchases within the county from companies that sell packaging or provide banking services, for example, along with spending by agriculture workers within the county on groceries, housing and health care. 

In 2023, the industry employed 8,744 workers in farming and food processing. It also generated an additional 3,220 spinoff jobs at businesses that provide supplies and resources to the agriculture industry, like equipment, fertilizer and services like marketing and insurance. With a total of 11,964 positions, agriculture is the source of about one in every 18 local jobs. In 2013, it accounted for about one in every 20 jobs. 

The report also showed the environmental benefits of land use by agriculture industries, like pasture lands used for grazing cows. The study highlighted the ecological value of evergreen forests used for timber. While the timber industry accounts for only around 1% of the county’s direct economic output, before the trees are cut down there are substantial invisible benefits of the forest themselves to the environmental health of the area and its residents. It takes at least 20 years to grow a tree suitable for harvest, and in that time, carbon storage, soil health and erosion control, flood and wildfire prevention, aquifer recharge and habitat protection provided by those trees contributes between $206 million and $583 million in ecosystem services, the report estimated. 

The report doesn’t take into account the use of local agriculture products in area grocery stores and farmers markets, restaurants and other areas of the food and drink industry, indicating that the influence of agriculture on the local economy could be even greater.

“Food and agriculture tie into our lives in so many ways,” said Sanford. “We’re a small county, but we have a really diverse and vibrant ag industry.”

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