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| Oregon impressive in national agriculture rankings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 06/16/2010 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Oregon leads nation in production of several commodities Oregon agriculture boasts more than 225 different commodities, making it one of the most agriculturally diverse states in the U.S. While its total value of production may not rank as high as the mega-agriculture states of California, Texas, and Iowa, Oregon is known as a top producer of several commodities that contribute to the nation's impressive agricultural output. "There are some things our farmers grow better than anyone else in the world," says Katy Coba, director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture. "A big part of it is our unique climate and soils. But our producers have developed expertise and know-how over a long period of time. If not for Oregon, some of these commodities just wouldn't be available to the American or international consumer." According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Oregon has a very high ranking among all states for a number of commodities in terms of production. Oregon is identified as number one in the production of 14 commodities- most of them fall in the categories of grass seed and caneberries. For many more commodities, Oregon is in the top ten of all states- another reminder of the state's agricultural diversity. According to NASS, Oregon leads the nation in production of the following:
The 2010 preliminary statistics also show that Oregon produces all of the nation's hazelnuts, blackberries, black raspberries, boysenberries, and loganberries. "These are very specialized crops," says Brent Searle, ODA analyst, who echoes that comments of Director Coba. "It's not just the climate and soils that allows production of these commodities, it's the knowledge base of our growers, the technology they employ, and the managerial ability they display in today's global economic climate. That speaks a lot to the quality of producers we have in Oregon." Oregon is ranked second of all states in the production of the following:
The list of commodities in which Oregon is ranked third in the nation includes some of the state's larger commodities in terms of production value:
In addition, nursery stock measured in production value at $732 million is ranked third among all states. Other Oregon commodities are in the top five nationally in terms of production, including wine grapes, cranberries, green peas and sweet corn for processing. In total, Oregon agriculture has a production value of about $4.1 billion. Led by the nursery industry, there are nine commodities with values exceeding $100 million this past year. Fifteen commodities have production values of more than $50 million. It is clear that even a state like Oregon, where no single agricultural commodity dominates, can make an important contribution to the overall U.S. farm economy. "Oregon ranks 26th of all states in terms of value of production, but if we were to rank the states on diversity of production, Oregon would be in the top three or four," says Searle. "The types of commodities we produce are ones that consumers want, and place Oregon as an important player in the national market." Combine the quantity with high quality and it's safe to say that Oregon agriculture is impressive. For more information, contact Bruce Pokarney at (503) 986-4559. Story of the Week pdf version http://oregon.gov/ODA/docs/pdf/news/100616rankings.pdf Audio Story of the Week http://oregon.gov/ODA/news/100616rankings_audio.shtml |
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