OLYMPIA, Wash. — The value of Washington’s 2019 agricultural production totaled $9.49 billion, down 2 percent from the revised previous year value of $9.68 billion, according to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, Northwest Regional Field Office.
Apples remain the leading agricultural commodity in the State with a 2019 value of $1.96 billion. This is down 8 percent from the previous year. Apples represented 21 percent of the total agricultural value in 2019. In the previous year, apple’s share of the total was 22 percent.
Milk remained in the second position and had value of production totaling $1.28 billion dollars in 2019, up 13 percent from 2018.
All Potato value of production moved up one position from the previous year to third in the State rankings. Potato value in 2019 was $934 million, up 19 percent from the previous year.
All Wheat, valued at $793 million, represented the fourth highest value in the State. This was a 6 percent decrease from the previous year.
Cattle and calves rounded out the top five with a value of $699 million, up 7 percent from the previous year.
These five commodities had a combined value of $5.67 billion, or 60 percent of the 2019 value for all commodities (excluding government payments). The same five commodities in 2018 had a combined value of $5.56 billion, 57 percent of the total value.
Record high values of production were established for potatoes and hops. Value of hop production in 2019 was $476 million, up 11 percent from the previous year and 4 percent higher than the previous record high in 2017.
Onion value of production entered the top ten, with a value of $181 million in 2019, an increase of 2 percent from the previous year.
There were notable commodities outside the top ten that showed significant increases in value from the previous year. The value of blueberries reached a record high value of $153 million in 2019, up 10 percent from the previous year and 4 percent higher than the previous record in 2015. Barley value of production increased 39 percent to $29.9 million in 2019. The value of canola, at $22.3 million, increased for the fourth consecutive year.
Five of the top ten commodities declined in value from the previous year, including apples, wheat, hay, sweet cherries, and grapes. Other notable commodities that declined in value in 2019 were eggs, down 30 percent to $168 million, and all pears, down 31 percent to $145 million.
— USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service
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