Santa Barbara County Ag Revenues Almost Hit $2 Billion Ceiling
But County Agricultural Commissioner’s Crop Report Doesn’t Include Cannabis Revenues
Revenues derived from agricultural operations in Santa Barbara County are pushing up against the $2 billion mark, having hit $1.918 billion for 2021 — a $98.988 million increase from 2020. Had cannabis revenues been included, it’s all but certain the $2 billion ceiling would have been shattered to smithereens.
As usual, strawberries led the pack, generating $849 million in revenues with wine grapes pulling in $105 million and broccoli generating $101 million.
The big asterisk in all these figures, released by County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office, is that they do not include any revenues generated by the county’s cannabis industry. For technical reasons having to do with the politics of regulating crops, cannabis is not legally or officially designated an agricultural crop. (By law, the county is seriously restricted in its ability to regulate the cultivation of farm crops. By not decreeing cannabis as such, greater latitude to regulate was allowed.)
