County's agricultural production largely stays here

Seventy-seven percent of Nevada County's agricultural production is sold within the county or the state, according to a survey conducted last fall and presented Thursday night at the Senior Center at the Nevada County Fairgrounds.

Six hundred farms are currently operating in Nevada County, said Roger Ingram, farm adviser for the University of California cooperative extension office in Auburn.

In contrast to overall numbers for California, which has lost 500 farms, the recent survey shows farming in Nevada County has not diminished, said John Powers, a board member of the Nevada County Farm Bureau.

Powers and his wife, Janey, own and operate the Hopeful Hill Ranch, where they produce hay, eggs and keep horses.

Seventy-three percent of the survey's respondents listed farming as their secondary occupation, meaning they made less than $10,000 annually from it, Powers said. Most county farmers, he added, sell the goods they produce on their own property, using word-of-mouth advertising.

Nearly 50 percent of those who completed the survey listed livestock as their main product.

The survey, which asked questions regarding descriptions of produce and major concerns, was planned and developed in April 2005 through the Nevada County Economic Resource Council, Farm Bureau and the University of California cooperative extension office, said Powers.

The survey was sent out to 299 local farmers and ranchers in November 2005 and completed and returned by 102 of them.

Now that the survey has been analyzed, local agriculture groups will attempt to use the information obtained to address concerns such as marketing, transportation, water, urban expansion, government regulations, land costs, labor and water, said Powers, in addition to plans for creating a map of local farms.

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To reach staff writer Josh Singer, e-mail joshs@theunion.com or call 477-4234.



Top Products in Nevada County

1. Livestock

2. Vegetables

3. Grapes

4. Nursery products

5. Fruit