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By Gig Conaughton, County of San Diego Communications Office
November 1, 2025 (San Diego) - Agriculture values rose by just over 1% to $1.67 billion, and vegetable and vine crops thrived in San Diego County’s Annual Crop Report released today.
The new Crop Report, which covers the 2024 growing season, showed the county’s list of Top 10 crops changed slightly from the previous year, with “Vegetables, Other” jumping over lemons into fifth place, just behind avocados.
The Top 10 list was once again dominated by three crops. They were led by “Bedding plants, Color, Perennials, Cacti & Succulents,” which has ranked number one since 2021, when it supplanted the former number one and now perennial number two, “Ornamental Trees & Shrubs.” Coming in third for the sixth straight year was “Indoor Flowering and Foliage Plants.”
Those three top crops alone produced just over $1.08 billion in value. That equaled nearly 65% of the county’s total agricultural value, growing on just 3.4% of the total acreage devoted to agriculture.
The Crop Report identifies seven main Crop “groups.” Four of those suffered decreases in 2024. Nursery & Cut Flower Products and Fruit & Nut Crops both suffered slight percentage decreases in the new report. Field Crops, and Apiary Products — bee products — registered double-digit percent decreases.
However, three of the seven Crop Groups registered increases, including significant jumps in two.
Livestock & Poultry increased 12.13%, from roughly $86 million to nearly $97 million. And Vegetable & Vine Crops increased by 26.13%, from roughly $89 million to just over $113 million.
The jump in the Vegetable & Vine Crops group included the single crop that had the highest percentage increase, “Vegetable, Other,” which jumped 31.1%, from roughly $75 million to over $98 million.
Avocados, perhaps the county’s most famous crop, remained in fourth place on the Top 10 Crop list, registering $99,383,191 in value.
The County’s Department of Agriculture, Weights and Measures (AWM) compiles the Crop Report every year and posts it online. The report provides a yearly look at the local agriculture industry that remains a staple of the region’s economy despite challenges. Those include climate change, the region’s continuing drought, invasive agricultural pests, and increasing financial pressures such high input costs — fuel/energy, supplies, machinery and fertilizers.
AWM supports the agricultural industry in numerous ways. It inspects and intercepts invasive agricultural pests like the Mexican and Mediterranean fruit flies, light brown apple moths, and Asian citrus psyllids. It certifies agricultural exports. It also regulates pesticide use, verifies organic produce, inspects farmer’s markets and conducts safety training for agricultural fieldworkers.
Other notable information from the Crop Report:
- The 12% increase in Livestock & Poultry was due to the increased values of most Livestock & Poultry Products, which include milk, eggs and chicken.
- Apiary Products were valued at $3,497,675, a 26% decrease from last year. The decrease is mainly due to a 47% drop in Honey and Beeswax production, caused by slightly decreased prices and inconsistencies in rainfall. Pollination dropped 6% as there were fewer colonies used for these services and stagnating pollination fees.
- The overall value of Citrus decreased by 2%, along with a 5% decrease in acreage. Citrus crops that increased in value included Kumquats, Oranges, and Tangerines & Tangelos, which rose by roughly 19%, 9%, and 2%, respectively. All other citrus varieties saw declines in value, driven by a combination of reduced acreage and lower yields, and contributing to the overall decrease in the Total Citrus category value.
Here’s a Look at the 2024 Top 10 Crops:
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