The $2.4 Billion Crisis — Economics of the Acre
Economics of the Acre
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The $2.4 Billion Crisis

Ventura County just posted the largest annual gross revenue ever — $2.4 billion. But that number is hiding the truth:

The economic return from every acre farmed is collapsing.

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Citrus orchard meeting a freshly furrowed field, with the ocean beyond
Gross revenue
$2.4 billion
2025 total — the No. 10 producing ag county in the state
Gross revenue, adjusted for inflation
−19%
Since 2015, in constant 2015 dollars
Net return per acre
−80%
What an acre returns to the person farming it, across four major crop groups. Vegetables alone: −84%

Net return per acre, historic versus 2025, four commodity groups: 2025 Crop & Livestock Report, Ventura County Agriculture/Weights & Measures.

Record gross numbers — but earning less year after year.

The green line is what the county reported. The red line is that same money measured in 2015 dollars.

Gross crop value, as reported
The same value in 2015 dollars (CPI-U)
$1.6B $1.8B $2.0B $2.2B $2.4B $2.19B $2.40B $1.76B 2015 2017 2019 2021 2023 2025

Gross crop value: Crop & Livestock Reports 2015–2025, Ventura County Agriculture/Weights & Measures. Adjusted line in constant 2015 dollars, CPI-U 12-month index.

The headline number grew. The dollars behind it shrank.

What else is impacting agricultural revenue? →

What does it cost to grow Ventura County's most famous crops?

Ventura County is known around the world for strawberries and lemons — and local farmers are now paying out of pocket for the privilege of growing them here.

Freshly picked Ventura County strawberries
Strawberries
−$8.1 million

Growers kept nothing, then paid $8.1 million out of pocket.

Earned $807.0M · Spent $815.1M
Ventura County lemons moving through a packinghouse sorting line
Lemons
−$21.8 million

Growers kept nothing, then paid $21.8 million out of pocket.

Earned $181.7M · Spent $203.5M

Gross value and production costs: 2025 Crop & Livestock Report, Ventura County Agriculture/Weights & Measures. Returns are commodity-group averages.

How did Ventura County's other crops do? →

Every year, the cost to farm is rising.

4×

Irrigation water went from $22.10 to $88.83 an acre-inch since 2007.

+94%

Farm labor went from $13.00 to $25.16 an hour in five years.

$316

Per acre, per year, in compliance fees alone — before a single crop is produced.

We didn't lose ag land to a developer. We're losing farming to policy.

See more here →

The County Crop Report measures how much agriculture produces.

It doesn't measure whether agriculture can afford to keep producing it.

That's what the Agricultural Economic Index is designed to change.

What is the Agricultural Economic Index? →
Young citrus grove in a Ventura County valley, mountains beyond

Share the numbers.

Ventura County supports agriculture — but people are missing the economic crisis behind the green fields. Help spread the word that $2.4 billion is not the story.

Ventura County lemons grossed $181.7 million last year — and cost growers every single penny earned, plus an additional $21.8 million out of pocket.

Record crop value, smaller paycheck: after inflation, county ag revenue is down 19% since 2015.

We didn't lose ag land to a developer. We're losing farming to policy.

Farm Bureau of Ventura County is asking for three things. Read them here.

Want to do more to support local farming?

Contact us here