Every year, Ventura County publishes what agriculture produced. No one publishes whether producing it was survivable.
The Index is a standing measure of the economics underneath the acre — cost of production against return, tracked year over year, by commodity group, for this county.
A working acre does six jobs at once — but only while it stays in production. Farmers are paid for the crops. They pay out of pocket to provide the other five for free.
We can import crops. We cannot import wildfire buffers.
Per acre, per commodity group — what it costs to grow here against what the crop earns here.
Tracked year over year, so a single hard season can be told apart from a decade-long slide.
Water, labor, permits and compliance carried as line items, so decisions can be weighed before they land.
Gross production value is NOT the full picture.
To keep agriculture sustainable in Ventura County, we need the Agricultural Economic Index.
Farm Bureau of Ventura County is asking for three things. Read them here.
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