An annual report released by the Santa Cruz County Agriculture Commission reveals that crops grown in Santa Cruz County increased in overall value by 6.3-million dollars last year, compared to 2008. The overall crop value was 491.64-million dollars. While vegetable and apple crops lost value, strawberry yields were up. Strawberry’s led the list of top crops, moving 172.58-million dollars’ worth of the berry last year. That’s an increase of nearly 12-million dollars from 2008. The 2nd-leading santa cruz county crop, raspberries, slightly declined in value, as prices and acres planted were down. However, raspberries still accounted for 104.27-million dollars, a decrease of less than a million dollars from 2008.
