AREA CROP VALUE YIELDS FINE OUTLOOK.

Byline: Jesse Hiestand Daily News Staff Writer

Ventura County's agriculture industry backed off slightly last year from its record-breaking harvest in 1995, but officials say they expect revenues to soon reach the $1 billion mark.

Crop values totaled nearly $852 million in 1996, down from $921.8 million the previous year, when exceptional production and demand for avocados and celery spurred the industry to record levels. Prices of those crops, along with lettuce, fell more than 30 percent in 1996, bringing total values some $52,000 below levels in 1994.

``We've had our ups and downs, but the trend is up,'' county Agricultural Commissioner W. Earl McPhail said, as he predicted that the county's leading industry would reach $1 billion mark in a few years.

``When the major crops are hit, it's a major hit to the county because those crops are labor intensive and that trickles down through the economy,'' he said. ``It could have been worse but it wasn't, and we're very happy about that.

``Agriculture in Ventura County is healthy, and we just need to work very hard to make sure that it stays that way,'' he said.

The 1996 decline likely will cause Ventura County to fall a notch or two from its No. 11 spot among agricultural counties in California, McPhail said.

Fresno County - with 1 million acres in production - perennially tops the list with $3 billion in revenues, he said.

While Ventura County has just under 100,000 acres of agricultural land, it remains No. 1 in terms of value per acre because it is blessed with a mild climate, rich soil and abundant water, McPhail said.

``When you add those three together, it's just an absolutely great place to grow crops,'' he said.

These conditions allow local farmers to grow certain crops when they cannot be produced elsewhere, he said. More than 90 percent of the county's harvest is exported throughout the United States and across the world.

Celery, for example, is often planted in Ventura County near Thanksgiving, allowing area farmers to be one of the few sources of this vegetable through Christmas.

This strategy helped propel the 1995 crop season into the record books.

But when farmers in Monterey, San Luis Obispo and other counties also began planting early to take advantage of potential profits, the market became glutted and prices dropped, he said.

As a result, the county's celery crop fell from $140 million in 1995 to $87 million last year.

Avocados also saw a dramatic drop, from $87 million in 1995 to $59 million last year.

Avocado production was down partly because the trees do not bear fruit every year and there have been ongoing problems with two pests - the Persea mite and thrips.

Lettuce production remained level over the past two years, but as with celery, increased production in other areas drove the price down.

The county's $150 million strawberry industry lost about $8 million in value in 1996.

The year's crop had been doing fine until Houston health officials, without any evidence, accused California strawberries of being infected with the cyclospora bacteria, said Rex Laird, executive director of the Ventura County Farm Bureau.

Since that happened in June 1996, near the end of the growing season, the market's overnight nose dive from $7 to $2.50 per flat was not devastating, he said.

The county's No. 1 crop, lemons, saw a slight increase to $201 million in sales. Some 40 percent of that crop is exported to the Pacific Rim, and there are hopes Hong Kong will remain a major buyer and perhaps open the doors to mainland China, McPhail said.

But the most notable increases came in two areas: cut flowers and nursery stock.

Nursery stock rose this past year from $75 million to almost $90 million. This was attributed to an increasing number of Los Angeles-area nurseries relocating to take advantage of Ventura County's cheaper land prices.

``The 1995 holiday season was great,'' said John Engesser of Liberty Floral, an Oxnard-area grower. ``Last year was the reverse. There was a lot of product out there. Everything moved - but at about half the price.''

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos, Chart

Chart: (Color only in Simi edition) CROP VALUES

Following is a comparison of Ventura County's crop values over the last five years. The totals include fruit and nut crops, vegetables, livestock and poultry, cut flowers and nursery stock, and biological control.

Photo: (1--Ran in Conejo edition only--Color) Farm workers pick cilantro Monday following the announcement that Ventura County's agricultural product in '96 was nearly $852 million.

(2--Color only in Simi ediiton) The decline may cause Ventura County to fall a notch or two among agricultural counties.

Bob Halvorsen/Daily News