Washington farmers and ranchers set a production record last year, growing crops and raising livestock worth $9.89 billion — a 6 percent increase from 2011, according to a report this week from the National Agricultural Statistics Service.
Apples climbed 16 percent, to $2.25 billion. It’s the first commodity in the state to go over the $2 billion mark, said Washington State Department of Agriculture Director Bud Hover.
Apples are the top commodity in the state, representing 23 percent of the total agriculture value. Washington is the nation’s top apple producer, growing about 60 percent of the U.S. crop.
Harvested apple orchards were worth $15,400 per acre in 2012, the report said.
After apples’ $2.25 billion, the other crops in the top five are wheat, worth $1.18 billion; milk, worth $1.16 billion; potatoes, worth $700 million; and hay, worth $679 million.
