WHAT MAKES LOCAL AGRICULTURE IMPORTANT?
Local farms provide nutrient dense foods to the community while preserving open space.
Open space and farms act as habitat and wildlife corridors for native plant and animal species.
The millions of plants and trees grown on farms sequester carbon from the air and contribute to better air quality.
Local farms provide food security by ensuring a domestic source of readily available, responsibly grown, nutrient-dense food.
Agriculture in Orange County
Did you know Orange County was once the largest agricultural producing region in America? Orange County Farms produced over $133 million in agricultural products in 2017. This number does not include additional economic multiplying effects of thousands of jobs available on local farms, and benefits to other industries like trucking, food processing, and insurance and banking.
Orange County's Top Ten Crops:
1. Ornamental Trees and Shrubs
$60,370,000
2. Strawberries
$19,792,000
3. Misc. Vegetables
$13,289,000
4. Citrus
$7,655,000
5. Misc. Fruit and Berries
$6,488,000
6. Cattle and Swine
$1,375,000
7. Field and Pasture
$1,187,000
Liners, Flat Stock, and Cut Trees
$60,370,000
Cucurbits
$798,000
Apiary
$529,000