Cattle Becomes Oregon's Top Agricultural Commodity
For the first time in 20 years, cattle is Oregon's number one agricultural commodity, overtaking greenhouse and nursery products.
The USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service says cattle and calve production saw a dramatic increase of nearly 38 percent from 2013 to 2014. Last year, cattle's production value was $922 million.
Greenhouse and nursery production has held the number one spot since 1994. It's now number two, at a value of $830 million.
Oregon's other top ten commodities include hay, milk, grass seed, wheat, potatoes, hazelnuts, pears and wine grapes. Most of these saw an increase in production value, except for wheat and potatoes. Onions, Christmas trees, and blueberries just missed the top ten.
There were 34,600 farms in Oregon in 2014, and the average farm size was 474 acres.
