Page 18 - Rural Tourism Report Washington County
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CHAPTER 2: THE WASHINGTON COUNTY AGRICULTURE SECTOR
Table 2.3: Land Cover in Acres by Top Agriculture Commodity Items. 2012
Top Crop Field and Spring Wheat Winter Wheat Forage - all hay, Greenhouse and
Items Grass Seed for Grain for Grain silage, greenchop Nursery Stock
Harvested 21,162 16,132 13,617 8,999 5,712
Acres 2012
Source: NASS Census of Agriculture 2012. The names of the commodities in Table 2.3 differ from those in the 2013 crop map (Figure 2.3) because
the information source sorts and names them differently.
Land Coverage of Agricultural Commodities Grown in Washington County
Some commodities cover more acres than others. this is done to capitalize on a good price, a new
Table 2.3 shows land use by the five top commodity variety introduction, or the need to rotate crops
groups in Washington County. Field and grass in order to reduce pests and disease. Some crops,
seed crops appear to cover the largest number such as vineyard grapes and tree fruits and nuts
of farmland acres of any other crop group in the rarely change. Other crops stay in the ground for
County. If you combine both categories of wheat for several years until they are ready for harvest, such
grain (spring wheat and winter wheat), however, as Christmas trees and certain nursery stock.
the growing of wheat actually covered the most
acres in 2012. Greenhouse and nursery stock is the Of the 170 different commodities grown in
most valuable crop in terms of sales, yet covers a Washington County in 2012, 94.7 percent of all
relatively small number of acres. agriculture product sales was from crops. The
balance was from animals . Washington County
17
At times, farmers change the types of commodities produces more non-food commodities (e.g. grass
they grow from year to year. Among other reasons, seed) than food commodities.
17 USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2012 Census of Agriculture.
Grass, legume, vegetable and other seeds are a major crop for Washington County.
14 WASHINGTON COUNTY RURAL TOURISM STUDY
