Industry supported nearly 1,100 jobs and generated more than $257 million in 2023
Marin County, CA – Marin County agriculture pumped $257.2 million into the local economy and supported 1,081 jobs in 2023, Agricultural Commissioner Joe Deviney announced as he released the first comprehensive analysis of this key county industry.
The report, “Economic Contributions of Marin County Agriculture,” is distributed in conjunction with Deviney’s July 8 briefing before the Marin County Board of Supervisors. His presentation also included the Marin County Crop & Livestock Report for 2024.
The full economic impact report is on the website for the Department of Agriculture / Weights & Measures.
“Instead of stopping at raw farm-gate commodity production values, this study also quantifies local food processing, employment, and economic ripple effects,” Deviney said. “The findings offer vital information for anyone who is trying to determine if Ag is a vibrant and resilient local economy.”
To put the contribution in perspective, Marin County agriculture pumped over $700,000 per day into the county economy, or $29,360 per hour.
The study was conducted by Drs. Jeff Langholz and Fernando DePaolis of Agricultural Impact Associates, a consulting firm specializing in agricultural economics.
Key findings in the study include:
Including local food production, processing, and multiplier effects, agriculture contributed $257.2 million to the county economy. This represents $704,643 per day.
Of the $257.2 million in total economic contribution, $191.3 million came from direct economic output via production and processing. An additional $65.9 million came from multiplier effects generated by purchase of agricultural supplies and spending by employees.
Of the 1,081 total jobs agriculture supported, 750 were direct employees in production and processing. The remaining 331 jobs were made possible through expenditures by agriculture companies, their suppliers, and employees.
Agriculture has a noteworthy level of economic diversification that has remained steady over the past decade, supporting resilience in agriculture and in the greater county economy.
Agricultural lands delivered an estimated $464.8 million to $2.081 billion in scenic beauty, wildlife habitat, flood prevention, aquifer recharge, buffering urban areas from wildfires, and other nonmarket services.
Marin County adds more economic value through local food processing than it generates from farm production alone — a rare and powerful sign of a deeply rooted, high-value agricultural economy. “We always knew agriculture contributed much more to Marin County than people realize,” said Martin Pozzi, president of the Marin County Farm Bureau. “Now, thanks to this study, we have a fuller sense of agriculture’s contributions. We appreciate the Agricultural Commissioner’s Office having this report developed.”
Lily Verdone, executive director of the Marin Agricultural Land Trust, added, “The new study reminds us that a thriving, economically viable agricultural community truly exists here in Marin. The estimated values of the multitude of “ecosystem services” that our agricultural working lands provide to the entire community, potentially reaching over $2 billion in dollar values, are especially important to call out.”
A limited number of printed copies of the report are available at the Agricultural Commissioner’s Office at 1682 Novato Blvd, Suite 150-A, in Novato.
The Crop & Livestock Report for 2024 shows Marin’s farms and ranches produced a gross value of $83,817,000 worth of raw agricultural products. That figure is a 2% drop from 2023, continuing a slight annual decrease since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when the gross value was just more than $100 million. Notable shifts in production included a 7% increase in the value of field crops and a 17% reduction in the value of fruits, vegetables, and nursery crops.
Also making debuts with the annual report, the County has launched several new tools to help connect consumers with Marin producers:
a Marin Farm Fresh map highlighting farmstands, farmers markets, and direct-sales locations;
a dedicated webpage offering deeper insights from the Crop & Livestock Report; and
a companion brochure available widely to the public. These resources aim to boost support for local agriculture by making it easier to buy directly from Marin producers – whether in person, by appointment, or online.
