Top Agricutural Products in Massachusetts Counties

The relative fortunes of agriculture in the different counties depend upon the mix of farm types that are prevalent, or the mix of farm products produced. For example, Barnstable, Bristol and Plymouth counties contain most of the Commonwealth's cranberry producers. Over 91 percent of Plymouth County's market value was from cranberry production in 1997 (Table 3.2). This concentration is due to the land resources available in that part of Massachusetts. In 2002, 75 percent of Plymouth's marker value was from cranberry reflecting the decline in cranberry prices. Barnstable County saw a movement away from cranberries (67 percent of values in 1997) to aquaculture (35 percent in 2002).   Norfolk, Middlesex, Essex, Dukes, Bristol, Hampden, Worcester and Franklin counties all have strong greenhouse, nursery and floriculture sectors. Berkshire, Franklin and Worcester also have significant proportions of dairy farms, but greenhouse, nursery and floriculture moved past dairy as the leading farm type by 2002 in Franklin County.   Table 3.3 shows the top three agricultural commodities for each county in 2002.

Greenhouse, Nursery and Floriculture
Top Massachusetts Agricultural Commodity Group

Greenhouse, nursery, and floriculture farms (Figure 3.4) became the leading farm type in Massachusetts between 1997 and 2002 when comparing the value of farm output. This was due to real growth in greenhouse, nursery, and floriculture and the decline in cranberry prices (cranberry sales led the way for Massachusetts's agricultural production in 1997). Dairy farms and fruit and tree nut (including cranberry) farms were close for second and third in the Commonwealth with market values of $55.3 million and $55.2 million, respectively. The $55.2 million of fruit and tree nut sales includes cranberry sales, which were about $45 million in 2002, down from $139 million in 1997. Rounding out the top five farm types were vegetable and melon farms and other animal production.  

Compared to the rankings in terms of number of farms or land in farms, we see several changes when considering market value of products. While hay farming and equine production rivaled greenhouse, nursery, and floriculture in farm numbers, the market value of production from these two farm types falls well short of greenhouse, nursery, and floriculture production when measured by the value of sales. Greenhouse, nursery, and floriculture farms trailed the leaders when using land in farms to rank farm types. Dairy , hay , and fruit and tree nuts all utilized much more of Massachusetts's farmland.