By Bob West, Business, Director of Data Products for Meister Media Worldwide
A range of climatic and market challenges continues impacting the California agriculture market and resulting in a significant reduction in the number of treated acres of pesticide applications month after month this year. And, unfortunately, preliminary July data indicates one of the largest year-over-year drops in any single month of 2021 vs. 2020 thus far.
Based on preliminary July data collected from across the state for PURE Intel+, we estimate that California farmers will report 13 million to 13.5 million treated acres in July 2021 compared to 16.4 million treated acres in 2020 and 17.9 million treated acres the previous year. This year-over-year drop impacts every significant product category tracked in PURE Intel+, led primarily by adjuvants and insecticides.
Pesticide Application Data for January – July
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021* | |
| Growers | 20,410 | 19,992 | 18,750 |
| Sites | 66,171 | 62,664 | 65,660 |
| Applications | 2,433,011 | 2,411,822 | 2,174,494 |
| Treated acres | 79,599,751 | 78,887,879 | 68,647,437 |
* July 2021 data includes projections based on preliminary actual data and historical data.
At the crop level, the largest year-over-year drop can be found in almonds – roughly 25% to 30% fewer treated acres in July 2021 vs. July 2020 as lower commodity prices and limited water availability challenge growers to manage input costs as closely as ever. Year-over-year drops can be seen with nearly all over crops as well, and cotton stands out from the other crops for the significance of its decline – 1.1 million treated acres in July 2020 to approximately 600,000 treated acres in July 2021. In fact, the only crops on which we have data showing an increase in treated acres are lettuce (all types) and alfalfa.
PURE Intel+ is a comprehensive database of every pesticide application made to all agricultural crops produced throughout California. PURE Intel+ is updated monthly to provide current and actionable market intelligence that will help drive your business forward. For more information about PURE Intel+ or to schedule a demo, contact Meister Media’s Bob West at 440-602-9129 or [email protected].