The estimated value of field crops harvested...

The estimated value of field crops harvested in California last year rose 24% to $2.9 billion, a joint state and federal agency said. Although wheat, corn and barley values dropped, the average per-acre value of cotton, rice, hay and other field crops last year was the highest since 1980, according to preliminary estimates by the California Agricultural Statistics Service. Ray Borton, an economist with the state Department of Food and Agriculture, said the increase shown in a report gives further credence to the theory that the farm crisis hit bottom in 1986 and that the farm economy is rebounding. Leading the surge in field crops was cotton.