<p>YAKIMA -- Apple sales helped to push the value for Washington crops in 2007 to record levels.</p> <p>The overall value of agricultural production last year increased 23 percent to a record $8.51 billion.</p> <p>Apples once again topped the list at $1.75 billion, compared with the previous high of $1.41 billion in 2006. Yakima County has long been the No. 1 producer of apples in the nation.</p> <p>Prospects for the current 2008 apple harvest look encouraging. According to the Aug. 1 estimate by the Yakima Valley Growers-Shippers Association and the Wenatchee Valley Traffic Association, the 2008 crop is projected at more than 99 million boxes for fresh sale. The estimate is about 1 million boxes higher than the 2007 crop.</p> <p>Milk production for the first time topped $1 billion, compared with $688 million a year earlier.</p> <p>Rounding out the top five most-valuable crops and products were wheat, potatoes, and cattle and calves.</p> WEB, LOCAL 2008-10-06T20:26:27Z false 2008-10-07T20:26:29Z Apples lead way to record state crop values in 2007 8214 apples-lead-way-to-record-state-crop-values-in-2007 Web Story The Associated Press 2008-10-06T20:26:00Z $n$ Apples lead way to record state crop values in 2007 published WEB Edited 2008-10-07T05:34:09Z 4