Hawai'i farm businesses generated $579.1 million in 2007 sales, down about $500,000 from $579.6 million in 2006, according to the most recent revenue assessment of the state's agriculture sector.

The Hawai'i field office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service reported that revenue declines in 13 of the 20 biggest crops grown in the state were nearly offset by gains in seven crops to produce the relatively flat overall results.

The 2007 revenue decline was the second straight year that industry sales fell. In 2005, sales totaled $582.8 million. A two-decade high was $596 million in 1990, but farm revenue declined throughout most of the 1990s as sugarcane production dwindled. In recent years, pineapple production has suffered, though diversified agriculture has expanded.

In 2007, the seven crops with increased revenue were seed crops, coffee, papaya, bananas, potted palms, potted dracaena and watermelon.

Seed crops, primarily seed corn, was the biggest crop of 2007, with $146.3 million in sales that represented a $43 million increase from the prior year.

Pineapple, which had been the state's second-largest crop in recent years, no longer has sales disclosed because the number of producers was reduced to just one in 2007 and the survey protects sales information of individual farmers for competitive purposes. In 2006, the value of pineapple sales was $73.7 million.

Taking over the No. 2 rank in 2007 was sugarcane at $47.6 million, which was down from $50.2 million a year earlier.

The third-largest crop of 2007 was coffee at $31.9 million, which was up $55,000 from a year earlier.