California’s Cash Cow- Agriculture! The Economic Impact of California Agriculture Standard C1.4

Agriculture’s Overall Dollar Value In California- $36.6 BILLION in “cash receipts”, $100 BILLION in related economic activity (employment, fuel, supplies, etc.) ( Quick fact: Agriculture directly employs about than 2% of the American population, but feeds ALL of us- and people around the world!

Which state has the largest $$ value in Agriculture??? Is it…  Texas  Nebraska  California  Kansas  Iowa California is the nation’s #1 agricultural state in $$$$

Where Does California Agriculture Rank Nationwide? 1.California: $36.2 Billion 2.Iowa: $24.8 Billion 3.Texas: $19.2 Billion 4.Nebraska: $17.3 Billion 5.Illinois: $16.4 Billion ….obviously, California does have Agriculture- not all of us are movie stars, surfers, or office workers!

Top 11 Commodities Statewide (2006) 1.Milk/Cream: $6,924 million 2.Grapes: $2,937 million 3.Almonds: $2,343 million 4.Nursery: $2,273 million 5.Cattle & Calves: $1,822 Million 6.Hay: $1,797 million 7.Lettuce: $1,580 million 8.Strawberries: $1,578 million 9.Tomatoes: $1,139 Million 10.Rice: $1,183 million 11.Floriculture: $1,015 Million (From

California’s Gross Cash Receipts, 2006

Dollar Value of Floriculture for California Agriculture Keep in mind that this is just growing the flowers for florists to use, NOT the income that florists earn by creating arrangments California is the leading cut flower producer in the nation –California: $1.02 billion dollars –Florida: $922 million –Michigan –Texas –North Carolina

Some California Specialties… Artichokes: California provides nearly 100% of America’s supply! California is the only place in America where almonds are grown commercially. 90% of broccoli eaten in America comes from California. California produces 83% of the American strawberry supply California produces about 90% of the nation’s avocado crops Other specialty crops include: –Persimmons –Raisins –Olives –Walnuts –Pomegranates –Clingstone Peaches –Figs

What is the Dollar Value of Agriculture for the Top Counties in California? 1.Fresno : $5,669,227 (grapes, almonds, tomatoes, poultry, cattle/calves) 2.Tulare : $5,017,995 (milk, oranges, cattle/calves, grapes, hay/silage) 3.Kern : $4,032,830 (almonds, grapes, milk, carrots, citrus) 4.Monterey : $3,829,123 (leaf lettuce, head lettuce, strawberries, nursery, broccoli) 5.Merced : $2,972,698 (milk, chickens, almonds, cattle/calves, tomatoes) 6.Stanislaus: $2,412,339 (Milk, almonds, cattle and calves, chickens, silage)

Commodities in Stanislaus County Stanislaus County is ranked 6 th in the state for agriculture production Top commodities in Stanislaus County include: –Milk –Almonds –Chickens –Cattle and Calves –Walnuts

The question is…. … Why do you think California produces so many “specialty,” high dollar crops like these?

Where Do California Commodities Go? DestinationAmount (in millions) Top Exports European Union (E.U.) $2,071Almonds, wine, pistachios Canada$1,879 Lettuce, strawberries, processed tomatoes Japan$964Rice, almonds, hay China/Hong Kong $611 Cotton, almonds, table grapes Mexico$562 Dairy, table grapes, processed tomatoes

Growing Regions in California California is broken into production regions: –North Coast –Central Coast –South Coast –Sacramento Valley –San Joaquin Valley –Delta Region –Imperial Desert –Mountains

California’s Growing Regions The North Coast Region –Counties: Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, Lake, Sonoma, Napa, Marin, Alameda, San Mateo, Santa Clara –Commodities: Wine grapes, nursery products, apples, timber, livestock, pears, milk

California’s Growing Regions Central Coast –Counties: San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, Ventura –Commodities: Lettuce, celery, broccoli, beef cattle, lemons, strawberries, artichokes, flowers and foliage, grapes

California’s Growing Regions South Coast –Counties: Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego –Strawberries, tomatoes, bedding plants, ornamental trees and shrubs, oranges, avocadoes

California’s Growing Regions Sacramento Valley –Counties: Tehama, Glenn, Butte, Yuba, Sutter, Yolo, Colusa, Sacramento –Commodities: Rice, tomatoes, sugar beets, almonds, livestock, hay, walnuts, dried plums

California’s Growing Regions San Joaquin Valley –Stanislaus, Merced, Madera, Fresno, Tulare, Kern, Kings –Commodities: Cotton lint, oranges, cattle, tomatoes, lettuce, table grapes, almonds, stone fruits, alfalfa hay, pistachios, poultry, milk and cream

California’s Growing Regions Delta Region –Counties: San Joaquin, Contra Costa, Solano –Commodities: Milk, vegetables, asparagus, corn, grapes, cherries, almonds, walnuts, cattle and calves, tomatoes

California’s Growing Regions Imperial Valley –Counties: San Bernardino, Riverside, Imperial –Commodities: Alfalfa, lettuce, wheat, milk and cream, table grapes, chicken, cattle, eggs, broccoli, vegetables

California’s Growing Regions Mountains –Counties: Inyo, Mono, Mariposa, Tuolumne, Alpine, Calaveras, Amador, El Dorado, Placer, Nevada, Sierra, Plumes, Lassen, Shasta, Modoc, Trinity, Siskyou –Commodities: Livestock, hay, Christmas trees, potatoes, timber, pasture, grapes, nursery products

California’s Top Exports 1.Almonds6. Walnuts 2.Wine7. Oranges, Fresh & Juice 3.Dairy and Products8. Pistachios 4.Cotton9. Tomatoes, Processed 5.Table Grapes10. Strawberries

Comparing Top Commodities & Top Exports… Top Commodities: Milk/Cream: $4,492 Million Grapes: $3,033 Million Nursery: $2,775 Million Almonds: $2,040 Million Cattle & Calves: $1,676 Million Lettuce: $1,608 Million Strawberries: $1,194 Million Tomatoes: $1,139 Million Floriculture: $1,020 Million Hay: $1,003 Million (From Top Exports: 1.Almonds (ranked 4) 2.Wine (not ranked) 3.Dairy and Dairy Products (ranked 1) 4.Cotton (ranked 14) 5.Table Grapes (ranked 2) 6.Walnuts (ranked 15) 7.Oranges, Fresh and Juice (ranked 11) 8.Pistachios (ranked 18) 9.Tomatoes, Processed (ranked 8) 10.Strawberries (ranked 7) Why is there such a difference? What do you think?

Changing Commodities In California- What and Why What: Cotton: Cotton has continued to decrease in gross dollar value in California for the last decade or so (according to employees of JG Boswell) –In 2002, ranked 9, in 2004, ranked 11, and in 2006 ranked 14. Note that dollar value has held steady- California cotton is noted for high quality Why? Global competition, water availability

Changing Commodities In California- What and Why What: Dairies in Southern California: Chino especially was noted for having a high percentage of dairies. –(Note that the loss of dairies in Chino did not really effect the overall value of dairy in California, but it did impact the county ranking). Some dairies did move out of state. Why: Population growth, land value!

Comparing California Agriculture to Other States California: Wheat- ranked 20 th in the nation, farmed 315,000 acres Corn (Grain)- ranked 30 th in nation, farmed 110,000 acres Kansas: Wheat: ranked 1 st in the nation, 400 billion bushels Iowa: Corn: ranked 1 st in the nation, farmed on 12.4 million acres of land- Iowa grows more corn than some countries like Argentina!

Issues in California Agriculture There are so many current issues impacting California agriculture- it could a class on its own! In summary, however… –Water –Unfriendly legislation –Urban sprawl –Rising land and production costs

Forecasts for California Agriculture… What impacts the “forecast” for commodities in California? What impacts agriculture as a whole in California? –What measures can we take to prevent or solve these problems? –… or is there a solution?

Want More Information? California Department of Food and Agriculture: California Farm Bureau Federation: Google searches! Grower’s Commissions: – – – –