1. What is AGRICULTURE?
the science or practice of farming, including cultivation of the soil for the growing of crops and the rearing of animals to provide food, wool, and other products.
synonyms: farming · cultivation · tillage · tilling · husbandry · [more]

2. State & Local Production
Model Agricultural Core Curriculum: Supplement
University of California, Davis
111.T 1

3. What is an agricultural commodity?
a raw material or primary agricultural product that can be bought and sold for food or clothing, such as almonds or coffee.
Ag production in California is defined by their production regions and what commodities are grown in each.

4. California produces over 200 different ag commodities:
There is a variation in climate throughout the state
Rich soils
A sophisticated water delivery (irrigation) system that brings water form the northern half of the state to the southern half.

5. Production Areas of California
1. Sacramento Valley
2. San Joaquin Valley
3. Delta Region
4. Central Coast
5. South Coast
6. North Coast
7. Imperial/Desert
8. Mountain Region

6. Sacramento Valley Rice Almonds Tomatoes Livestock Sugar Beets Hay
Counties: Sacramento, Yolo, Sutter, Yuba, Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Tehema

7. San Joaquin Valley Cotton Lint Almonds Oranges Stone Fruits
Cattle Alfalfa Hay
Tomatoes Poultry Products
Lettuce Milk & Cream
Table & Wine Grapes
Counties: Kern, Tulare, Kings, Fresno, Madera, Merced, Stanislaus

8. Delta Region Milk Asparagus Vegetables Corn Wine grapes
Counties: San Joaquin, Contra Costa, Solano

9. Central Coast Lettuce Lemons Celery Strawberries Broccoli Artichokes
Beef Cattle Flowers & Foliage
Counties: Santa Cruz, San Benito, Monterey, San Luis Obispo,
Santa Barbara, Ventura

10. South Coast Strawberries Oranges Tomatoes Milk Eggs Avocados
Nursery Products Milk & Cream
Counties: Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Diego

11. North Coast Wine Grapes Timber Nursery Products Livestock Apples Pears
Counties: Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, Lake, Sonoma, Napa,
Marin, Alameda, San Mateo, Santa Clara

12. Imperial Valley & Desert Region
Dates Lettuce Chickens
Melons Sugar Beets Cattle
Alfalfa Wheat Cotton
Milk & Cream
Counties: Imperial, Riverside, San Bernadino

13. Mountain Region Livestock Timber Hay Pasture Christmas Trees Grapes
Potatoes
Counties: Inyo, Mono, Mariposa, Tuolumne, Alpine, Calaveras, Amador, El Dorado, Placer, Nevada, Sierra, Plumas, Lassen, Shasta,
Modoc, Trinity, Siskiyou

14. Top Counties in Ag Production (2013)
Fresno
Kern
Tulare
Monterey
Merced
Stanislaus
San Joaquin

15. San Joaquin County’s Top Five Agriculture Commodities (2013)
Wine grapes
2. Almonds
3. Walnuts
4. Milk
5. Cherries

16. California’s Top Ten Agriculture Commodities in 1992
Milk & Cream Grapes
Cattle and Calves Nursery Products
Cotton Lint Flowers and Foliage
Almonds Head Lettuce
Hay Strawberries

17. California’s Top Five Agriculture Commodities (2013)
1. Milk $7.6 billion
2. Almonds $5.8 billion
3. Wine grapes $5.6 billion
4. Cattle/calves $3.05 billion
5. Strawberries $2.2 billion

18. The United States' Top Five Agricultural Commodities in 1993
Cattle and Calves
Milk and Cream
Corn
Soybean
Hay
What do you think
they are today?

19. The United States' Top Five Agriculture Commodities (2012)
1. Cattle & calves $76.4 billion
2. Corn (grain) $67.3 billion
3. Poultry & eggs $42.8 billion
4. Soybeans $38.7 billion
5. Milk $35.5 billion

20. California ranks:
1st in Dairy
2nd in Cotton

21. Top Producing Ag States
CALIFORNIA
Iowa
Nebraska
Minnesota
Texas

22. Sites where current ag stats can be accessed:
USDA (national)
CDFA (state)
County Reports (linked from CDFA)
State Secretary of Agriculture:
Karen Ross
National Secretary of Agriculture:
Tom Vilsack