CaliforniaAgriculturePage

Agriculture in California

Agriculture is a major industry for the Golden State. With 88,000 farms and ranches, California agriculture is nearly a $32 billion dollar industry that generates $100 billion in related economic activity. This enormous achievement is possible through a combination of tradition and innovation that has secured California's status as the most productive agricultural state for more than 50 years. Farmers and ranchers blend old-fashioned notions of patience and perseverance with cutting-edge technologies and advanced agricultural practices. The result is a highly adaptable and diverse industry encompassing more than 350 plant and animal commodities.

California's agricultural abundance is a reflection of the people who made the Golden State their home. In the process, they brought their agricultural heritage with them. Early California farmers and ranchers were the Spanish missionaries, followed by Mexicans, Japanese, Portugese, Dutch and other Europeans, Chinese and Russians. Today, nearly every nationality is represented in California agriculture.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture strives to support this tradition of innovation and agricultural diversity by working with private industry, academia and public sector agencies. These partnerships allow the department to adapt public policy to a rapidly changing industry -- California agriculture.

By, Ansley, Savannah, and Leanne

Animals: Livestock and poultry account for about 24% of California’s gross cash income, with a combined total of $7.1 billion. California leads the nation in milk production with over 1.7 million dairy cows, $5.2 billion in cash receipts. Over 5.3 billion eggs are produced each year by 20.3 million hens and pullets of laying age. Bee colonies, of which there are over 400,000 in the state, are included in the category of livestock. They are used both for pollination and production of honey, and their value is over $16 million. Crops: California produces more than 350 crops. Of those, the following are commercially- produced only in California: almonds, artichokes, figs, olives, persimmons, pomegranates, prunes, raisins and walnuts. California grows more than half of the nation’s fruits, vegetables and nuts from less than four percent of the nation’s farmland. The second leading commodity, grapes, account for $2.75 billion in cash receipts annually.

BY, ANSLEY AND LEANNE