Agriculture is one of California’s biggest and most successful industries. We are the top state for dairy production; the sole producer of a dozen crops; and the national leader in agricultural exports. However, California agriculture faces challenges like population growth, changing climate and politics.
More agriculture stories from California Connected
- Rural Hunger
- Immigration and Agriculture
- Shafer’s Vineyard Goes Solar
- Harvesting the Basics: Napa’s Homeless
- Earlimart: Pesticides in the Valley
- Corporate Greens: Organic Farming
General
- California Department of Food and Agriculture
- California Agricultural Resource Directory, CDFA
- California Statistics, USDA
- Western Growers Association
- California Farm Bureau Federation
- California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom
- Western Farm Press
- Great Valley Center
- California Agricultural Technology Institute, California State University
- California Heartland
- California’s Central Valley, NPR series that profiles California’s breadbasket
Water
- California Land & Water Use, CA Dept. of Water Resources
- California Water Plan, CA Dept. of Water Resources
- State Water Project, CA Dept. of Water Resources
- Agricultural Water Use Program, CA Dept. of Water Resources
- A History of Farm Water Use and Crop Production, California Farm Bureau Federation
- Water Facts, Association of California Water Agencies
- California Water: How It’s Used (pdf)
- Information About Water, Natural Resources Conservation Service
Weather
- Climate Change and the California Water Plan, Dept of Water Resources
- Economic Impacts of Climate Change On Agricultural Water Use In California, California Energy Commission
- Talking About the Weather: Climate Warming and CA’s Water Future, 2003 report from the Center for Environmental and Water Resource Engineering, UC Davis
- The Impact of Global Warming on U.S. Agriculture: An Econometric Analysis of Optimal Growing Conditions, Dept of Agricultural & Resource Economics, UC Berkeley
- Our Changing Climate Assessing the Risks to California: A Summary Report from the California Climate Change Center
- “Madera, Tulare heat losses estimated at $210 million”, Sacramento Bee, August 8, 2006
- “Record Heat Is Cow Killer”, Sacramento Bee, July 26, 2006
- “Now’s the time to cellar wine”, San Francisco Chronicle, July 11, 2006
Land
- Farmland Mapping and Monitoring Program, CA Dept. of Conservation, Division of Land and Resource Protection
- Division of Land Resource Protection, CA Dept. of Conservation
- Tales of California Housing, KQED’s The California Report
- “Valley Paving Over Its Farms”, Modesto Bee, August 25, 2006
Crops
- Crops Grown in California
- California Institute for the Study of Specialty Crops
- NASDA’s Specialty Crop Task Force
- Virtual Tour of Vegetable Production in CA, University of California
- “Federal Funding Available for Food Processors”, Merced Sun-Star
Labor
- California Farm and Farm-Related Employment, 2002, Economic Research Service, USDA
- United Farm Workers
- California Labor History
- “Hired Hands: Breaching the Border”, Sacramento Bee, September 3, 2006
- “Farmers Scurry to Recruit Workers”, Sacramento Bee, September 10, 2006
- “Worker Shortage Crippling Farmers”, The Mercury News, August 9, 2006
- Rural Migration News
University of California
- California Agriculture
- Agriculture and Natural Resources
- Video On-Demand: Agriculture
- Growing California’s Agriculture
- Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program
- Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics
- Small Farm Center
- Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics
- California Agriculture: Dimensions and Issues