[DelaWhere]

California's Vital Role in Food Production

related: Stephen Chu: "We're Looking at a Scenario Where There's No More Agriculture in California"
Droughts and Food - Are We Heading for a Food Crunch?
Calif. Facing Worst Drought in Modern History
Climate Change Could Wipe Out Calif. Farming

	CALIFORNIA CROPS
	Artichokes – 19% Asparagus – 55% Broccoli – 93% Cabbage – 22% Carrots – 89% Celery – 94% Garlic – 86% Lettuce – 78% Cantaloupe – 54% Honeydew – 73% Onions – 27% Bell Peppers – 47% Spinach – 18% Tomatoes – 94% Almond – 99% Apricots – 95% Avocados – 84% Strawberries – 90% Dates – 82% Figs – 98% Grapes – 88% Kiwi – 97% Lemons – 89% Nectarines – 93% Olives – 100% Peaches – 76% Pistachios – 96% Plums – 93% Walnuts – 99% Honey – 18% Milk & Cream – 21%

California food facts are incredibly interesting. Most people think of the Golden State as a tourist destination where you can visit Hollywood film locations, see celebrities and go to beaches. In additional to California ranking as the top destination in the United States, it also ranks as the top food production state for a number of crops.

FACT BOX

California Agricultural Commodities: Items produced or grown in California along with percent of total US production.


Though tourists hardly consider the agricultural significance of California as a food growing region, the temperate year – round climate and expanses of land provide foods the nation and world have grown to enjoy and count on. Below are some of the top crops and percentage of the nation's supply produced in California.

CALIFORNIA FOOD FACTS

California has been the number one food and agricultural producer in the United States for more than 50 consecutive years.

• More than half the nation's fruit, nuts, and vegetables come from here.
  
  
• California is the nation's number one dairy state.
  
  
• California's leading commodity is milk and cream. Grapes are second.
  
  
• California's leading export crop is almonds.
  
  
• Nationally, products exclusively grown (99% or more) in California include almonds, artichokes, dates, figs, kiwifruit, olives, persimmons, pistachios, prunes, raisins, clovers, and walnuts.
  
  
• From 70 to 80% of all ripe olives are grown in California.
  
  
• California is the nation's leading producer of strawberries, averaging 1.4 billion pounds of strawberries or 83% of the country's total fresh and frozen strawberry production. Approximately 12% of the crop is exported to Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, Hong Kong and Japan primarily. The value of the California strawberry crop is approximately $700 million with related employment of more than 48,000 people.
  
  
• California produces 25% of the nation's onions and 43% of the nation's green onions.
  
  
• Gilroy, California, "Garlic Capitol of the World," has hosted 2 million at the annual Gilroy Garlic Festival.
  

http://www.beachcalifornia.com/california-food-facts.html

[DelaWhere]

VERY glad the fires were far away...

I know Texas is a big place...

How are your onion experiments coming?

The 6 I tried are now 3 inches tall - yesterday morning they looked like this:

Will have to get more to start a pot to put in the kitchen South window.

The other ones just coming up in the rest of the tray are an experimental variety for me... Heirloom Ailsa Craig Onions - supposed to be very big and very sweet... Will see.

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

One day we were at Sam’s Club in Phoenix in the produce section. I decided to do an unscientific survey by reading the boxes of produce and finding their sources.

Peaches - Dinuba, California.
Apricots - Reedley, California.
Strawberries - Watsonville, California.
Grapes - Bakersfield, California.
Nectarines - Sanger, California (where I live).
Garlic - Gilroy, California (actually grown in Hanford).
Oranges - Fresno, California
Avocados - Watsonville, California
Tomatoes - Modesto, California
Cherries - Sacramento, California

I want to go over to this rise near the foothills this week and take a picture of the fields of beautiful orchards all in blossom - white and pink everywhere! I’ll post it here next week.

Google “Blossom Trail” Fresno and you’ll see the enormous agricultural treasure we have here. All ready to be destroyed for the Delta smelt!

The libs in the bay area and LA hate us because we are conservative, and they want to drive us all out of the Central Valley.

[nw_arizona_granny]

California ranking as the top destination in the United States, it also ranks as the top food production state for a number of crops.<<<

I think that I feel the urge to laugh at this disaster, blame the liberals, they have managed to chase out much of the farming in California and now they will not have their fresh foods, they can eat the imported crap along with the rest of us.

That is how my family made it to California, as Texas, Dustbowl, Fruit Tramps, and I grew up there, when there were farms up and down the state.

The lots my dad bought in Otay, south of San Diego, had a huge lemon grove on the other side of the canal/ drainage ditch.

Before WW2, we also had Japanese farms and we were just an intersection of 2 roads.