California lost 500 farms in 2005

SacBee via SHNS ^ | 02-02-06 | JIM WASSERMAN

[Amerigomag]

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- California, the nation's leading farm state, lost 500 farms in 2005 as agriculture continued to consolidate to bigger operations and urban development consumed more land, says a report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

While California's closures represented less than 1 percent of the state's remaining 76,500 farms, the number of farms in the state has fallen for seven straight years _ a loss of 10,500 farms _ reported the USDA.

California state conservation officials estimate urban growth alone covers 50,000 irrigated acres of farmland yearly. Last year, state farm acreage dropped by 300,000 acres. Nationally, California's farm losses represented 4.2 percent of 11,980 farms that closed in 2005, according to the USDA. The nation has 2.1 million farms on nearly 1 billion acres of land.

In California, where farmers produced $31.8 billion in goods on about 26.7 million acres in 2004, the average farm size was 345 acres last year, federal statistics indicated.

The consolidation trend is easy to see when revenue figures are broken down. For instance, the number of farms reporting sales over $500,000 rose to 8,500 in 2005 _ an increase of 200 farms. Similarly, farming operations reporting sales of $250,000 to $500,000 jumped to 4,300 last year. That was an increase of 100 farms.

North Carolina lost 2,000 farms in 2005, the most of any state. Others states with losses of 500 farms or more included Washington, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Ohio, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama. Texas gained 1,000 new farms.

[Amerigomag]

The mindset expressed in reply 15 is precisely the problem that California's agricultural industry faces in its attempt to preserve one of the nations strategic assets.

Those observers of California's least productive agricultural areas perceive an abundance of supply and ignore the immediate consequences of unregulated immigration on its most productive farms lands located in the Santa Clara and Salinas Valleys, the eastern 2/3 of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys and the delta of the Santa Clara River.

[bannie]

We must be neighbors: Bakersfield is GROWING.

[umgud]

We must be neighbors: Bakersfield is GROWING.

Uptown Oildale, but have been in Bksfl are since '75.

[forester]

The mindset expressed in reply 15 is precisely the problem that California's agricultural industry faces in its attempt to preserve one of the nations strategic assets

Agreed. I would also add that small farms are being regulated to the point that they are no longer profitable by alphabet soup agencies WQ, DFG, EPA, OSHA, NMFS etc. Many a formerly profitable small farmer has been turned into a willing seller by these regulators. It is no surprise to me that the farms that are not bought by agribusiness are being paved over by developers.

Don't get me started on the planning folks....

[FOG724]

From the University of California web site:
http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/economy/agriculture.html

California farmers and ranchers produced more than half of the nation’s fruits, nuts and vegetables, and generated $27.2 billion in gross cash receipts in 2000. A major employer and revenue generator in the state, agriculture accounts for 1.1 million jobs and more than $60 billion in personal income. California is the nation’s leader in agricultural exports, shipping more than $6.5 billion in food and agricultural products around the world.

California grows more than 350 commodities, including all of the country’s almonds, artichokes, brussel sprouts, dates, dried plums, figs, kiwifruit, nectarines, olives, pistachios and walnuts. Billion-dollar commodities include milk and cream, grapes, nursery products, lettuce, and cattle and calves. Tomatoes, cotton, flowers and foliage, strawberries and hay round out the 10 leading income generators for 2002-03.

California has been the nation’s number one agricultural state every year since 1948. Eight of the top 10 agricultural counties are in California.

[b9]

Interesting stats.
Would cheese be included with milk and cream? I'm surprised that wasn't listed.

[FOG724]

You have to process the milk to get cheese so it's not listed.

[varon]

California state conservation officials estimate urban growth alone covers 50,000 irrigated acres of farmland yearly. Last year, state farm acreage dropped by 300,000 acres.

Isn't amazing that with the drop of agricultural acreage and 11+M illegals here under the pretense of "working the fields", our elected official still turn a blind eye to the swarms of illegals crossing our borders on a daily basis?

[b9]

Thanks.

[countorlock]

Food is overrated.

Yeah cuz the land is just, like, gone. /sarcasm

[SierraWasp]

Yet we have a Governor engaging in "Rural Cleansing" by creating things like the Sierra-Nevada CONservancy (another GovernMental Agency) to keep rocky and worthless to semi-worthless soils in the Sierra Foothills and other western slope areas from development!

So lessee... The Coastal Commission to stop development... The Tahoe CONservancy to stop development... The Santa Monica Mountains CONservancy to stop development... The Sierra-Nevada CONservancy to stop development... (Plus half a dozen more State funded CONservancies I can't remember the names of) The GREAT VALLEY CENTER to create the next GREAT CONservancy... (see www.greatvalley.org)

Okay... It looks to me like there's no other place with buildable land BUT the Great Valley Farmland to have development for the hordes flooding into CA!!!

[SierraWasp]

And if you doubt what's in Reply #32, above, just Google "Conservancy+California" and study what you get with an eye toward discovering the involvement of taxpayer funds.

[FOG724]

You got it.

[calcowgirl]

With all that farming in California, how come I can never buy a decent tomato?

[TChris]

Now, can we be a little more honest about these numbers? How many of those 500 farms were bought out by larger operations and still produce crops?

The way it's presented in the article, the author is implying that those farms are just gone, not growing anything any more. In fact, businesses of all kinds fail all the time. It's part of the game.

[OB1kNOb]

California lost 500 farms in 2005

Oh great! Does that mean illegal aliens will start collecting unemployment benefits now? Don't answer.....I know....they probably already do.

[wolfcreek]

As long as we don't become dependent on Mexico and South America for our food......

Too late! Here in central Texas, in the winter, most of our produce is from Mex or SA.

[FOG724]

With all that farming in California, how come I can never buy a decent tomato?

There is no such thing as a decent tomato.

The only way to do that is to plant it yourself.

[hispanarepublicana]

I was in the grocery store on Christmas Eve buying stocking stuffers, and I also bought apples and oranges. The young girl who was the checker asked if I wanted the stocking stuffers in a seperate bag from the fruit, and I explained the fruit was for stockings too. "I wonder why people put fruit in stockings? That's so weird," she said. I had to explain to her that I did it out of tradition, and that at one time, fresh fruit in the dead of winter, at Christmas, was a real treat because it was out of season. She looked at me like I was from Pluto.