[Cold Heart]

CA produces 11% of the nations agricultural products by $ receipts.

CA has 12% of the population

[Hotlanta Mike]

25% of it’s citizens are under the poverty line.

[Portcall24]

Food scientists at Cornell University have produced a strain of broccoli that thrives in hot environments, which may make it possible for states with stiflingly hot summers to grow the vegetable. California, where cool coastal fog is perfect for growing standard broccoli, currently produces more than 90 percent of the broccoli grown in the United States. If California were to disappear, what would the American diet be like?

Expensive and grainy. California produces a sizable majority of many American fruits, vegetables, and nuts: 99 percent of artichokes, 99 percent of walnuts, 97 percent of kiwis, 97 percent of plums, 95 percent of celery, 95 percent of garlic, 89 percent of cauliflower, 71 percent of spinach, and 69 percent of carrots (and the list goes on and on). Some of this is due to climate and soil. No other state, or even a combination of states, can match California’s output per acre. Lemon yields in California, for example, are more than 50 percent higher than in Arizona. California spinach yield per acre is 60 percent higher than the national average. Without California, supply of all these products in the United States and abroad would dip, and in the first few years, a few might be nearly impossible to find. Orchard-based products in particular, such as nuts and some fruits, would take many years to spring back.

[DoughtyOne]

That would be rather great comeback, if it weren’t for what a small slice of California’s citizens are actually farmers.

One state providing 11% of the nation’s agricultural products is rather impressive.

[Tailback]

CA produces 11% of the nations agricultural products by $ receipts

Does this include the tail end of the most recent drought? All of those orchards that were destroyed due to irrigation being cut off will take awhile to get back into production. Also the state is talking about removing dams. Without dams, reservoirs, and irrigation California reverts to desert and becomes the Oklahoma dust bowl version 2.0

[Flying Circus]

California’s fraction of agricultural production isn’t what I find impressive, it is the variety. The Midwest produces a lot of food by volume, but that agriculture is largely in a handful of products: corn, wheat, soy beans. What California gives us is variety: grapes, almonds, pistachios, walnuts, avocados, strawberries, lettuce, tomatoes,... It goes on and on. Most of the domestic fruit produced comes from Cali.

[Freedom_Is_Not_Free]

CA produces 11% of the nations agricultural products by $ receipts.

CA has 12% of the population