Transcript Lecture 4 California Agriculture AGST 3000 Agriculture, Environment, and Society Size of California A. 158,693 sq.

Lecture 4
California
Agriculture
AGST 3000
Agriculture, Environment, and Society
Size of California
A. 158,693 sq. mi. (exceeded in size
only by Texas)
B. Largest agricultural area =
Central Valley (400 mi. long and
50 mi. wide)
Early California Agriculture
Native American Cultures
A.
Primitive compared to Aztecs of Mexico or Iroquois of
Northeast
B.
Primarily all hunter-gatherers
-Miwok
-Yokut
C.
Miwok cultural development:
-Harvest celebrations
-No weapons
-Changing seasons
-No political hierarchy
-Marriage and divorce
-No warfare
D.
By 1852 this peaceful population was wiped out due to
typhoid, diphtheria, small pox, bounty hunters,
enslavement, and starvation
-50 years to destroy a population that had existed for
untold generations
The Spanish Regime
A. CA. was discovered by a Portuguese-born navigator,
Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, San Diego Harbor in 1542
B. Sir Francis Drake camped at Point Reyes on the northern
coast in 1579
C. The “Franciscans” a roman Catholic religious order led
by “Father Serra” established missions from San Diego
to Sonoma, 36 miles apart (1 day horseback ride) 17691824 Built by Indians that were converted by the Spanish
fathers
D. Many of CA fruit and nut crops were established at the
missions: oranges, and other citrus, almonds, cherries,
apricots, pears, plums, etc. Mediterranean Climate
E. The Russian Presence – fur traders in the northern most
part of CA established Fort Ross.
The Mexican Regime: (1821-1848)
A. Provided large tracts of land to anyone accepting the
Catholic faith and becoming a Mexican citizen. These
areas were called “Ranchos”
B. Hides and tallow were the principle products exported
from California during this time. San Diego was the
primary port.
C. Influx of foreigners – 1840’s, California was becoming
difficult to control as more pioneer settlers began to
appear via the overland routes.
D. John Bidwell led the first group of immigrants to
California via the California Trail.
E. 1846 Mexican – American War separated California from
Mexican rule (Bear Flag Rebellion)
Statehood and the Gold Rush continued…
A.
Jan. 24, 1848, James William Marshall
discovered gold at Coloma on the
American River.
B. California received its statehood in 1848
-Population of San Francisco in 1847 was
462 and 4 ships had visited the port.
-In 1848 695 ships arrived bringing 100,000
new immigrants
Statehood and the Gold Rush continued…
C. The industry behind the Gold Rush
-Levi Strauss outfitted gold miners in denim jeans
-“Market hunters”- Tule elk, deer, ducks, geese all were
commercially hunted to provide food for hungry miners.
-Miller and Lux Cattle Company – demand for beef, started as a
butcher and ended as a cattle baron.
– 750,000 acres of land in CA., OR., NV.
-Citrus industry – “gold nuggets on trees” Anaheim
-Petaluma Poultry Industry - $1.00 each for eggs
-Grain industry – near large cities, counties bordering San
Francisco, Santa Cruz, and Sacramento, highest yields in
the U.S., short lived because of insects and disease (mild
winters allowed these pests to survive)
Statehood and the Gold Rush continued…
D. Ethnic diversity
-1870 50% of all men in CA had been born abroad
-Germans owned the most farmland, Italians 2nd,
Portuguese 3rd
-Chinese were indentured slaves for gold mining and
weren’t allowed to own property, important cultural
influence
-Japanese largest group of tenant farmers
-French in the 1830’s brought the first grape vines (wine)
-Armenians introduced new crops: asparagus, raisins,
figs
California Continues
to Grow
Desirable climate, shipping ports and
healthy economy encouraged continued
growth in CA long after the Gold Rush
ended
What geographic, climatic, socioeconomic
conditions supported this continued
growth…?
Is it the same today?
California Continues to Grow…continued
B.
Markets changed to reflect increasing land values
-Southern California lost hundreds of acres of orange groves
due to urban growth, growth of military industry (Navy, Air
Force, NASA, and Intelligence Agencies began during the
Cold War 1950’s and continued through the 1970’s)
-The dairy industry shifted from Chino to Tulare
-Hewlett and Packard worked in their garage to manufacture a
transistor that led to the development of the “silicon chip”.
Atari, Apple Computers, IBM
-San Jose (Santa Clara Valley) was once an important fruit
production area, canneries and agriculture provided
income and has since transformed into the “Silicon Valley”
-Urban growth throughout the Central Valley competes with
farmland -- causes concern for farmland preservation
We also know that historically:
1-CA is most populated state in the US
34 million since 1963
2-Ca has been leading Ag in US since
1948(most productive)
1. CA(incl. nursery) 32 billion
2. Texas
15.3
3. Iowa
14.6
4. Nebraska
10.6
5. Kansas
9
13% of all Ag $ is from CA.
San Joaquin Valley accounts for 47.7%
Top 10 Ag counties in CA.
Fresno
Tulare
Kern
Monterey
Merced
San Joaquin
San Diego (nursery)
Stanislaus
Riverside (nursery)
Ventura
(nursery)
Market value of Ag products
State Nation
Fresno
Kern
Tulare
Merced
Stanislaus
San Joaquin
Kings
Madera
1
2
3
5
6
7
11
14
1
2
3
6
7
8
18
25
State% Nation%
12
8.5
8.3
5.5
5.2
5.1
3.0
2.7
1.4
1
1
.6
.6
.6
.4
California Ranking in Ag
Production in relationship to the
Valley
•CA with valley is #1
•Texas
2
•Iowa
3
•SJ valley 4
(if it was a state)
National Rankings
http://www.nass.usda.gov/census/census97/rankings/tablist.htm
Irrigated land
Dairy Products
Fresno
1 Tulare
1
Kern
2 Merced
2
Tulare
3 Stanislaus
4
San Joaquin
4 San Joaquin
9
Merced
5 2/3 of valley 11.4% of nation
Stanislaus
11
California…17 % of nation
California…15.8 %
California’s No. 1 Ag Product
of nation
Fruits, nuts and berries
23 % of nation
The importance of the valley to the state is
that it is the top producing ag area.
6% of national sales
California…11.7% of national agriculture sales
Top 25 commodities (in order of production) 2001-2002
Milk/Cream
Grapes
Nursery
Lettuce
Almonds
Oranges
Hay, Alfalfa
Tulare, Merced, Stanislaus, San Bernardino, Kings
Kern, Fresno, Tulare, Napa, Sonoma
San Diego, Orange, Riverside, Monterey, Ventura, Cattle
Tulare, Imperial, Fresno, Merced, San Bernardino
Monterey, Imperial, Fresno, Santa Barbara, San
Benito
Kern, Stanislaus, Fresno, Merced, Madera
Tulare, Kern, Fresno, Ventura, Riverside
Imperial, Kern, Tulare, Merced, Fresno
www.nass.usda.gov/pub/nass/ca/AgComm/200208cavtb00.pdf
Important trends
1. Decline in farm number.
a. 78,000 today b. 144,000 in 1950
2. Increase in land/acre on farms. CA Avg.
a. 345 ac. Today b. 210 in 1950
3. Increase in productivity/more value per
acre.
4. Loss of farming acreage and expansion
to foothills because of urbanization.
Williamson Act
2006 Principal CA exports
(not in specific order)
1. Almonds
2.Cotton
3.Wine
4.Table grapes
5.Walnuts
6.Oranges
California Continues to Grow…continued
C.Williamson Act = California Land Conservation
Act of 1965
-Designed to prevent the loss of valuable
farmland
-Provides a tax break to property owners if
they agree to restrict land to agricultural use
only for 10 years
-Voluntary program
Journal Assignment
Summarize CA Ag, what you learned in class.
Educate yourself about the Williamson Act - Note your
sources. provide some detail as to requirements
and limitations. Current issues regarding this
legislation.
Keep it to 2 double-spaced pages!!
http://www.nass.usda.gov/ca/bul/agcom/indexcav.htm
www.cdfa.ca.gov/card/card_new02.htm