2022 STATE AGRICULTURE OVERVIEW
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California's Top Agricultural Commodities
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California Agriculture Facts
- California produces nearly half of U.S.-grown fruits, nuts and vegetables.
- California is the only state in the U.S. to export the following commodities: almonds, artichokes, dates, dried plums, figs, garlic, kiwifruit, olives, pistachios, raisins and walnuts.
- California agricultural products are shipped to 200 individual countries worldwide. Canada is the top export market, followed by the European Union, Japan, China and Mexico.
- California is home to the most productive agricultural counties in the nation. According to the 2007 Census of Agriculture's ranking of market value of agricultural products sold, nine of the nation's top 10 producing counties are in California.
- California has 81,500 farms and ranches, less than 4% of the nation's total. Yet, the Golden State's agricultural production represents 11.2% of the total U.S. value of agricultural crops and commodities.
- California has more forest land than any state, except Alaska.
- California's floriculture crop is the largest in the U.S. It accounts for one quarter of the total wholesale value of the floriculture crop.
- California-grown annual bedding and garden plants accounts for almost 16 percent of the total wholesale value in the U.S.
- California is the dominant state in cut flower production, accounting for 75 percent of the total cut flower wholesale value among operations surveyed with $100,000 or more in total sales.
- California leads the country in potted flow?ering plant value.
- California accounts for 46% of the U.S. fruit and nut production and 62% of the national value of fruit and nut crops.
- California leads in fresh market vegetable production, accounting for 44% of the U.S. harvested area and 49% of the national production.
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California Data and Statistics
On this page, farms under threat, national resources inventory, census of agriculture, purchase of agricultural conservation easement programs.
- California Farmland Mapping and Monitoring Program
Other Data Sources
Farms Under Threat: The State of the States
All estimates represent figures for the Conterminous U.S.
Total and Agricultural Land Cover/Use
High-quality agricultural land.
Nationally Significant agricultural land is the land best-suited to long-term, intensive crop production within the Conterminous United States; and each state’s “best land” is approximately the better half of all agricultural land in each state. For more information about these categories of high-quality agricultural land and how they were identified, see the interactive website for Farms Under Threat: The State of the States , and the fact sheet about AFT’s Productivity, Versatility, and Resiliency (PVR) Analysis.
Agricultural Land Converted from 2001-2016
- Read the full report Farms Under Threat: The State of the States
- Explore our maps, policy scorecard, and background data from Farms Under Threat: The State of the States on our interactive website, www.farmland.org/farmsunderthreat.
2012 National Resources Inventory
- FIC National NRI Data
- Go to NRI Web site
Notes on Changes to the 2017 Census of Agriculture
- Producer characteristic data were collected for a maximum of four producers on each farm, up from a maximum of three producers in prior years.
- Principal producer is a new term that identifies up to two main decision-makers on each farm, up from one principal operator in prior years.
- Market value of agricultural products sold directly to consumers expanded to include value-added products.
- Market value of agricultural products sold directly to retail markets, institutions, and food hubs for local or regionally branded products is a new data item.
- FIC 2017 Census of Agriculture Fact Sheet
- Download: Table of Land in Farms by State
- Census of Agriculture Website
For summaries of PACE activity by state, use the links for the downloadable table or most recent fact sheets on the national statistics page under Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easement Programs .
- Bureau of Economic Analysis
- Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Foreign Agricultural Trade of the United States
- Statistical Abstract of the United States
- U.S. Census Bureau U.S. Census Bureau Housing Topics U.S. Census Bureau State and County Quick Facts
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- 2021 California Agricultural Statistics Review Available Online
- May 26, 2022
The California Department of Food and Agriculture has released the California Agricultural Statistics Review 2020-2021 online. The review provides a wide variety of statistics for the 2020-21 season, while reflecting on the unprecedented challenges faced by the agricultural industry due to the COVID pandemic, historic forest fires and the ongoing effects brought about by an extended drought and climate change.
According to the report, 69,600 farms operated in California in 2020, with nearly 29% generating commodity sales over $100,000 — greater than the national average of 18.5%. While the acreage devoted to farming and ranching in California remained steady, the sales value generated by California agriculture decreased about 3% between the 2019 and 2020 crop years. That said, California remains the leading state in cash farm receipts representing nearly 14% of the U.S. total.
As for California avocados, the report showcases the “notable increases” in production (73%) during this timeframe. The report provides an overview of California’s fruit and nut crops (beginning on page 58) and notes the state produced more than 93% of the nation’s avocados, grapes, lemons and mandarins. This section provides avocado data including:
- Acreage, production and value 2011-2020
- Unutilized production 2011-2020
- Utilized production and average grower return 2011-2020
The review provides a variety of statistics for the 2020-21 season, while reflecting on the unprecedented challenges faced by the agricultural industry during this timeframe.
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Facts About California Agriculture
What is the current value of all California agricultural production? $43.5 billion
Does California truly feed the world?
California is the world’s fifth largest supplier of food, cotton fiber and other agricultural commodities. We produce more than 400 different crops—everything from world- renowned wines to specialty items such as almonds and raisins.
The Golden State is the nation’s sole producer (99 percent or more) of many specialty crops, such as: Almonds, Artichokes, Clingstone Peaches, Dried Plums (prunes), Figs, Garlic, Olives, Persimmons, Pistachios, Pomegranates, cannery tomatoes, Raisins, Sweet Rice and Walnuts.
California has nearly 80,000 farms and ranches—less than four percent of the nation’s total, Yet, the Golden State’s agricultural production represents 13 percent of the nation’s total value.
California’s top 20 crops and livestock commodities account for more than $28 billion in value. Each of the top 10 commodities exceed $1 billion in value.
- Milk and Cream
- Cattle and Calves
- Strawberries
- Floriculture
1. Fresno (grapes, almonds, tomatoes, poultry, cattle and calves) $6.6
Milk is California’s No. 1 farm commodity and the Golden State is the leading dairy producer by a wide margin. California produces 21 percent of the U.S. milk supply, 23 percent of the cheese, 31 percent of the butter, 50 percent of the nonfat dry milk, and 15 percent of the ice cream. The state’s dairy farms have increased their milk output every year since 1978.
However, since 2008 California dairymen and women have suffered under low milk prices and high feed prices.
According to milk production data released early in 2013 by the California Department of food and Agriculture, the state’s diary farms lost $882 million in 2012. An average 1,000 cow dairy with an average per cow production of 23,457 pounds of milk, lost about $310,000 for the year.
Over the last two years, more than 200 California dairies of shut their doors.
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Agricultural Statistics
About this guide.
Statistics for agricultural output and market value are kept by a variety of different agencies. For the state of California, county agricultural commissioners issue annual reports . These reports inform the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), and contribute to the Census of Agriculture. Much of the older statistical material is only available in print, particularly county reports. Many of these reports are held at the Agricultural and Resource Economics Library . The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CFDA) relies on county and federal agricultural statistics. Its Marketing Services maintains its own statistical offices for commodities such as milk and dairy products . For international information, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) maintains its own statistics.
Frequently Used Statistics (Federal, State, Local)
- Agricultural Statistics Data Base & Quick Stats This link opens in a new window USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service "Quick Stats" statistics database. Select U.S., state, or county data for crops, livestock and other agricultural commodities. Query database by geographic area, search by commodity, or view data in charts or maps. Data sets include Census of Agriculture.
- Statistical Abstracts of the World This link opens in a new window This resource aggregates the statistical abstracts of more than 50 countries and makes the content available through a single-search interface. These statistical abstracts are generally issued by the national statistical offices of foreign governments and contain country-level data not easily found elsewhere. Also includes data from the United Nations Demographic Yearbook, World Development Indicators, and Key Figures on Europe. [Coverage: 1878-2012]
- Historical Statistics of the United States, Earliest Times to the Present, Millennial Edition [via Cambridge University Press] Historical Statistics of the United States (HSUS) is the long-awaited 4th edition of the landmark government reference tool, last published in 1975. This expanded digital edition (available also as a five-volume print edition) updates and expands the original tables and introduces dozens of new topics. HSUS was culled from more than 1,000 sources to produce nearly 2,000 tables containing some 37,000 time series covering virtually every quantifiable dimension of American history: agriculture, population, the economy, government, welfare and work. Some data from the 1975 edition have been extensively revised, and data determined to be unreliable or inaccurate have not been included. Each series is fully documented and placed in historical context by a scholar in the field. Tables can be downloaded and viewed, as well as graphed and merged into custom tables.
- International Historical Statistics (IHS) This link opens in a new window The online IHS updates the last print edition of International Historical Statistics, which was published in 2007 in 3 volumes. It now includes 260 years of rich data, collected between 1750-2010 and available online. Data tables can be downloaded as ePDFs and/or Excel files.
- Statistical Abstract of the U.S. (via ProQuest) he Statistical Abstract of the United States is a one-volume, comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States. Use the Abstract as a convenient volume for statistical reference, and as a guide to sources of more information both in print and on the Web. The government-published Statistical Abstract of the U.S. was discontinued following publication of the 2012 edition. Coverage: 2013-
- Statistical Abstract of the United States (Historic) Annual statistical compendia from the Census Bureau through 2012. Continued by the commercially published (Proquest) Statistical Abstract of the U.S. Census has the Statistical Abstract in pdf online back to 1878. Coverage: 1878-2012
Frequently Used Statistics (International)
- European Union The European Union (EU) is a family of democratic European countries, committed to working together for peace and prosperity. Its Member States have set up common institutions to which they delegate some of their sovereignty so that decisions on specific matters of joint interest can be made democratically at European level.
- FAOSTAT FAOSTAT is produced by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. FAOSTAT provides free access to food and agriculture data for over 245 countries and territories and covers all FAO regional groupings from 1961 to the most recent year available. Topics include food and agricultural production and trade, fisheries, land use and irrigation, fertilizers and more. The comprehensive databases cover many countries over long periods of time.
- IMF Statistical Databases This link opens in a new window The IMF Statistical Databases include International Financial Statistics, Direction of Trade Statistics, Government Finance Statistics, and Balance of Payments Statistics. Approximately 32,000 time series covering more than 200 countries starting in 1948.
- UN Comtrade Database This link opens in a new window Free access to detailed global trade data. UN Comtrade is a repository of official trade statistics and relevant analytical tables. It contains annual trade statistics starting from 1962 and monthly trade statistics since 2010.
- UN Data This link opens in a new window The United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) brings UN statistical databases within easy reach of users through a single entry point to search and download a variety of statistical resources of the UN system.
- World Bank Open Data This link opens in a new window The World Bank's Open Data initiative is intended to provide all users with access to World Bank data. The data catalog is a listing of available World Bank data sources. This listing will continue to be updated as additional data resources are added. These resources include databases, pre-formatted tables and reports. Each of the listings includes a description of the data source and a direct link to that source. Where possible, the databases are linked directly to a selection screen to allow users to select the countries, indicators, and years they would like to search. Those search results can be exported in different formats. Users can also choose to download the entire database directly from the catalog.
Research Support
- Last Updated: Jan 19, 2023 1:16 PM
- URL: https://guides.library.ucdavis.edu/agricultural-statistics
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California's Top 10 Agricultural Commodities · Dairy Products, Milk — $7.57 billion · Grapes — $5.23 billion · Almonds — $5.03 billion · Cattle and Calves — $3.11
Yours truly,. Karen Ross, Secretary. California Department of Food and Agriculture. California Agricultural Statistics Review 2020-2021 1
USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service Information. NASS publications cover a wide range of subjects, from traditional crops, such as corn and wheat
2022 STATE AGRICULTURE OVERVIEW ; Cattle, On Feed - Inventory ( First of Jan. 2023 ), 520,000 ; Goats, Meat & Other - Inventory ( First of Jan. 2023 ), 80,000.
California Agriculture Facts · California produces nearly half of U.S.-grown fruits, nuts and vegetables. · California is the only state in the U.S. to export the
Census of Agriculture ; All operators/All producers 65 and older, 32,975, 39,428, 46,730 ; All producers with experience of 10 years or less on any farm, —, —
According to the report, 69,600 farms operated in California in 2020, with nearly 29% generating commodity sales over $100,000 — greater than
Agriculture is a significant sector in California's economy, producing nearly US$50 billion in revenue in 2018. There are more than 400 commodity crops
California is the world's fifth largest supplier of food, cotton fiber and other agricultural commodities. We produce more than 400 different crops—everything
California County Agricultural Commissioners Reports Reports from the California Department of Food and Agriculture. This collection consists of