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California Agriculture

What is a specialty crop and how many California specialty crops are grown at the farm?

• California Specialty crops are fruits and tree nuts, vegetables, herbs and spices, nursery, floriculture, and horticulture crops.
• California produces more than 400 different commodities, many of which are specialty crops.
• We grow an average of 130-150 specialty crops at the farm each year.

California Agriculture

• In 2014, the most recent year for which a full crop-year report is available, California’s 76,400 farms and ranches received $54 billion for their output.
• California’s agricultural abundance includes more than 400 commodities.
• The state produces nearly half of US-grown fruits, nuts, and vegetables.
• Across the nation, US consumers regularly purchase several crops produced solely in California.
• California produces 99% or more of 14 commodities that are enjoyed throughout the United States, including artichokes, dates, kiwifruit, olives, pomegranates, and pistachios.
• Specialty crop categories:
  • Fruit and Tree Nuts (Almonds, blackberries, figs, grapes, lemons, oranges, pears, pecans, pistachios, walnuts.)
  • Vegetables (Asparagus, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, carrots, celery, eggplant, garlic, lettuce, mushrooms, squash, tomatoes.)
  • Culinary Herbs and Species (Basil, cilantro, cloves, ginger, lavender, nutmeg, oregano, sage, thyme, vanilla.)
  • Medicinal Herbs (Baldo, foxglove, marshmallow, passionflower, pennyroyal, pokeweed, senna, tansy, witch hazel, yarrow.)
  • Nursery, Floriculture, and Horticulture Crops (Christmas trees, ferns, holly, magnolia trees, marigolds, oak trees, pansies, poinsettias, roses, tulips.)

California’s top-ten valued commodities for 2014 are:

• Milk — $9.4 billion
• Almonds — $5.9 billion
• Grapes — $5.2 billion
• Cattle, Calves — $3.7 billion
• Strawberries — $2.5 billion
• Lettuce — $2 billion
• Walnuts — $1.8 billion
• Tomatoes — $1.6 billion
• Pistachios — $1.6 billion
• Hay — $1.3 billion

Irrigation at The Farm. This is what is used at the LA County Fair Farm.

• The farm uses a drip irrigation system called T-tape; t-tape is a commercial drip tape that will last approximately 5 months to 6 years depending on the type selected. Our tape is rated for 5 years.
• The brand of T-tape used is John Deer, compression fitting (no glue, snaps together) in a .67 gph size. The pressure through the irrigation tape is 20-30 psi.
• The size of tape we use at the farm provides approximately 2/3 gal per hour at each hole, each hole is spaced 8” apart.
• Our system runs off a weather-based irrigation timer that allows for four different programs. As the weather changes, it will automatically adjust accordingly.  Each program is set according to what is planted in certain areas.
• The timer is a computer-based 2 wire system.

Pesticides, Insecticides, and Herbicides

• Because the farm is organic all pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, composts and other products used at the farm are organic and must be approved by OMRI (Organic Material Review Institute).
• Pesticides are pyganic (plant-based) which are less toxic to humans.
• Spinosad fungus that acts as a natural insecticide
• Detergents like insecticidal soaps
• Bacteria compounds
• Desicants (dehydrate insect)
• Neem creates oil which insects by odor, oil clogging pores, cuts through cuticle layer, and acts as a growth regulator.
• Phosphorus based fertilizer and fungicides
• Fungal problems require a higher level of phosphoric acid.
• Herbicides used on the farm are based on citrus oils and other desiccants. 
• Traps for aphids and mice are used.

Soil

• There are 5 different soil types that gardeners and growers usually work with. All five is a combination of just three types of weathered rock particles that make up the soil: sand, silt, and clay. How these three particles are combined defines your soil’s type—how it feels to the touch, how it holds water, and how it’s managed, among other things.
• The type of soil that gardens and gardeners love is loamy soil. It contains a balance of all three soil materials—silt, sand, and clay—plus humus. It has a higher pH and calcium levels because of its previous organic matter content.
• Loam is dark in color and is mealy—soft, dry, and crumbly—in your hands. It has a tight hold on water and plant food but it drains well, and air moves freely between soil particles down to the roots.
• The feel test for loam yields a smooth, partly gritty, partly sticky ball that crumbles easy.
• Native soils are used in the planter boxes here at the farm; decomposed granite was used for walkway areas.
• Calcium is added to the soil at the farm due to a deficiency caused by the types of plants that we grow.
• The only imported soil at the farm is near where the squash is grown.

Careers in Agriculture

• The most obvious careers are directly related to the farm or ranch. Only 10% of Americans are involved in traditional farming.
• There are approximately 22 million people who work in agriculture-related fields.
• Today’s agriculture offers over 200 rewarding and challenging careers.
• Agricultural careers may be divided into various categories.
• These include:
  • Agribusiness Management
  • Agricultural and Natural Resources Communications,
  • Building Construction Management
  • Agriscience
  • Resource Development and Management
  • Parks and Recreations
  • Tourism Resources
  • Packaging
  • Horticulture
  • Forestry
  • Food Science
  • Fisheries/Wildlife