AGRICULTURE
MADERA COUNTY AGRICULTURAL CROP REPORTS

Madera County is located in California’s San Joaquin Valley, the most productive agricultural region in the world. As remarkable as the productivity is the diversity of commodities produced. Of the estimated 350 crops grown in California, in the San Joaquin Valley, more than 100 crops are cultivated within our boundaries. The total value of agricultural commodities produced in Madera County exceeds over one billion dollars annually.

The diversity of Madera County agriculture is apparent in a listing of the county's top ten products for 2007. These, ranked by dollar value the list includes: Milk, Almonds (Nuts & Hulls), Grapes, Pistachios, Replacement Heifers, Alfalfa, Cattle & Calves, Nursery Stock, Poultry, and Corn. Other major field crops include beans, cotton, and wheat. Important fruit and nut crops, in addition to those listed above include cherries, figs, nectarines, olives, oranges, peaches, plums, pomegranates, prunes, and walnuts. Rounding out this impressive list, a wide array of miscellaneous commodities that are also produced include: honey, beeswax, orchids, Christmas trees, timber, firewood, fish, frogs, hogs, lamb and wool.

The commodities of Madera County are exported to destinations around the world. Sixty countries receive shipments comprised of many of our principle commodities, as well as figs, kiwis, pomegranates, pecans, peaches, gladiola corms, and ornamental plants. Growers are justifiably proud of the quality of food and fiber produced here in Madera County. California has led the nation in total farm revenues every year since 1948. Madera County ranks thirteenth amongst California counties in overall agriculture production and twenty-third among the 4,000 counties in the United States. Further, our county ranks first in the production of figs. We rank second in the production of raisin grapes and pistachios. Farming is a renewable economic resource in Madera County, creating income that is replenished each succeeding year.

Less than half of 1 percent of California's 37 million people are farmers, but their impact reaches far. Economists note that the impact of gross agricultural receipts is multiplied three to five times in the local economy. About 30 percent of the San Joaquin Valley's total personal income is derived from agriculture. Many residents hold jobs that are directly farm-related, associated with fertilizer companies, farm vehicles, supermarkets, truck driving, wineries, and other processing plants. Many more jobs are in areas indirectly related to agriculture, such as packaging, construction, and finance. California's farms are the beginning of a cycle that adds over $90 billion in value to the State's economy; this constitutes about 6.5 percent of the annual total value added by all California businesses. Without its farms California would lose the wealth that flows into her economy from agriculture.

In the late 1800's, ninety percent of our nation's population was engaged in farming. By 1920, only thirty percent were farmers. Today, just 2% of the U.S. population is in farming and this 2% feeds the entire nation! One farmer feeds 96 Americans and exports food for 32 additional people. To be good stewards of the land, we must be vigilant in our concern for the future of this fertile acreage.

This information provided courtesy of the office of Robert J. Rolan, Agricultural Commissioner of Madera County