California farmers and ranchers produced more than half of the nation’s fruits, nuts and vegetables, and generated $27.2 billion in gross cash receipts in 2000. A major employer and revenue generator in the state, agriculture accounts for 1.1 million jobs and more than $60 billion in personal income. California is the nation’s leader in agricultural exports, shipping more than $6.5 billion in food and agricultural products around the world.

California grows more than 350 commodities, including all of the country’s almonds, artichokes, brussel sprouts, dates, dried plums, figs, kiwifruit, nectarines, olives, pistachios and walnuts. Billion-dollar commodities include milk and cream, grapes, nursery products, lettuce, and cattle and calves. Tomatoes, cotton, flowers and foliage, strawberries and hay round out the 10 leading income generators for 2002-03.

California has been the nation’s number one agricultural state every year since 1948. Eight of the top 10 agricultural counties are in California.

UC’s Role
Our farmers and ranchers have achieved this steady record of economic growth over the past half century, while implementing new management and production practices that make their operations the most environmentally compatible and natural resources conscious in the nation. Much of this economic success can be traced to the impact and influence of the University of California’s research and extension programs.

Administered through UC’s statewide Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, these programs are optimized to take new scientific discoveries from research laboratories on UC campuses, test and evaluate them in the field, then adapt and deliver practical applications directly to farmers and ranchers through UC Cooperative Extension county offices.

Cooperative Extension farm advisors, working with growers, processors and local governments, regulatory agencies and the environmental community, anticipate and identify emerging problems in the field. They share this information, which often has substantial economic implications, with specialists and researchers of the Agricultural Experiment Station on the Berkeley, Davis and Riverside campuses. Recognizing emerging problems helps set UC research priorities.

The close interaction between users in the field, county-based Cooperative Extension advisors and scientists on UC campuses has served California agriculture extremely well. Growers maintain a competitive advantage in national and world markets through early adoption of UC-developed technological advances and have access to new varieties of grapes, strawberries, stone fruits and citrus before the competition.

This network also has led to rapid and widespread dissemination and acceptance of new management practices impacting on-farm production and yields, postharvest storage and packaging, reductions in chemical and water use, increased agricultural sustainability and resource conservation, to name but a few. These innovations, in turn, have permitted the state’s agriculturalists to meet the challenge of producing a safe and healthful food supply while addressing the environmental and resource issues related to agriculture.

Research Pays Off
How good an investment is UC’s agricultural research? A recent study by the UC Agricultural Issues Center concludes that the average annual internal rate of return for public investment in California agricultural research and extension from 1949 through 1985 was about 20 percent. During this period, farmers realized a 2.8-fold increase in output with only a 1.6-fold increase in inputs. The difference was attributed to productivity gains resulting from research and development.

The study also provided real-world examples of the role and relationship of UC agricultural production and productivity. Case studies for dairy, grapes and wine, and strawberries demonstrated the very positive economic and environmental impacts of UC research on these leading commodities. For example, California’s $767 million strawberry industry, which now grows berries nearly year-round, relies on a steady stream of new varieties developed, patented and released by the University.

The state’s multi-billion dollar wine industry also depends on UC research. More than 95 percent of the grapes grown in California come from rootstock that originated at UC Davis. Disease-resistant varieties, including chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, zinfandel and sauvignon blanc, now provide winemakers with a reliable supply of high-quality grapes. Many of the state's winemakers and grape growers receive their education and training at UC.

The dairy industry has also benefited from UC research. Advanced breeding programs and other genetic improvements have increased milk production in the average cow to 20,500 pounds a year compared to less than 10,000 pounds in 1960. Dairy herds are healthier, too, thanks to new vaccines, diagnostic tools, disease prevention, and computerized feed and nutrition programs developed through research.

Learn more about UC's current agricultural research and extension activities — and their roles in our economic prosperity and quality of life — at the following sites:

UC and Agriculture
Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Cooperative Extension
UC Agricultural Issues Center
California Agricultural Overview: Statistical Reference
     (California Department of Food and Agriculture)
UC and Winemaking (Davis Department of Viticulture
     and Enology)

Agriculture Economic and Public Policy
Agricultural Issues Center
Davis Agricultural and Resource Economics Library
Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics