change on agriculture are not avoided. A recent University of California assessment found that by the end of the century, rising temperatures and related reduced winter chill hours will significantly impact key crops. By 2050, for example, crop yields are projected to decline by 40% for avocados and 20% for almonds, table grapes, oranges and walnuts. Likewise, in the state’s Central Valley, land acreage suitable for walnut, apricot, peach and nectarine crops will be cut by half, while acreage suitable for pecans, quinces and chestnuts will be cut by 22%. “In the coming years,” a spokesperson for CalCAN predicts, “the increase in variable precipitation—from drought to floods—puts California’s agricultural industry at great risk.”
California is home to the largest and most diverse agricultural industry in the country, comprising more than 76,000 farms and ranches.
But the aforementioned measures, and a phalanx of new and innovative farming and crop preservation techniques, will hopefully help the state preserve its status as the “U.S.A.’s breadbasket.” Importantly, agriculture itself can be part of the climate solution. California farmers and ranchers are the nation’s leading producers of on-farm renewable energy. They are also among the first in the country to embrace what’s called Climate Smart Agriculture, a system of farming that is helping ranchers and Native American tribal councils reduce greenhouse gas emissions and store carbon in soils and trees, while providing multiple benefits to agriculture and the environment. “California agriculture makes our state a better place to live because of what we grow and how we grow it,” says Karen Ross, Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture. “Our state has a very strong environmental ethic…and I’m really proud of the innovation that our farmers have engaged. All farmers have to be innovative, of course, but to do it on the scale that we’re doing it, with the resource challenges that we’re faced with, is just remarkable.”
“Within the borders of this state, you can easily take a culinary tour around the entire world. When you think about it, that’s not true of very many agricultural regions in our nation or, truly, on our planet. This is a very special place, and a very special industry.”
Karen Ross, Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture
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IN YOUR CORNER ISSUE 18 | 2024
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