AGRICULTURE DRIVES YOLO COUNTY’S
ECONOMIC ENGINE
By Dave Rosenberg
Yolo County Supervisor, District Four
Agriculture touches all our lives here in Yolo County. Agriculture drives our economic engine, providing jobs and a tax base for our governments. Agriculture surrounds us and gives Yolo County its special character. Agriculture was the genesis of the great University of California at Davis.
Although farming and ranching operations literally surround us in the suburban centers of Davis and Woodland, as a Yolo County Supervisor, I have been amazed at the lack of knowledge, generally, about the impact of agriculture on our lives and our economy here in Yolo County.
In 1996, the total value of all agriculture commodities in Yolo County was estimated to be $312,692,000. That’s up from 1995 when the figure was $297,200,000. The number one commodity in Yolo County -- by far -- is tomatoes, providing $117,843,000 in value. Yolo County is the top tomatoe-producing area in California, the United States, and possibly, the world.
The number two commodity in Yolo County is much further down the list. Number two is seed crops at $19,545,000, followed by rice at $17,923,000, corn at $17,817,000, alfalfa hay at $17,560,000, wheat at $17,467,000, and wine grapes at $16,780,000. Other major Yolo County crops include almonds, walnuts, dried prunes, safflower, melons and cotton.
Over 45 million acres of land in Yolo County is devoted to production agriculture.
A recent study conducted by the University of California at Berkeley, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, reveals that Yolo County’s food industry has a major impact on Yolo County’s economy. Agriculture provides $583,000,000 of Yolo County’s personal income (which is about 20% of Yolo County’s total), and about 12,000 jobs (which is about 14% of Yolo County’s total employment).
In California, generally, agriculture is king. Topping about $22 billion in farm value, California is the nation’s number one agricultural state, a position it has held for 50 consecutive years. Some 82,000 farms are operated in California, most under 50 acres. California agriculture is about twice as large in value as the number two state, Texas.
I have proposed three separate initiatives which I believe will educate the public, stimulate the farm economy and protect the land which underlies our agricultural heritage here in Yolo County.
First, I have proposed the creation of a "Day on the Farm" program, which will ultimately enable all our Yolo County children to choose to spend a day on a Yolo County farm. In conjunction with the Agricultural Education Committee of the Farm Bureau and our schools, this program will be launched this year as a small, pilot project, but will expand every year. It will ultimately educate an entire generation of Yolo County children about the importance of agriculture. There’s nothing like being on the land to foster a lifetime of memories. "Day on the Farm" has already inspired considerable interest among leaders throughout Yolo County including the Yolo County Farm Bureau, Woodland City Councilman Steve Borchard and Davis Farmer’s Market Manger Randii MacNear.
Second, at my request, the Yolo County Board of Supervisors convened an Economic Summit in December of last year. Flowing from that well-attended and highly successful summit was a call to create a Yolo County Economic Development Council ("EDC"). In fact, the Board of Supervisors created such an EDC. I am the Board appointee to it. The EDC will convene its first meeting soon, and will strive to give our agricultural economy a shot in the arm in the coming months.
Third, I have proposed what I call a "Greenline Plan" for Yolo County. This plan envisions the County and the cities working together, and working with the public, to establish urban limit lines. It is my belief that the thoughtful and collaborative process of establishing ultimate city boundary lines is our last best hope in Yolo County to (1) slow growth, (2) keep our communities’ small-town characteristics, and (3) preserve farmland.
Whether it’s income, or value, or jobs or food on the table, we must never take agriculture for granted in Yolo County.