SOUTHLAND CALIFORNIA SUMMARIZED HISTORY, FACTS,  AND DEMOGRAPHICS 

Economic Activities

Agriculture-Crops

A great variety of crops, especially fruits and vegetables, are grown in California. The state accounts for nearly the entire U.S. production of walnuts, almonds, nectarines, olives, dates, figs, pomegranates, and persimmons. It leads the nation in the production of vegetables, including lettuce, tomatoes, broccoli, celery, cauliflower, carrots, lima beans, and spinach, and also of apricots, grapes, lemons, strawberries, plums and prunes, peaches, cantaloupes, avocados, and honeydew melons. It is the nation's leading producer of hay and the second leading producer of cotton. California is also the second ranking state in the production of rice, oranges, tangerines, grapefruit, apples, pears, sweet corn, and asparagus. Nearly every crop grown in the United States is represented in California fields.

     

Crops account for 75 percent of the state's annual farm income, with the rest coming from livestock and animal products. Vegetables are grown primarily in the Central, Imperial, and Salinas valleys. Cotton is raised primarily in the southern San Joaquin Valley. Citrus fruit production is centered in southern California and the southeastern San Joaquin Valley. Grapes, peaches, potatoes, barley, and figs are raised chiefly in the San Joaquin Valley; and rice, sugar beets, and pears are raised mainly in the Sacramento Valley.