Country/Rural life in California

[Fontucky]

You're so ADD.

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by californio sur

...it is pure country to the point of being so boring that I can only handle a few days visit.

...for which I'm sure they will be eternally grateful!

[Highnlite]

One difference though, is that the displacement of family farms by industrial agriculture has been carried out to more complete degree in California than it has been in Michi, Minni, Wisci and other Midwestern states. The "traditional" farm of yesteryear is no longer economically practical in most of California.

This is not accurate, the average farm size in California is 317 acres. 84 percent are family owned. Only 1.4 percent of farms in CA are non family held corporations.

[Brenda-by-the-sea]

Originally Posted by Highnlite

This is not accurate, the average farm size in California is 317 acres. 84 percent are family owned. Only 1.4 percent of farms in CA are non family held corporations.

"Family-owned" does not mean "non-industrial." There are lots of huge industrial corporations like Grimmway and Foster Farms that are "family-owned," in terms of business structure, but it's definitely not Uncle John out milking the cows while Aunt Erma scatters feed for the chickens.

There are also a lot of parcels that are tallied as "farms" because of zoning classification, but the owners depend on 9-5 salaried jobs in the city to support themselves. I'm talking about the traditional kind of owner-operated farm that depends on family-worked agricultural productivity -- not hordes of migrant workers -- for income.

The average farm size might be 317 acres, but the typical farm size is not. That figure averages farms that are over 100,000 acres in with hobby farms that are 2 to 5 acres in size.

[Highnlite]

Brenda, I disagree with you. I quoted dept of Ag statistics, and I am familiar with California farming. You may define traditional farming as you wish, but the fact remains that the overwhelming majority of farms in California are relatively small compared to midwestern grain farms.

I did not include in my stats, partnerships, which comprise 11.4 % of California farms. So in actuality, around 95 percent of farms in California are small owner operated farms.

Family farming is alive and well in CA. You state: "family worked agricultural productivity-- not hordes of migrant workers."

This statement does not indicate understanding of agriculture as it is is practiced in California. Due to the nature of the crops grown in California, large numbers of field workers are needed. "migrant workers" are not common anymore.

A mid west grain farm of 1,000 acres is largely mechanized, a family can do the work, since it is largely driving machinery.

California Ag is very different. It is largely hand labor.

To say that Ken Hayashi is not a family farmer because he uses large numbers of field workers is not at all accurate.

The average farm size might be 317 acres, but the typical farm size is not. That figure averages farms that are over 100,000 acres in with hobby farms that are 2 to 5 acres in size.

Brilliantly stated.

Consider this for a moment, Strawberries can net $25,000 an acre (that is net, not gross), your 2 to 5 acre "hobby" farm is bringing in $50,000 to $125,000 a year in income. Nice Hobby.

[Mrs Archuleta]

The link below in alphabetical order list CA small towns/cities

[url]http://www.city-data.com/city/California2.html[/url]