While people complain that California is too crowded, this vast land of premium weather happens to be one of the top agricultural growing regions in the United States, and perhaps event the globe. So locally, Californians ask why their food is coming from other countries when, like the offshore oil that is collected, refined and distributed, Californians seem not to gain access to what their state supplies as commodities around the globe.

For the family farms and farmers to survive in California, their livelihoods have been jeopardized by practices of seed collection and modification, and competition from giant food conglomerates. A trend toward Slow foods and agricultural tourism is coming about as farmers recognized that several hundred million citizens hardly know where their food comes from. The "ag tours" introduce not only kids and adult travelers to the bounty produced on local farms throughout the state, it also allows chefs from top kitchens to experience the quality products that lend to better meals in restaurants, as well.

As we've traveled the Central Coast and visited farms of the Central Valley (two top growing regions in California), we've discovered what fresh-picked almonds taste like, sampled and compared olive oils, tried dozens of new wines, found great cheeses, picked our own strawberries, and gazed out at the fields of artichokes in Castroville.  The figures below are at least a year old but provide an idea of what's hot in California agriculture.

Some products such as cotton are quite surprising. And when you visit a California Farmers Market, you'll see seasonally and regionally some of the items on the chart below.  A network of growers pack their produce and drive it around to the various markets held throughout the state.  Those growers and their reps at least give Californians and the visitors they host an opportunity to sample and dine on fresher produce than found in many stores.

Once you find something really fresh, it spoils you for the rest of your days as you become driven to purchase and dine on the best.

a/ f.a.s. value basis
b/ "Total other products" is composed of (1) highly processed products that are difficult to attribute to a specific commodity, such as mixtures of fruits, nuts, and  vegetables and other processed foods; and (2) animal and plant products marketed

Source: Department of Food and Agriculture, Agricultural Export Program, (916) 654-0389,

cdfa.ca.gov