California Agriculture: Dimensions and Issues

This book represents a comprehensive revision and update of the influential 1997 publication California Agriculture: Issues and Challenges. The new book features twelve chapters written by leading experts in their respective fields on the major topics and issues important to California’s agriculture and natural resource sectors. Key topics addressed in the book include the profile of California agriculture and its economic importance, both domestic and international marketing of California’s agricultural production, agricultural policy issues relevant to California, water allocation and related issues, farm labor issues, environmental issues, organic agriculture, science and technology, and the agricultural-urban interface. The book provides a key resource on California’s agriculture and natural resources for the years to come. The chapters and contributing authors are as follows:Chapter 1: The Evolution of California Agriculture, 1850 - 2000, by Alan L. Olmstead and Paul W. RhodeChapter 2: Cross Sections of a Diverse Agriculture: Profiles of California's Agricultural Production Regions and Principal Commodities, by Warren E. JohnstonChapter 3: The Measure of California Agriculture & Its Importance in the State's Economy, by Daniel Sumner, Jose E. Bervejillo and Nicolai V. KuminoffChapter 4: Marketing California's Agricultural Production, by Hoy F. Carman, Roberta Cook and Richard SextonChapter 5: International Trade and the Road Ahead for California Agriculture, by Tiffany Arthur, Colin Carter, and Alix Peterson ZwaneChapter 6: Commodity Policy and California Agriculture, by Daniel A. Sumner and Henrich BrunkeChapter 7: Water Infrastructure and Water Allocation in California, by Richard Howitt and Dave SundingChapter 8: Hired Workers on California Farms, by Philip Martin and Bert MasonChapter 9: Environmental Issues in California Agriculture, by Sean B. Cash and David ZilbermanChapter 10: Organic Agricultural Production in California, by Karen KlonskyChapter 11: Science and Technology, by Julian M. Alston and David ZilbermanChapter 12: California's Edge Problem: Urban Impacts on Agriculture, by Alvin D. Sokolo