AGRICULTURE

What Was Measured?
The total acreage of land used for agriculture and floriculture for the years 1992 to 1995 is shown.

Why Is It Important?
Food brought from far away requires additional energy for transport and loses freshness and nutritional value.  In addition, agricultural acreage contributes to an improved micro-climate and a diverse economic base.  Communities that value locally grown products support retaining agricultural land, protecting it from residential and industrial sprawl and development.

What Was Found?
In 1995, the total agricultural and floricultural acreage in San Mateo County was 38,680 acres, with most of the acreage in vegetable and field crops (36,649acres).

Total gross production value for 1995 was $196,456,000, with over 75 percent of gross agricultural revenues coming from indoor and outdoor floral and nursery crops.

From 1991 to 1995 the number of organic farmers in the county went from 3 to 1 1.3980 Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), in which one buys shares in a farm's production and share risks with the farmer, has also taken root in the county with at least one farm open.

What Is The Trend?
The demands to remove land from cultivation and develop it continually challenge local agriculture, while floriculture is under pressure from global competition.

In the years measured, agricultural and floricultural acreages have remained fairly steady, declining by approximately 1,000 acres in 1995.  Gross production value for 1995 was 8 percent less than 1994, largely due to adverse weather conditions.

The increase in the number of organic farmers in the county reflects growing consumer demand for high quality, fresh produce free of pesticides and other chemicals.

The increasing regulation of pesticides and efforts to reduce chemical hazards in the workplace have also contributed to an increase in non-chemical farming methods.

Source: S.M. Co. Agricultural Crop Reports.

Researcher: Shirley McClure, Marcia Pagels