Agriculture is more than food production. The term is used to describe the human cultivation of food, fiber and other products. Many people think of food farming and raising of livestock as the extent of agriculture, but there is much more to this powerful industry.
For approximately 10,000 years agriculture has shaped civilization. And in fact some say that agriculture has made civilization possible. Agricultural progress allowed groups of people the first alternative to a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. Continual improvements in methods and technology took people from subsistence agriculture to production levels. As the production continued to increase fewer people were needed in food and fiber production and were able to focus on other pursuits and careers.
Today agriculture includes foods, fibers, biofuels, biopharmaceuticals, bioplastics, lumber, cut flowers and nursery plants. New agricultural technologies already available and those in the research stage will continue to shape, expand and influence society both locally and globally.
Ventura County has a wide range of agricultural products and production. The size of our local farms are smaller than average; however, our growers efforts combine to form an impressive cumulate result. Using data from the most recent USDA Ag Census Profile, the market value of Ventura County agriculture is ranked 9th statewide and 10th nationwide. When the value of nursery and greenhouse crops are included our county is 4th both state and nationwide. To learn more about the types of agriculture products grown in Ventura County please see the crop reports released by the County of Ventura Agricultural Commissioner.
In addition to crop values, the local agriculture industry branches out and positively impacts our local economy with, transportation/shipping, packing houses, product manufacturing and development, landscape design and maintenance, and much more.
