Due to the number of agricultural products that are grown in California, its easy to see how the agricultural core and California would have at least this in common with one another. The major crops that are grown in each area, however, do differ from one another.
Within the Agricultural Core, there are three main crops that are found to be grown throughout the region: corn, soybeans, and wheat. The majority of corn is grown in Iowa, while the second largest majority can be found in Illinois, then Kansas. According to Britannica.com, The area where corn is mainly found is known as the Corn Belt, which goes through Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, and Kansas (Britannica.com). Soybeans, the next main crop, have only recently become a hot seller within the agricultural market. In 1925, this crop only had 200,000 hectares harvested in the entire United States. In 2002, the midwest alone grew over 10 million hectares of soybeans, making the majority of the 16.1 million hectares of soybeans that were grown in the entire United States. These soybean crops have replaced many corn crops within the agricultural core, due to the fact that soybean crops have the ability to replenish the soil from which they grow with nitrogen, and the turnaround time between growing crops of soybeans is only 2 years, compared to the 3 years it takes for corn. Many soybean crops can be found growing within the Corn Belt as well. The last main crop, wheat, is found in non-forest filled areas where grass is more commonly found. Many wheat farms are found close to the waterways within the agricultural core due to the easy transportation that was available over the water.
A common crop of corn found in the Agricultural Core
(Source: http://images.gizmag.com/hero/corninsecticide.jpg)
The three biggest crops that are grown within the state of California are strawberries, grapes, and almonds, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture. The entire gross of strawberries that were grown in California last year weighed over 2.4 billion pounds, and was responsible for over $1.7 billion dollars in value (CDFA). Many of these berries are transported across the country during the winter seasons to other states, due to the fact that most states cannot grow strawberries during the wintertime. During the summertime, strawberries are mainly grown in both southern and northern California, with many of them being canned in Northern cities (such as Sacramento, which has one of the largest cannery distribution centers in California.) Grapes yield an even bigger crop, with an estimated 6.5 million tons grown in California in 2009, which was valued to be worth over $3.2 billion dollars (CDFA). According to the Columbia Encyclopedia, Grapes are one of the crops that are mainly grown in California, with the state supply around 2/3rd's of the country's supply per year (Columbia Encyclopedia). In California, these grapes are mainly exported to other states. However, in parts of Northern California (especially within the Napa Valley), grapes are turned into wine through multiple wineries that are scattered throughout the area. The last major crop that is grown in California is almonds, which yielded 1.4 million tons in 2009 and was valued at almost $2.3 billion dollars (CDFA). Almonds are almost exclusively grown in California, with 99 percent of Almond crops being within the state. Almonds are normally canned and distributed throughout the country both as snack products and cooking products.
Strawberry crops found in California
(Source: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPf5wycijc2MZWA9sRdsu9Vil7CAxU7YUu5NJByN1L79UJVKyqCIpo7c1TRZ_6Xv0hyphenhyphen5J8GGZx9wRo6cm7RrtfD9oCtb62f86phjnbe2bmO2V179A8Bv04WOcqQ_gy3p1GDmeNYF5FT3BY/s400/Strawberries+5-8-09+006.JPG)
No comments:
Post a Comment