alvin sokolow ucce, uc davis. kurt r. richter agricultural issues center ph.d. candidate, geography...

Alvin SokolowUCCE, UC Davis

Kurt R. Richter

Agricultural Issues Center

Ph.D. Candidate, Geography

UC Davis

krrichter@ucdavis.edu

The System Simplified

• Farmer Decision– Maximize profit through land use and

management decisions

• Processing Center Decision– Maximize profit through efficient use of plant

assets• Tomatoes – Source up and down Valley to run

plant 24/7 through harvest

Available Economic Data

• County level information– Ag Commissioner Reports– Census of Ag– CDFA Commodity Reports

• National and international data widely available

• We know how much is planted in each county…but

No Idea Where

• Very little parcel level GIS data available– DWR

• Not frequently updated

– PUR• Only as good as what the producer reports• Not all Ag Commissioner offices treat GIS as

important

• Location is important to agricultural production

Land Use is Local, Economics are Not

• Can regional economic systems be linked to local agricultural production?

• Do local production patterns reflect regional economic and local urbanization pressures?

• What role does agricultural zoning play in determining local agricultural production? – Economic Competitiveness?

Current Solano County Research

• Micro-level GIS– 7,300 rural land use

parcels– 79% of parcel

production known– Rural residences– Urban areas– County zoning– Marketing and

processing centers

Research Objective

• Quantify correlations between – commodity parcels– rural residences– urban areas– economic system

• Agricultural landscape is heterogeneous– What can we learn from this heterogeneity?

Heritage Land Habitat

• No Plant/Market – No Production

• No Production – No Plant/Market

• Urbanization - Local force with regional impact

If we are going to save Heritage Lands, we need to know where they are and what is

going on around them.

Solano Agricultural Futures Project

• 20 month project• General Plan Update Process• Understand Agricultural Production in Solano

County

1980 2006

1 SUGAR BEETS $ 48,200,000 NURSERY PRODUCTS MISC. $ 40,900,000

2 TOMATOES PROCESSING $ 43,400,000 CATTLE & CALVES $ 21,500,000

3 WHEAT $ 41,500,000 HAY ALFALFA $ 19,900,000

4 CORN $ 28,900,000 TOMATOES PROCESSING $ 17,800,000

5 CATTLE & CALVES $ 19,100,000 WALNUTS ENGLISH $ 15,500,000

6 HAY ALFALFA $ 16,500,000 VEGETABLES $ 15,000,000

7 BEANS DRY EDIBLE UNSPEC. $ 14,200,000 FLUID MILK $ 8,946,271

8 NURSERY PRODUCTS MISC. $ 10,500,000 GRAPES WINE $ 7,945,161

9 PEARS $ 9,906,583 LIVESTOCK $ 5,597,677

10 SHEEP LAMBS $ 9,844,932 SUNFLOWER SEED PLANTING $ 4,759,888

Grand Total $ 320,858,209 Grand Total $ 199,497,072

Solano County

• Total Number of Acres: 359,892

• Total Value of Production: $ 243,162,931

• Value per Acre of Production: $ 675.65

• Median Ag Parcel Size: 38.44 acres

• Median Rural Resident Parcel: 4.8 acres

Value per Acre of Production

$-

$500.00

$1,000.00

$1,500.00

$2,000.00

$2,500.00

Dixon

Ridge

Elmira

Maine

Prairie

Jeps

on P

rairie

Mon

tezu

ma

Hills

Pleasa

nts V

aca La

goon

Vall

eys

Ryer I

sland

Suisun V

alley

Gre

en V

alley

Weste

rn H

ills

Wint

ers

Agricultural Regions

Val

ue

Per

Acr

e

Local Production Drivers

• Different Spatial Scales– Local Producer Land

Use Decision– Regional Economic

Forces– County Planning and

Zoning– Neighborhood Forces