Agriculture
California is home to the largest food and agriculture economy in the nation. California’s 78,500 farms produce half of the nation’s fruits, vegetables and nuts from just 3 percent of the nation’s farmland and support 1.1 million jobs. These farms account for 13 percent of the national gross cash receipts from farming and total 27.1 million acres of farmland. Some 350 crops are recognized in the state, including seeds, flowers, and ornamentals. This abundance generates an estimated $100 billion in related economic activity for California.

As a member of the Senate Subcommittee on Agriculture and the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Feinstein advocates on behalf of California farmers. She has worked to:

• Protect crops from diseases, pesticides, and exotic species- Senator Feinstein has secured federal dollars to support the California Department of Food and Agriculture's efforts to contain and control the Glassy Winged Sharpshooter. She has also secured funding for research grants to study exotic pest diseases, Pierce's Disease, viticulture research, apple pest control research, wheat aphids, the sweet potato whitefly, the grape virus and grape phylloxera, alternatives to methyl bromideand efforts to detect and exclude fruit flies.
  
  
• Ensure an adequate water supply for farmers- Senator Feinstein was the leading Senate sponsor of the CALFED legislation enacted in 2004. The legislation provides additional water supply and moves forward on creating more storage facilities for all water users, including California agriculture. In the early 1990s, Senator Feinstein helped initiate the CALFED process, a long-term program to protect and restore the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento River Delta estuary.
  
  
• Market California crops to the world- Senator Feinstein helped pass legislation improving access to foreign markets for U.S. specialty crops and creating a safer and more secure domestic food supply. Specialty crops are fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, and nursery crops. These agricultural products, grown in all 50 states, constitute at least half of U.S. gross agriculture receipts, contribute nearly $60 billion to the U.S. economy, and provide 60 percent of America's daily nutritional requirements. California is the nation's sole producer of a large number of specialty crops including artichokes, Brussels sprouts, almonds, dates, figs, kiwifruit, nectarines, olives, pistachios, dried plums (prunes) and walnuts.

For more agriculture information, please visit the following websites:

• Senator Feinstein's booklet on CALFED legislation
• The California Department of Food and Agriculture
• The United States Department of Agriculture

Recent Press Releases, Op-eds and Statements

• Senate Approves Bill to Market Specialty Crops (12/8/04)
• Statement of Senator Dianne Feinstein on Landmark
  California Water Legislation Becoming Law (10/26/04)
• Congress Approves Legislation to Enhance California's Water Supply and Restore Water Ecosystem (10/6/04)
• Senate Appropriations Committee Approves FY2005 Agriculture Bill (9/14/04)
• Statement of Senator Feinstein on National Water Supply Technology Act (7/14/04)