Jump to content

History of agriculture in California

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The history of agriculture in California began with California's indigenous peoples and was radically altered by colonization and statehood. Throughout its history agriculture has formed an important part of the state's economy.[1] California has led the nation in farm sales since 1948.[2]

Pre-1850

[edit]

Peake & Fleure 1927 propose that many crop wild relatives and a climate with both a rainy season and a dry season are necessary for an area to become a center of agriculture.[3]: 8  Before human arrival a wide variety of crop wild relatives were already found here – and although most of land has a monotonously desert or near-desert rain supply – some has a climate type called Mediterranean.[3]: 8 

Since initial contact between Europeans and Indigenous American peoples, the topic of Native American agriculture has been debated. While agriculture in pre-contact California certainly did not fit into the Western definition of agriculture, the keen stewardship of California's natural ecosystem by Indigenous Californians to achieve the best possible output of resources is "agricultural," with California's ecosystems acting as a large, unbounded agricultural site.[4][5] Because of this difference in ideology, agricultural practices in pre-contact California often took a different form than those of Europe.

A basket cap made by the Karuk, Yurok, or Hupa peoples, using stems of plants that would have been harvested as a result of cultural burning.

Some California hunter-gatherer tribes, including the Owens Valley Paiute, developed irrigation.[6] Native Californians were skilled at gathering materials from plants at all times of the year, allowing the consistent gathering of materials from any and all local plants. Depending on when various plants—including succulents, flowers, and trees—bloomed or became ripe, different aspects of the plant could be accessed or harvested by Native California peoples.[7]

Native Californians also developed strategies when it came to competing with animals for resources. The Kashaya Pomo, for example, timed their harvest of dogwood to be before insects and worms would be able to access the inner parts of the plant.[7] Indigenous Californians also developed strategies for acquiring black oak acorns directly from tree branches using a long pole, increasing harvest yields that would otherwise have been disturbed by animals.[7]

Black oak acorn harvests were further increased by cultural burning, which stimulated acorn growth and increased biodiversity in the area.[8] Cultural burning was commonly practiced by throughout California to maintain a healthy landscape that produced quality resources, as the Karuk, Yurok, Hupa peoples all regularly burned areas of bear grass and California hazelnut and to encourage the growth of stronger stems that could be used for basketry.[9][10]

1893 engraving of a Mission with nectarine trees

In the late 1700s, Franciscan missionaries established Spanish missions in California. Like earlier Spanish missions established in Baja California, these missions were surrounded by agricultural land, growing crops from Europe and the Americas, and raising animals originating from Europe. Indigenous workers from Baja California made up a large part of the initial labor force on California missions.[11] In the early 1800s, this flow of laborers from Baja California had largely stopped, and the missions relied on converts from local tribes. By 1806, over 20,000 Mission Indians were "attached" to the California missions. As missions were expected to become largely self-sufficient, farming was a critically important Mission industry. George Vancouver visited Mission San Buenaventura in 1793 and noted the wide variety of crops grown: apples, pears, plums, figs, oranges, grapes, peaches, pomegranates, plantain, banana, coconut, sugar cane, indigo, various herbs, and prickly pear.[12] Livestock was raised for meat, wool, leather, and tallow, and for cultivating the land. In 1832, at the height of their prosperity, the missions collectively owned over 150,000 cattle and over 120,000 sheep. They also raised horses, goats, and pigs.[13]

While the Spanish were the most successful farmers active in California in the early 1800s, they were not the only ones. In 1812, the Russians established Fort Ross in what is now Sonoma County, California, and intended the fort in part as an agricultural supply point for other Russian activity on the west coast. Despite Russian plans for the colony, agriculture at Fort Ross had low yields, significantly lower than the California missions. Inefficient farming methods, labour shortages, coastal fog, and rodents all contributed to limit agriculture at the fort.[14]

The Spanish (1784–1810) and Mexican (1819–1846) governments made a large number of land grants to private individuals from 1785 to 1846. These ranchos included land taken from the missions following government-imposed secularization in 1833, after which the missions' productivity declined significantly. The ranchos were focused on cattle, and hides and tallow were their main products. There was no market for large quantities of beef (before refrigeration and railroads) until the California Gold Rush.

1850–1900

[edit]

In 1848, before the Gold Rush, the population of California was about 15,000, not counting Native Americans. By 1852, there were over 250,000 people in the new state.[15] and by 1870, 560,000 people.[16] This rapid population growth drove an increase in importation of agricultural products, and, within a few years, a massive growth in in-state agriculture. In the first years of the gold rush, the state relied on agricultural imports arriving by ship, from Australia, Chile, and Hawaii. During these years, there was rapid growth in vegetable farming for local markets. This was followed by an expansion of grain farming.[15] A shift in the economic dominance of grain farming over cattle raising was marked by the passage of the California "No-Fence Law" of 1874. This repealed the Trespass Act of 1850, which had required farmers to protect their planted fields from free-ranging cattle. The repeal of the Trespass Act required that ranchers fence stock in, rather than farmers fencing cattle out. The ranchers were faced with either the high expense of fencing large grazing tracts or selling their cattle at ruinous prices.[17][18] By the 1890s, California was second in US wheat production, producing over one million tons of wheat per year,[15] but monocrop wheat farming had depleted the soil in some areas resulting in reduced crops.[19]

The Wakamatsu Tea and Silk Farm Colony (1869 - 1871) is believed to be the first permanent Japanese settlement in North America. The group exhibited their produce during the 1869 California State Agricultural Fair in Sacramento and the 1870 Horticultural Fair in San Francisco.

Irrigation was almost nonexistent in California in 1850, but by 1899, 12 percent of the state's improved farmland was irrigated.[19]

Luther Burbank moved to Santa Rosa, California in 1875, and developed numerous commercially successful varieties of plants over the next 50 years.

1900–1950

[edit]
Drying prunes, 1908 or 1909

The 1902 Newlands Reclamation Act funded irrigation projects on arid lands in 20 states including California.

In 1905, the California legislature passed the University Farm Bill, which called for the establishment of a farm school for the University of California (at the time, Berkeley was the sole campus of the university).[20] The commission took a year to select a site for the campus, a tiny town then known as Davisville.[20] UC Davis opened its doors as the "University Farm" to 40 degree students (all male) from UC Berkeley in January 1909.

In 1915, the Pure Milk Act defined margarine and pasteurization and established statewide milk grading.[21]

In 1919, the California Department of Food and Agriculture was established. The department covers state food safety, state protection from invasive species, and promoting the state's agricultural industry.

In 1924, a major foot-and-mouth disease outbreak lead to quarantines, interstate embargos, and the culling of over 100,000 animals.[19]

The Dust Bowl of the 1930s drove many people from the American prairie, and a significant number of these economic migrants relocated to California. Poor migrants from Oklahoma and nearby states were sometimes referred to as Okies, generally a pejorative term. In 1933, the state saw a number of agricultural labor strikes, with the largest actions against cotton growers. Cherry, grape, peach, pear, sugar beet, and tomato workers were also involved.

Japanese immigrants, who had arrived with agricultural skills early in the 20th century, were growing 90% of the strawberries prior to World War II.[22]

In 1942, the United States began the Bracero program. Lasting until 1964, this agreement established decent living conditions and a minimum wage for Mexican workers in the United States.

1950–2000

[edit]
Mexican farm workers along the Colorado River (1970s)

In 1965, the Williamson Act became law, providing property tax relief to owners of California farmland and open-space land in exchange for agreement that the land will not be developed.

The 1960s and 1970s saw major farm worker strikes including the 1965 Delano grape strike and the 1970 Salad Bowl strike. In 1975, the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975 was enacted,[23] establishing the right to collective bargaining for farmworkers in California, a first in U.S. history.[24] Individuals with prominent roles in farm worker organizing in this period include Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, Larry Itliong, and Philip Vera Cruz.

In 1973, California Certified Organic Farmers is established, one of the first organic certification entities in the United States.[25][26]

In the late 1980s the Ives flower ranch was the site of a notorious employment case.[27] This ranch was in Ventura and involved Mixtec farm workers (from the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca) and illegal employment conditions.[27] The ranch paid $1.5 million in unpaid wages and fines.[27]

Through 1995 there were 50,000 Mixtecs every year in California agriculture.[27] They were about 70% of the 10,000 agricultural laborers in San Diego County, and had been spreading northwards to also work in Oxnard, Santa Maria and Madera County, and even into Oregon and Washington.[27] They were usually not the only indigenous Mexican ethnic groups – Zapotecs and Mayans were also usually working the same jobs.[27] In the 1990s it was common to arrive in Arizona first, work on an Arizonan farm, and then move to California.[27]

In 1993, the first year registered organic farms were counted under 1990 California Organic Foods Act, there were 1157 Organic farms covering over 40,000 acres.[28] By 2000, there were 1,903 farms covering almost 150,000 acres.[29]

2001–present

[edit]

In 2007-2008, the light brown apple moth controversy involved arial spraying or a pheromone formulation to try to eradicate an agricultural pest in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties and the subsequent legal challenges and public pushback.

In the 2000s and 2010s, Californians voted for propositions which established new protections for farm animals. 2008 California Proposition 2 and 2018 California Proposition 12 both established minimum requirements for farming egg-laying hens, breeding pigs, and calves raised for veal. Few veal and pig factory farm operations exist in California, so these propositions mostly affect farmers who raise California's 15 million egg-laying hens.[30]

Citrus industry

[edit]

Citrus cultivation in California began with the Spanish missionaries, who planted oranges and lemons at Baja California around 1739 and at Alta California missions by 1769. Early fruit was thick-skinned and sour, not suited for commercial markets. The first sizable grove was established at Mission San Gabriel in 1804, with about 400 trees on six acres. This mission-based agriculture ended with secularization which closed the missions and gave away their lands in 1835. Jean-Louis Vignes likely planted the first private orange grove in Los Angeles in 1834. William Wolfskill was the first commercial citrus grower in California, planting his orchard in Los Angeles in 1841. By 1862, his orchards held two-thirds of California’s orange trees, marking him as the founder of the state's commercial citrus industry. The California gold rush (from 1849) increased demand for oranges, especially for their vitamin C, which helped prevent scurvy among miners. This spurred gradual expansion of orchards. After 1869 the opening of transcontinental railroads gave farmers the opportunity to serve the national demand for highly profitable fruit crops like oranges, lemons, apples and cherries.[31][32] In the early 1870s, Wolfskill’s reported profits of $1,000 per acre attracted more farmers to citrus growing.[33][34][35]

Advertisement for the Valencia orange, which became the major industrial crop by the 1920s--but despite the illustration this particular variety was unknown in the mission era.

The 1870s saw the introduction of improved fruit varieties. In 1873, navel orange plants from Brazil were distributed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Luther C. Tibbets and Eliza Tibbets successfully cultivated these in Riverside, leading to widespread planting of the sweet, seedless navel orange, which became the backbone of the California citrus industry. The Valencia orange, introduced in 1876, matured in summer and fall, complementing the winter-ripening navel and providing oranges year-round. The Eureka lemon (from Sicily) and Lisbon lemon (from Spain) were introduced in the same period, offering improved varieties and year-round crops. Grapefruit was introduced from Florida in the 1880s. The completion of major railroads (Southern Pacific in 1877, and the Santa Fe in 1885) and the introduction of ventilated boxcars revolutionized distribution, opening national markets and triggering a planting frenzy in southern California. By 1885, the number of citrus trees in California had grown from 90,000 (in 1875) to 2 million, and to 4.5 million by 1901.[36][37]

The 1890s brought pest control advances (spraying, fumigation) and frost protection (heaters, later wind machines). The University of California established its Citrus Experiment Station in 1907, supporting research and innovation. Cooperative marketing emerged with the formation of the California Fruit Growers Exchange in 1905, later known as Sunkist Growers Inc., which helped standardize and market California citrus worldwide.[38][39]

According to H. Vincent Moses, citrus growers considered themselves market-oriented businessmen, not land-oriented "ordinary" farmers. By the 1890s forward they relied on modern business ideas to enlarge the national markets and high price of citrus fruit. In 1905 they organized the California Fruit Growers Exchange (CFGE) to coordinate their efforts. The growers in Riverside County took the lead in adapting industrial methods to grow, package, advertise and sell their product. They treated farm workers like factory workers and strongly opposed labor unions, sometimes with violence.[40][41]

In the early 20th century California dominated the nation's citrus supply, especially from Los Angeles and Orange counties.[42] Since then the geography has shifted. Florida is now dominant in oranges. By the 1980s, California supplied about 75% of the nation’s lemons. It was the second largest orange producer in the U.S., ranked third in grapefruit, and was a major source of limes and tangerines. Today about 90% of the state's citrus production is located in five counties: Fresno, Kern, Tulare, Ventura and Riverside. Apart from home gardens, citrus is no longer a factor in the Los Angeles area.[43]

Cotton farming

[edit]

Cotton was first introduced to California by padres, who brought it from Mexico and cultivated it at missions in both Baja California and Alta California during the early 19th century. These efforts were small-scale and mainly aimed at providing clothing for mission communities; they ended with the closure of the missions in 1834. During the Civil War, the Union lost access to Southern cotton, prompting a short-lived experiment in California where about 2,000 acres were planted in 1863. However, the region’s cool weather and limited rainfall led to poor results, and the attempt was abandoned.[44]

Significant commercial cotton production began in the early 20th century in the Imperial Valley. It then expanded rapidly in the San Joaquin Valley, which proved ideal for cotton due to its medium sandy loam soils, a long rain-free growing season, large-scale irrigation, and relative freedom from pests like the boll weevil that ravaged the Southern states.[45] In sharp contrast to the small family farms in the South, California's large well-capitalized farms invested heavily in machinery and tractors, making planting and harvesting more efficient. A major breakthrough came with the introduction of the Acala cotton strain developed at the Shafter Cotton Research Station. It was well-suited to California conditions and led to increased yields and higher quality. State laws passed in 1925 mandated the exclusive cultivation of Acala cotton in key regions to prevent cross-pollination and support marketing efforts.[46][47]

Production grew substantially in the 1930s, and after World War II, mechanical cotton pickers from International Harvester and Allis-Chalmers dramatically reduced the need for labor provided by Mexican immigrants.[48] Meanwhile, in the southern United States, millions of small-scale family farmers—many of them Black—left agriculture for urban jobs.[49] California’s cotton output surged, especially in the San Joaquin, Imperial, and Coachella valleys. By 1970, cotton had become California’s leading cash crop. However, after 2000, production declined due to new insect pests and the higher profitability of alternative crops. Cotton manufacturing never flourished in the state, as high labor costs made it uncompetitive with mills in the South and abroad.[50]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "California State Fact Sheet" (PDF). United States Department of Agriculture. May 2011. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
  2. ^ "Will California remain leader in U.S. agricultural production?". UC Agriculture and Natural Resources. March 5, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Janick, Jules (2004). Plant Breeding Reviews. Vol. 24, Part 2. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. pp. xiii+290. ISBN 978-0-470-65028-8. OCLC 654787130.
  4. ^ Devon A. Mihesuah; Elizabeth Hoover, eds. (2019). Indigenous food sovereignty in the United States: Restoring cultural knowledge, protecting environments, and regaining health. Foreword by Winona LaDuke. Norman, Oklahoma, U.S: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0-8061-6321-5. OCLC 1098218408.
  5. ^ Akins, Damon B. (2021). We are the land: a history of Native California. William J., Jr. Bauer. Oakland, California. ISBN 978-0-520-28049-6. OCLC 1176314767.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. ^ Bettinger, Robert (December 3, 2005). "Agriculture, Archaeology, and Human Behavioral Ecology". In Kennett, Douglas; Winterhalder, Bruce (eds.). Behavioral Ecology and the Transition to Agriculture. University of California Press. p. 320. ISBN 0520246470. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  7. ^ a b c Anderson, Kat (2005). Tending the wild: Native American knowledge and the management of California's natural resources. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-93310-1. OCLC 62175673.
  8. ^ Long, Jonathan W.; Goode, Ron W.; Gutteriez, Raymond J.; Lackey, Jessica J.; Anderson, M. Kat (September 15, 2017). "Managing California Black Oak for Tribal Ecocultural Restoration". Journal of Forestry. 115 (5): 426–434. doi:10.5849/jof.16-033. ISSN 0022-1201.
  9. ^ Marks-Block, Tony; Lake, Frank K.; Bliege Bird, Rebecca; Curran, Lisa M. (February 19, 2021). "Revitalized Karuk and Yurok cultural burning to enhance California hazelnut for basketweaving in northwestern California, USA". Fire Ecology. 17 (1): 6. Bibcode:2021FiEco..17a...6M. doi:10.1186/s42408-021-00092-6. ISSN 1933-9747. S2CID 231971687.
  10. ^ Hunter, John (1988). "Prescribed burning for cultural resources". Fire Management Notes. 49: 8–9 – via ResearchGate.
  11. ^ Street, Richard (Winter 1996–1997). "First Farmworkers, First Braceros: Baja California Field Hands and the Origins of Farm Labor Importation in California Agriculture, 1769-1790". California History. 75 (4): 306–321. JSTOR 25177614. Archived from the original on November 11, 2002. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  12. ^ Ruther, Walter (1967). The Citrus Industry: History, world distribution, botany, and varieties. University of California, Division of Agricultural Sciences. p. 25.
  13. ^ Krell, Dorothy (December 1996). The California Missions: A Pictorial History. Menlo Park, California: Sunset Publishing Corporation. p. 316. ISBN 9780376051721.
  14. ^ Lightfoot, Kent (2006). Indians, Missionaries, and Merchants: The Legacy of Colonial Encounters on the California Frontiers. University of California Press. p. 259. ISBN 0520249984. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  15. ^ a b c Gerber, Jim (July 2010). "The Gold Rush origins of California's wheat economy". América Latina en la historia económica. 34. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  16. ^ Rawls, James; Orsi, Richard (1999). A Golden State: Mining and Economic Development in Gold Rush California. University of California Press. pp. 185–187. ISBN 9780520217713. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  17. ^ Ludeke, John (1980). "The No Fence Law of 1874: Victory for San Joaquin Valley Farmers". California History. 59 (2): 98–115. doi:10.2307/25157972. JSTOR 25157972.
  18. ^ "Decimation of the Herds, 1870–1912". San Diego History Journal. January 1965.
  19. ^ a b c Olmstead, Alan; Rhode, Paul. "A History of California Agriculture" (PDF). Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics. University of California. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  20. ^ a b Dubgenans, Dennis (2013). University of California, Davis. Charleston: Arcadia. p. 7. ISBN 978-0-7385-9699-0.
  21. ^ "Milk And Dairy Food Safety: Branch History". California Department of Food and Agriculture. California Department of Food and Agriculture. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
  22. ^ Perez, Nicolas (May 20, 2025). "The long legacy of Japanese immigrants and the strawberry fields of Southern California". LAist.
  23. ^ "Governor Signs Historic Farm Labor Legislation." Los Angeles Times. June 5, 1975.
  24. ^ Hurt, R. Douglas. American Agriculture: A Brief History. Lafayette, Ind.: Purdue University Press, 2002. ISBN 1-55753-281-8
  25. ^ Klonsky, Karen (2000). "Forces impacting the production of organic foods". Agriculture and Human Values. 17 (3): 233–243. doi:10.1023/A:1007655312687. S2CID 56461987.
  26. ^ Guthman, Julie (1998). "Regulating Meaning, Appropriating Nature: The Codification of California Organic Agriculture". Antipode. 30 (2): 135–154. Bibcode:1998Antip..30..135G. doi:10.1111/1467-8330.00071.
  27. ^ a b c d e f g "Mixtec Farm Workers". Migration Dialogue. 1 (4). Regents of the University of California, Davis. 1995. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  28. ^ Tourte, Laura; Klonsky, Karen (July 1998). Statistical Review of California's Organic Agriculture 1992-1995 (PDF). Davis, CA: UC Davis. p. viii. Retrieved January 11, 2025.
  29. ^ Klonsky, Karen; Richter, Kurt (March 2007). Statistical Review of California’s Organic Agriculture 2000-2005 (PDF). Davis, CA: University of California Agricultural Issues Center. p. 4. Retrieved January 12, 2025.
  30. ^ Hall, Carla (February 4, 2015). "Egg-laying hens in California win another court battle". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  31. ^ Hart, Companion to California pp.6-7, 113, 176, 488.
  32. ^ Richard J. Orsi, Sunset Limited: The Southern Pacific Railroad and the Development of the American West, 1850–1930 (2005) pp.317–345.
  33. ^ James D. Hart, A Companion to California (1987). p. 91.
  34. ^ Ching Lee, "The history of citrus in California" California Bountiful (2022) online
  35. ^ Benjamin Thomas Jenkins, "The Octopus's Garden: Railroads, Citrus Agriculture, and the Emergence of Southern California" (PhD dissertation, U of California, Riverside; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses,  2016. 10153598).
  36. ^ Clifford M. Zierer, "The citrus fruit industry of the Los Angeles basin." Economic Geography 10.1 (1934): 53-73. online
  37. ^ Douglas Cazaux Sackman, Orange Empire: California and the Fruits of Eden (University of California Press, 2005).
  38. ^ Lee, "The history of citrus in California"
  39. ^ Ronald Tobey, and Charles Wetherell, "The Citrus Industry and the Revolution of Corporate Capitalism in Southern California, 1887-1944." California History 74.1 (1995): 6-21. JSTOR 25177466
  40. ^ H. Vincent Moses, " 'The Orange-Grower Is Not a Farmer': G. Harold Powell, Riverside Orchardists, and the Coming of Industrial Agriculture, 1893-1930." California History 74.1 (1995): 22-37. JSTOR 25177467
  41. ^ Steven Stoll, The fruits of natural advantage: Making the industrial countryside in California (U of California Press, 1998).
  42. ^ Clifford M. Zierer, “The Citrus Fruit Industry of the Los Angeles Basin.” Economic Geography, 10 (1934): 53-73.
  43. ^ Daniel Geisseler, and William R. Horwath, "Citrus production in California." (2016), online
  44. ^ Hart, Companion to California pp.6-7, 113.
  45. ^ David C. Large, "Cotton in the San Joaquin Valley: a study of government in agriculture." Geographical Review 47.3 (1957): 365-380.
  46. ^ Angus H. Hyer and Dick M. Bassett, "Acala Cotton in California: A Historical Perspective" 1985 Proceedings: Beltwide Cotton Production Research Conferences (1985) online
  47. ^ Moses S. Musoke, and Alan L. Olmstead, "The rise of the cotton industry in California: A comparative perspective." Journal of Economic History 42.2 (1982): 385-412. JSTOR /2120133
  48. ^ Devra Weber, Dark sweat, white gold: California farm workers, cotton, and the New Deal (U of California Press, 1994) online
  49. ^ Gilbert C. Fite, Cotten Fields No More: Southern Agriculture 1865–1989 (1984) pp.180-206.
  50. ^ Hart, Companion to California p.113.

Further reading

[edit]
  • Alamillo, José Manuel. "Bitter-sweet communities: Mexican workers and citrus growers on the California landscape, 1880--1941" (PhD dissertation, University of California, Irvine, 2000).
  • Anderson, Burton. America’s Salad Bowl: An Agricultural History of the Salinas Valley. (Monterey County Historical Society, 2002).
  • Gates, Paul W., ed. California Ranchos and Farms, 1846-1862 (State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1967)
  • Geraci, Victor W. Salud!: The Rise of Santa Barbara’s Wine Industry (University of Nevada Press, 2004).
  • Igler, David. Industrial Cowboys: Miller & Lux and the Transformation of the West, 1850-1920 (University of California Press, 2001).
  • Jelinek, Lawrence James. " 'Property of Every Kind': Ranching and Farming during the Gold-Rush Era." California History 77.4 (1998): 233-249. JSTOR 25462516
  • Jenkins, Benjamin Thomas. "The Octopus's Garden: Railroads, Citrus Agriculture, and the Emergence of Southern California" (PhD dissertation, University of California, Riverside, 2016) online.
  • Kindell, Alexandra.  "Settling the sunset land: California and its family farmers, 1850s–1890s" (PhD dissertation,  Iowa State University ProQuest Dissertations & Theses;  2006. 3244379).
  • Leibman, Ellen. California Farmland: A History of Large Agricultural Landholdings (Rowman & Allanheld, 1983).
  • McWilliams, Carey. Factories In The Field; The Story of Migratory Farm Labor in California (1939), highly influential expose from the left. online
    • Vaught, David. "Factories in the field revisited." Pacific Historical Review 66.2 (1997): 149-184. JSTOR 3640626
  • Mollno, Linda Frances.  "Deep roots and immigrant dreams: A social history of viticulture in Southern California, 1796–1960" (PhD dissertation, Claremont Graduate University; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses,  2008); . 3327297); on grapes for wine.
  • Moses, H. Vincent. " 'The Orange-Grower Is Not a Farmer': G. Harold Powell, Riverside Orchardists, and the Coming of Industrial Agriculture, 1893-1930." California History 74.1 (1995): 22-37. JSTOR 25177467
  • Nash, Gerald D. "Stages of California's Economic Growth, 1870-1970: A n Interpretation," California Historical Quarterly 51 (1972): 315-321. JSTOR 25157401
  • Orsi, Richard J. Sunset Limited: The Southern Pacific Railroad and the Development of the American West, 1850-1930 (University of California Press, 2005).
  • Paul, Rodman W. “The Beginnings of Agriculture in California: Innovation vs. Continuity.” California History Quarterly 52 (Spring 1973): 16-27. JSTOR 25157414
  • Peninou, Ernest P., ed. History of the Sonoma Viticultural District: The Grape Growers, the Wine Makers and the Vineyards (Nomis Press, 1998).
  • Sackman, Douglas Cazaux. Orange Empire: California and the Fruits of Eden (University of California Press, 2005)
  • Santos, Robert L. “Dairying in California through 1910.” Southern California Quarterly 76 (Summer 1994): 175-194.
  • Stoll, Steven. The fruits of natural advantage: Making the industrial countryside in California (U of California Press, 1998).
  • Street, Richard S. “Rural California: A Bibliographic Essay.” Southern California Quarterly 70 (Fall 1988): 299-328.
  • Turner, Laura Gray. "Citrus Culture: The Mentality of the Orange Rancher in Progressive Era North Orange County" (PhD dissertation,  California State University, Fullerton; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses,  1995. 1375159).
  • Vaught, David. Cultivating California: Growers, Specialty Crops, and Labor, 1875-1920 (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999) online review of this book
    • "California's agricultural guardians: Growers, specialty crops, and labor, 1875-1920" (PhD dissertation, University of California; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses,  1997. 9804658)
  • Vaught, David. “State of the Art—Rural History, or Why Is There No Rural History of California?” Agricultural History 74 (2000): 759-74.

.