Backyard chickens seem to be popular now, and we’ve been getting quite a few calls and emails at Cooperative Extension about raising chickens. We don’t have anyone here in the LA office with poultry expertise, so I checked in with our UC Extension poultry specialist at UC Davis, Dr. Francine Bradley. She gave me the scoop and some helpful resources for folks who want to raise backyard chickens.

Not so long ago, as recently as the 1950’s, Los Angeles County was the number one agricultural county in the United States.  While urban sprawl has long since consumed much of the county’s farmland, many Angelenos are surprised to learn that we still have significant commercial agriculture in Los Angeles County.  We tend to think of our county of 10 million-plus residents in urban terms, but in fact, a large population can co-exist with significant agricultural production, as recent US Department of Agriculture (USDA) census data makes clear.  

The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service conducts a nation-wide agricultural census every five years, and results of the 2007 census recently became available.  I was interested to see the comparisons between the 2002 and 2007 reports for Los Angeles County.  The number of farms has actually increased 12% from 1,543 farms in 2002 to 1,734 farms in 2007.  Farms became a bit smaller, declining 13% from an average 72 acres to an average 63 acres.  What constitutes a farm?  According to the USDA, “for the purpose of the Census of Agriculture, a farm is any place from which $1,000 or more of agricultural products were produced and sold, or normally would have been sold, during the census year.  The $1,000 value is not adjusted for inflation”.

Where do we stand in terms of California agricultural production?  Los Angeles County is ranked 28^th out of the 57 California counties in terms of the gross value of agricultural products, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s (CDFA) California Agricultural Resource Directory for 2008-2009.   The CDFA directory lists LA County’s top five crops as:

1. Ornamental trees and shrubs
2. Bedding plants
3. Root vegetables
4. Orchard fruit
5. Hay, alfalfa

And, we are the #4 onion producer in California, the #5 nectarine producer and the #5 raspberry producer among California counties.  The raspberries surprised me! 

Both data sources are attached if you’d like to learn more. 

A resident of Pasadena recently contacted me with a “sticky” problem. Bees had created a colony inside the walls of her condo and she wondered what to do. I don’t have any expertise in entomology beyond a few college classes, but I made a few phone calls to see what I could find out. 

I’m a week behind schedule in celebrating the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth, but in the spirit of “better late than never” I decided to write a Lincoln-themed post anyway. As former Presidents go, Lincoln’s been getting more than his share of attention since the recent election of another Senator from Illinois. Among his many enduring legacies, Lincoln helped to create the national extension movement that continues to serve our country to this day. By signing the 1862 Morrill Act into law, he made it possible for states to open public universities that would provide education for the average person, focused on agriculture and other practical subjects. 

The Morrill Act offered states a grant of federal land to finance a new university. These new institutions of higher learning became known as land-grant universities, and were charged with helping the nation improve its agricultural production to feed a rapidly growing population. Over time it was clear that the new land-grant campuses needed to take their information out into communities where it could help people most directly. By 1914, each state's land-grant university had county-based extension offices in place to share research-based knowledge at the local level. 

Here in California, our land-grant institution is the University of California. There is a University of California Cooperative Extension office in most counties in California, funded in partnership with the local county and the US Department of Agriculture. UC Cooperative Extension takes information developed at the UC campuses and makes it available to local communities. We also conduct applied research to address local problems. We focus our efforts on the themes of good nutrition, a healthy environment, gardening, agriculture, and positive youth development.