Yolo County Agriculture Department
March 13, 2008
By Beth Gabor, Yolo County Public Information Officer & Kimberly Bellows, U.C. Davis Intern
March is National Agriculture Month, so what better opportunity to sing the praises of Yolo County’s Agriculture Department. This month we’ll focus on the Environmental Protection and Agricultural Services division, and check into the Consumer Protection and Pest Management division in a future column.
Agriculture plays a key role in Yolo County’s heritage, landscape and economy. Currently, 88% of Yolo County’s population lives within its cities, with almost 99% (607,232 acres) of its unincorporated land designated for agricultural use. The total gross valuation for all agricultural commodities coming out of Yolo County in 2006 was over $370 million. So for the Yolo County Agriculture Department, environmental protection means protections for agriculture.
To protect agriculture the department has programs in place for pest detection, exclusion and eradication. Pest detection includes setting traps throughout the county for pests like the glassy winged sharpshooter or the gypsy moth. Pest exclusion includes inspecting incoming plant material from trucks and other shipments. Pest eradication could include quarantining or spraying. Fortunately, Yolo County rarely has to cross that bridge due to strong detection and exclusion efforts.
Along with inspections of incoming products, the county must also certify agricultural products headed to other California counties, out of state or abroad. Different governments have their own certification requirements, some of which involve field inspections, particularly for those plants that produce seeds for sale. The county also has a Nursery and Seed program that inspects incoming nursery stock and seed at retail locations for pests.
Beyond inspections, pesticide use is strongly regulated and enforced in Yolo County to ensure the safety of plants and people. The county issues permits for the usage of pesticides and receives pesticide use reports from farmers. Additionally, the department offers pesticide use training programs for farmers and farmworkers, which include instruction in Spanish.
In the midst of inspecting and training, the department maintains agricultural statistics through the collection of data on all crops and livestock grown in Yolo, as well as pests detected and eradicated. This culminates in the release of an annual crop report. Current and past reports can be found at http://www.yolocounty.org/org/AG/stats.htm. While most of the top crops have shifted positions in the Top 10 List over the years, tomatoes have consistently been Yolo County’s number one agricultural commodity since 1960.
Yolo County Agricultural Commissioner Rick Landon, explains that having an agricultural department at the county level is unique to California. In most states agriculture, and weights and measures (another responsibility of the department) are regulated at the state level.
“County agriculture departments allow for local control and local solutions to problems,” notes Landon. “I feel like we do a good job of protecting consumers and aiding farmers.”
To celebrate National Agriculture Month, and Yolo County’s top crop, don’t miss The Big Tomato event, presented by the Yolo Country Agricultural Marketing Initiative (www.atasteofyolo.com) and being held Saturday, March 15, 10:00 a.m. to noon, at the Davis Farmers Market.
For more information, call (530) 666-8140 or visit: http://www.yolocounty.org/index.aspx?page=469.