Southwest Agriculture

What remains in agricultural production in the Southwest area is for the most part the last vestiges of the southern California citrus belt that arose in the 1880s. Developed by the Southern Pacific Railroad and promoted through its booster magazine,Sunset, much of this land was originally sold to in-migrating professionals and merchants, who went into orange growing as a business. Since World War II, most of the orange groves have been razed, with housing and shopping centers taking their place, although some groves remain on residential real estate.

In the 1970s, new groves of citrus and avocado were planted on the often-steep hills of north San Diego County to take advantage of some of the tax incentives offered through California’s Williamson Act. Most of these “farms” are located in areas such as Escondido, Fallbrook, and Pauma Valley, more or less rural areas within commuting distance of urban jobs. Most of the land here was purchased explicitly for residential real estate or as an investment, with the aim of subdividing it in the future. Current zoning restrictions, including two-to four-acre lot minimums, keep groves standing and minimally acting as “landscaping.” Irrigation water, however, is extremely expensive in this region, so that many such orchards are neglected. In addition, two major buyer’s cooperatives dominate the market for conventional produce: Sunkist, the brand name of what was originally founded as the California Fruit Growers’ Exchange, which buys citrus fruits, and Calavo, which buys avocados.

*Excerpt from Agrarian Dreams: The Paradox of Organic Farming in California by Julie Guthman