Food and Wine in California

After leaving Nevada, we drove into California and spent a little over a week driving from the  south end of this huge state to the north end and on into Oregon.  On  the  way, we were impressed with the variety of crops grown in the San Jauquin and central valleys.

From a past visit, we had learned that California provides much of the fresh produce for the rest our country.  In fact, Califoria is the world's 5th largest supplier  of food, cotton fiber and other agricultural comodities.  It is the lrgest producer of food in the US but has less than 4% of the farms in the country.  The climate allows the cultivation of over 450 different crops.

Californis the the 4th largest wine producer in the world and produces over 90% of the wine in the US.

We saw vineyards,

orchards of just-planted trees,

young fruit or nut trees,

corn fields,

and huge haystacks.

Several times we saw large numbers of what we nornally would call grain elevators.  We weren't sure what they held here--seeds? nuts?

I believe this is a field of newly planted trees.

Possibly new grape vines, with stakes.

I had no idea rice was grown here.  These are numerous fields filled with water and rice plants.

I believe this was a newly mown hay field.

There was a massive wildfire in 2018.  This may have been destruction from the Camp fire.  If I remember correctly, that is the fire that was blamed on the electric company and lines that sparked and started a fire.

Sometimes white plastic sheeting covers newly planted seeds or sprouts to keep out weeds.  Here they appear to be spraying something on the plants.

It was a really interesting trip.