Sierra Nevada Agriculture Economy

People live in the Sierra Nevada and places like it largely because of the amenities offered by such areas – amenities like open space, proximity to recreation, rural character, and other factors according to various business and sociological studies. However, the Sierra Nevada is changing. Retirees, commuters, and others seeking to leave behind more urban lifestyles are moving to the Sierra in increasing numbers, which is affecting the social, economic, and ecological fabric of Sierra communities.

Inevitable population growth, increased water use, recreational pressures, economic demands, and other impacts are transforming the Sierra landscape. In addition, outside forces, such as international markets, rising land prices, increased regulatory costs, and clashes between community and personal values are causing many long-time ranchers, farmers, and timberland owners to consider selling their land to the highest bidder. As a result, we risk diminishing or even losing the qualities that make the Sierra Nevada such a wonderful asset for residents and visitors alike.

Agriculture in the Sierra is feeling the impact of these changes. California anticipates losing 6,000 agriculture jobs by 2014, yet adding nearly three million jobs in that time period. Projections for Nevada agriculture jobs show an increase of 22 jobs by 2012, although the state predicts adding nearly 500,000 jobs.

Agriculture provides important economic, cultural, and environmental benefits for Sierra residents. Individuals starting or maintaining productive landscape businesses growing food and forest products for local residents and beyond provide other important services such as open space and habitat. Locally produced products and services supply raw materials for secondary businesses, such as sawmills, woodworking shops, restaurants, and inns, along with providing a food and fiber supply for local consumers and others.

As the social, economic, and environmental pressures mount, ranchers and farmers in the Sierra are beginning to leave, selling their land for conversion to residential or other development. Two-, five-, ten-, 20- and 40-acre ranchettes with some degree of residential agriculture (horses, vegetables, flowers, etc.) are replacing larger farms and rangelands across the Sierra. In Mariposa County, the Agricultural Commissioner estimates that 60 percent of the county is zoned for ranchette-type development.

While farming, ranching, and timber do not constitute a large portion of the Sierra’s economy, agriculture does play a critical role in defining the region’s rural way of life and protecting cherished resources such as open space, waterways, habitat for wild species, and more. Without the Sierra’s hard-working ranchers and farmers and the many benefits they provide – both commodity- and non-commodity-based – Sierra Nevada communities risk losing the very core qualities that makes the region so attractive.

Commodities & Services - Changing Face of Agriculture in the Sierra

Standard economic statistics are useful for generating trends and comparisons of commodity and product-based contributions to society and the economy. Commodity statistics alone, however, fail to account for or illuminate the contribution agriculture makes in terms of non-commodity or non-production services and values. Open space, wildlife habitat, tourism, culture and history, and the general rural character and lifestyle of farms and ranches are qualities valued by ranchers themselves as well as other area residents and visitors. While it is not easy to calculate these contributions on a regional basis in the same way we can calculate production-based contributions, these services and values provide tangible benefits to individuals and society.

The State of California has defined the basic product types or outputs from working timberland, rangeland, and, by extension, farmland as:

• Commodities: Products or outputs that can be sold, such as timber, forage, cattle or sheep, crops, etc. for which there is a clear market and a clear pricing structure.
• Traditional services: Recreational opportunities, open space, wildlife habitat, and other services that can be sold or valued, at least indirectly.
• Ecosystem services: Biological diversity, habitat for threatened or endangered species, carbon sequestration, water and air purification, and enhanced soil development, which provide benefit but are harder to "value" or price in the same terms as commodities or products.

Each product type or output is affected by a different range of management influences and tools, depending on whether the product or service comes from public land or private land and whether it is produced in an urban or a rural landscape. In general, private forest and ranchlands are managed primarily for commodity production, whereas public forest and ranchlands are managed more for a mix of outputs, including more of the traditional and ecosystem services.