SECTIONS 801-803 - California Statutes

FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL CODE

SECTION 801-803

801. This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the Thurman
Agricultural Policy Act.

802. The Legislature finds and declares the following:
(a) Agriculture is the number one industry in California, which is
the leading agricultural state in the country.
(b) Although California's cultivated land accounts for
approximately 3 percent of the country's entire supply of farmland,
the state has historically produced about 10 percent of the farm cash
receipts in the United States.
(c) California leads the nation in the production of approximately
50 different crops and livestock products.
(d) The diversity of the state's agriculture is truly impressive,
for over 250 different commodities are grown here.
(e) Family owned farms produce most of the food and fiber produced
by the California agricultural industry.
(f) The economic strength of the California's agricultural
industry depends on farmers and ranchers being able to profitably
market the commodities and products raised.
(g) A profitable and healthy farming industry must be sustained by
a sound natural resource base of soils, water, and air which is
developed, conserved, and maintained to ensure sufficient quantities
and the highest optimum quality possible.

803. The Legislature further finds and declares that, regardless of
the findings in Section 802, this state does not presently have a
formal agricultural policy. That policy should guide decisionmaking
by the Legislature so that the needs of the agricultural industry can
be considered for the benefit of the residents of this state, each
of whom is directly and indirectly affected by California
agriculture.