California Agriculture

Beginning with the Spanish padres in 1769 and reaching its apex in the 1950s, California's rise to a global leader in agriculture rested on a series of converging events. California's population exploded during the Gold Rush, and many who chose to stay found their gold in California's sunshine, fertile soil, and optimal growing climate. Initially, those settlers grew staples such as grain, but by the early 1900s, due to innovations in irrigation, transportation, mechanization, and food processin