Article 1. General Provisions of California Food And Agricultural Code >> Division 1. >> Part 1. >> Chapter 6. >> Article 1.

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

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.

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.