ABSTRACT
Fresno County lies at the heart of the San Joaquin Valley and exceeds all of its neighboring counties in agricultural production. Irrigated agriculture began in Fresno in the 1870's and grew steadily as water was diverted from local rivers and streams flowing from the Sierra Nevada. Today, Fresno County generates $3.1 billion in gross agricultural revenues on approximately 1.2 million acres of irrigated farmland. As a basic industry, agriculture builds wealth in the community because much of the operating expenses, as well as profits, remain in the local economy. Agriculture and related businesses contribute more than $8 billion annually to Fresno County's gross domestic product. Rapid population growth has been occurring in Fresno County for many years, and therefore a number of land use policy tools have been developed, with varying degrees of success, to slow the loss of productive farmland. Land use in all of the cities and unincorporated areas is governed by General Plans and zoning.
