Petaluma agriculture : our foundation, your future

Gold was discovered in 1849. Soon pioneers flocked from the eastern United States into northern California. In the fall of 1850, John Edgar Lockwood, a commercial hunter sailed up the Petaluma Creek in search of wild game needed to satisfy the demand for meat in the growing city

of San Francisco. Although General Vallejo had established his Petaluma adobe some 15 years earlier, Lockwood was the first european to settle in the area, building a butcher shop in what is now downtown Petaluma, people soon began to flood to Petaluma to take advantage of a pleasant

climate and the rare fertility of the soil. Ranching, farming and business relating to agriculture sprang up Quickly, Wagons and carriages were being produced, hides were being tanned to supply leather to saddlery and boot shops and breweries were producing 81,000 gallons of beer, which required nearly 900

tons of barley to produce the stables of san Francisco were buying every forkful of, hey, Petaluma could manufacture, there was a great need for farmers to produce livestock food and clothing in large quantities to meet local needs as well as the never ending demands of san

Franciscans to send more of everything. The single most important factor in Petaluma early success was the Petaluma River, which until 1959 was known as the Petaluma Creek. The river allowed us to transport huge quantities of goods by boat and barges to markets worldwide, practically everything that

was going to or coming from Sonoma County came through Petaluma, we became the third busiest river ports in the entire state and were known to all as the commercial metropolis of Sonoma County. In 1858, Petaluma Inc and became a city the following year, our first public

school was constructed in imposing brick structure on B Street the same year. Big steam engines were straightening the river to make passage to the san Francisco bay, safer and faster with all modes of transportation centrally located in Petaluma from railroad to stage coach, it seemed that

everything and everybody had to go through Petaluma to get where they were going. In 1860 for I. D. Wickersham opened the first bank in Petaluma on the corner of Washington and Main Street. Now Petaluma blvd john Mcnair and his brother George erected a brick warehouse along

the river's edge, A curious wooden box perfected and marketed by Petaluma poultry man Lyman. By in september of 18 79 was a warm air incubator that helped shape Petaluma agriculture for the next half century. Up until that time, a mother hen could only hatch out 10-15

chicks each spring, but with the incubator you could get hundreds, even thousands of hatchlings at any time of the year, Feed mills were working overtime to keep up with the 39 hatcheries in and around Petaluma rage companies were putting on extra men to move chickens eggs

and feed to market Numbers like seven million dozen eggs were coming out in newspapers and magazine articles about Petaluma, entire trains were made up of nothing but Petaluma, eggs are eggs were being shipped around the world, It was truly a golden era because not only were

chickens doing well, but dairy cows were also thriving here where the temperatures are mild year round and the cool morning marine layer of fog extended the life of native grasses and helped keep supplemental feed bills down. Agriculture was bringing great wealth to Petaluma. As noted by

the fine architecture we enjoy in our city today with such a rich agricultural heritage, people are now asking was that it is it over with traffic polluting the environment and houses encroaching into fertile farmlands cutting are usable acreage every day. People are wondering if agriculture has

run the gamut in Petaluma, Not at all. The future of agriculture here looks extremely bright with diversification. We're experiencing new employment opportunities in ag driven industries. When most people think of pendulum agriculture, they have visions of cows grazing in the lush green countryside or farmers in

the field chopping silage, perhaps preparing the ground for yet another crop or maybe mowing hay on some picturesque hillside. But the fact is agriculture today extends far beyond the farm and includes people and processing sales, trucking, lab work, computers, genetics, waste management, publishing, conservation maintenance and

the list goes on because marketing and production are so complex in today's world, it takes an untold number of people who are familiar with agriculture to support any successful adventure here are just a few of the many career opportunities available in agriculture in Petaluma. As you

might imagine, everything begins on the farm. Our mild climate is perfect for raising dairy animals, beef cattle, sheep, poultry, grapes, olives, vegetables, hay and flowers. The primary jobs are raising and caring for the crops and livestock on a day to day basis. There are also numerous

opportunities in the network of goods and services necessary to operate a farm jobs can be found in feed mills, hardware and supply stores, equipment, sales, service and repair, and the veterinary field. We have many unique agricultural businesses here in Petaluma, an olive branch that produces award

winning olive oil and skin care products, sheep and goat dairies, which produce exceptionally flavorful cheese is preferred by many gourmet chefs area wineries produce award winning wine and beer. There are literally thousands of jobs in processing, assembly line work, quality control and lab management to make

sure the products adhere to strict industry standards, chemists and biologists who do ongoing research, developing new products and improving existing ones maintenance. People who are skilled in electronics, mechanics, fabrication and welding to keep the sophisticated equipment operating at peak efficiency and waste management and sanitation engineers

who are able to keep their companies within the parameters of more and stricter government regulations. The National Conservation Service works to improve, protect and conserve natural resources on private land, which brings to mind employment opportunities in the political public service and regulatory segments of agriculture, like

the UC Cooperative Extension service, the Department of Order Resources, fish and game departments, the Agricultural Commissioner's office and the Farm Bureau. Today's agriculture has spawned a group of professionals who specialize in agricultural services like agricultural finance, insurance, real estate law and accounting. Ag aeronautics for planting

and aerial mapping, genetics where embryo transplants and gene splicing are now common practice in improving livestock and plant production. Computer programmers design and write programs for operations. Large and small are in great demand and with technology like the Internet, National and international markets can be accessed

without ever leaving your home or office. Getting products to the consumer is an entire industry unto itself, whether shipping and distribution is done by truck, train, boat plane or a combination of them all. It requires drivers, engineers, pilots, dispatchers, mechanics, parts and fuel specialists. Order takers,

product coordinators, route managers wear, houseman inventory supervisors, special equipment operators and a host of support personnel. Marketing, Ag products, offers careers in advertising journalism, video production, television, product demonstration, tourism, tasting room and gift shop management, sales and public relations representatives, including such diverse fields as directing

auction yard operations, managing local farm markets, agricultural fairs and educational exhibitions. This is just a small sample of the career opportunities available in agriculture. As you can see. Agriculture represents one of the fastest growing employment sectors in the world. Today you have the opportunity to participate

in local, national or even international agricultural businesses in ways you never dreamed possible and all without ever leaving Petaluma Agriculture extends far beyond the farm, and it touches all of us in many different ways. Like the early agricultural pioneers, you now hold the key to the

way agriculture will shape our lives and our cities in the future.