On the recordFebruary 29, 2012
It is my understanding, then, that my colleagues on the other side are arguing to keep a subsidy. That's news to us. Just as an aside, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture, California agriculture experienced a 9 percent drop in the sales value of its products in 2009, which was at the height of the drought. The State's 81,500 farms and ranches received $34.8 billion for their output, down from an all-time high of $38.4 billion, which was reached in 2008. Despite the water supply shortages and regulatory restrictions, the State's agricultural sales for 2009 were the third highest recorded; 2007, 2008 and 2009 were the years of the drought, and the three highest years of agricultural sales coincided with the three consecutive years of drought. With that, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Garamendi).
