New Research Resources: A California Archive Project Provides Access to Historic Agriculture & Community Records (California Agriculture Resources Archive (CARA))

From the UC Food Observer:

California is the nation’s number one agricultural producer; more than 400 commodities are grown in the Golden State. Per the California Department of Food and Agriculture website, “…Over a third of the country’s vegetables and two-thirds of the country’s fruits and nuts are grown in California.” Helping fuel the economic growth in the agricultural sector has been the University of California (UC) and its Cooperative Extension Service (UCCE/Agriculture and Natural Resources Division), which has operated in the state’s counties for more than 100 years.
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Imagine more than 100 years of research and crop reports, records and photographs documenting the development of California agriculture and the state’s communities. What might researchers be able to learn about how to respond to current and future challenges from the historical record?
The possibilities seem endless.
Recognizing the value of the historical records located in dozens of UCCE county offices, UC Merced Library and UC ANR entered into an agreement in 2016 to start a project to archive, preserve and provide access to UCCE’s historic records. The pilot counties for the project are Merced County, Humboldt County (location of the first UCCE Office) and Ventura County.
The growing UCCE Archive at UC Merced has been named California Agriculture Resources Archive (CARA)…and the first documents are now available online.

Learn More, Read the Complete Article (approx. 110o words)
Direct to California Agriculture Resources Archive (CARA)

Filed under: Libraries, News, Reports