Acre
43560 square feet
Double cropping
Two crops are planted on the same land in a calendar growing year. The first is planted in the fall near the time of the first rains. The first crop is harvested in the spring after it matures. The land is then prepped again and a second crop is planted. The crop is irrigated throughout the summer and is harvested late summer to early fall. This is typically done with field crops such as oats, wheat, grains etc
Dry farming
Open land that is planted to annual field crops and does not have a source of irrigation water, but rather relies on annual rain fall to grow the crop.
Economic life
Permanent plantings that are planted on open land produce a crop year after year. The maximum time frame over which a typical permanent plant produces a crop is referred to as its economic life. An almond tree, for example, will start to produce a small crop in the third crop year and will have a maximum productive life of 25 to 30 years. After which time the trees need to be removed and a new planting established
Gross Acreage
The maximum acreage of a parcel of land. Determined by an external survey of the property lines
Irrigated farm ground
A specific term that applies to land that has a source of irrigation water. Water is typically delivered via the flood irrigation method. Potential water sources include a deep well on the property or a district water supply.
Net farmable acres
The net acreage after deducting the area attributed to the roads, ditches and improvement sites from the gross acreage (actually planted to crops).
Open land
A general term used to describe an open field. Can refer to land that does not have an irrigation source, called dry farming, or land that is irrigated, called irrigated farm land (IFL). The term can refer to undulating range land used for cattle grazing or to level ground that is planted to field commodities. Examples of field crops include corn, wheat, soybeans, hay, cotton, vegetables, melons, etc.
Orchard
Refers to a property planted to trees such as almonds, walnuts, pecans, pistachios, stone fruit, prunes, chestnuts, etc.
Permanent Planting
In agriculture the term refers to a tree or vine that is planted on open land. After the initial planting, referred to as a development or establishment, the tree or vine produces a crop year after year. Examples include almonds, pistachios, chest nuts, walnuts, wine, table or raisin grape vineyards, citrus, cherry, stone fruit, and olives.
Production cycle
The agricultural sector is known for production cycles. During profitable times, growers expand production of profitable commodities. As supply increases, markets reach the saturation point and commodity prices fall below profitable levels. Acreage of the over supplied commodity is removed, supply decreases, and commodity prices return to profitable levels. When choosing a commodity, it is imperative you know the commodity’s relative position on the production cycle and give sufficient analysis of the future profitability potential.
Range land
Open land that typically does not have an irrigation water supply and relies on annual rain fall to product forage that livestock in turn graze off.
Remaining economic life
If an almond tree has a maximum economic life of 25 years and the trees are currently 10 years old, the orchard is said to have a remaining economic life of 15 years.
Section of land
A linear measurement of area measuring one mile by one mile containing 640 gross acres. A half section is 320 acres, ¼ section is 160 acres, etc.
Security property
The farm real estate that will be taken as security for a first trust deed loan.
Soil types
The USDA Soil Conservation Service has developed soil maps for most counties in California. Soils are rated with a capability unit from class I to class V and a Storie Index rating from 1 to 100. Soil types are important when developing planting decisions as certain crops require specific soil characteristics.
Subject property
The farm real estate that is evaluated in the appraisal. Usually the same property referred to as the security property by the lending institution.
Water/Water/Water (Water district/Irrigation District)
The state of California has hundreds of water and/or irrigation districts that deliver surface water to farmers for irrigation purposes. Each district will cover a specific geographic area. The size of the area serviced by a district can range from a few hundred acres to several hundred thousand acres. The sources of district water are from natural rain fall runoff and in some cases deep wells.
Well Water
Irrigation water that is derived from a deep well. The well is most often located on the property but in some cases may be on a nearby property. The depth of the water table from which the water is pumped may range from 30 feet to 1000 or more feet.