California’s coffee-growing sector is holding its first Summit on January 18 at Cal Poly Pomona, in Los Angeles County. Until recently, American coffee was grown commercially only in Hawaii.
“There are about 30,000 coffee trees now planted on about 30 farms and that acreage will continue to grow during 2018 with new plantings,” said Mark Gaskell, UC Cooperative Extension advisor who works with coffee growers in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.
“Only a relatively small amount of the planted acreage is now producing, but the market interest and demand continue to outpace anticipated new production for the foreseeable future.”
Coffee is planted from Morro Bay to San Diego, with production concentrated in Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Diego counties, according to Gaskell.
The Inaugural Coffee Summit is hosted by the Huntley College of Agriculture. During the event, California coffee industry leaders from Santa Barbara and San Diego counties and agriculture professionals with University of California Cooperative Extension, University of Hawaii and U.S. Department of Agriculture will give presentations and answer questions.
Participants will have an opportunity to learn more about the research, too.
