Total population in Sacramento County increased 81 % between 1950 and 1960; but farm population decreased 51 %. Projections for Sacramento County indicate a population of 1 million before 1980 and about 2.5 million around the year 2000. This rapid urban growth already has had far-reaching effects on agriculture. Not only does urban growth require additional land, but it has effects on the use of land that remains in agriculture. This study reviews and analyzes several of these effects.

These two reports were based on detailed studies by the authors: Urbanization and Its Effects on Agriculture in Sacramento County: (1) Urban Growth and Agricultural Land Use; (2) Prices and Taxes of Agricultural Land; Giunnini Foundation Research Reports No. 268 and 270, December 1963. Farm advisors cooperated in the Sacramento County study. At the time of the studies D. J. Allee was Assistant Professor of Agricultural Economics and Assistant Agricultural Economist in the Experiment Station and Giannini Foundation, University of California, Berkeley.