1848 was a landmark year for the state of California. The discovery of gold brought thousands of settlers to its shores—causing a literal "gold rush" as the population exploded from 15,000 to 300,000 over the course of the next four years.

Settlers came for valuable shiny pieces of metal, but once the land had been picked over and the riches had been claimed, the new Californians were blessed with another, and much more sustainable treasure.

California's nickname "The Golden State" refers to those golden nuggets found throughout the riverbeds and on top of the soil, but the fertile California soil has yielded another type of fortune, one that has brought American jobs, economic activity, and national security for more than 150 years.

California is the nation's top agricultural producer—generating approximately $36.2 billion each year—90 percent of which comes from small, family farms or cooperatives, such as the Sun-Maid Growers of California, a co-op owned by family farmers who grow raisin grapes all located within 100 miles of each other in the Great Central Valley.

The state is home to 25.3 million acres of farmland which, thanks to its unique climate and more than 2,000 different varieties of soil, boasts the country's most diverse crop production (more than 350 different crops) as well as more than half of the nation's supply of fruits, vegetables, and nuts.

California also leads the nation in milk production, with more than 1.8 million dairy cows, resulting in $6.92 billion in cash receipts, followed by grapes which account for $2.99 billion annually.

California's climate and soil make it a particularly nurturing environment for certain specialty crops such as almonds, artichokes, dates, kiwifruit, figs, olives, persimmons, pomegranates, dried plums, raisins, pistachios, sweet rice, and walnuts—all of which are commercially grown (in the United States) in California alone and generate about $15.9 billion worth of economic activity per year.

Livestock and poultry play a major role as well, accounting for about 27 percent of California's gross cash income with a combined total of $10.6 billion.

But people don't need to rush to California to enjoy what the state has to offer anymore. Its farmers and ranchers produce $12.8 billion in exports, the top five of which are:

• Tree Nuts = 3.6 billion
• Fruits and preps 3.2 billion
• Vegetables 2.1 billion
• Other = 1.08 billion
• Dairy Products = 705 million

Read more about America's agricultural production here!

Spotlight on other States:

Nebraska
Maryland
Minnesota
Georgia
North Dakota
Oklahoma
Iowa