In 1873, in the city of Riverside, Eliza Tibbets planted two navel orange trees from the U.S. government propagation grounds in Washington D.C. Imported from Bahia, Brazil, this variety was later known as the  Washington Navel. The introduction and propagation of these trees placed Riverside County at the center of a vast  California citrus industry that still thrives today. 

The Riverside County Board of Horticultural was established in 1893. The first county agricultural commissioner was appointed in 1909. The Riverside County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office e has 50 full-time employees.

Today, Riverside County boasts a diverse, 1.3 billion dollar agricultural industry that includes vegetables and citrus in the Coachella Valley desert, the verdant rolling hills of the Temecula Wine Country, cotton, alfalfa and wheat along the Colorado River and, of course, the historical citrus in and around the city of Riverside.

With the fourth largest population in the State and nearly 200,000 acres of production agriculture, Riverside County offers a unique blend of city and country living seldom found in California.

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