City Facts

Livingston is a City on the move and is in a period of transition and transformation due to new residential and commercial development. The community is rapidly becoming a premier ethnically diverse, residential, commercial and industrial center in Merced County and the Central Valley. It is strategically located along one of California’s major freeway arteries and is just two hours from San Francisco, the Pacific Coast and the majestic Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Merced County covers 2,000 square miles and has a population of 247,000.

Livingston’s economy is intertwined with the economy of Merced County which is enjoying an industrial renaissance that has brought approximately 3,000 new jobs with an estimated impact of $100 million into the County within the past two years.

Agriculture

Merced County is one of the most productive agricultural areas in the County with $1.75 billion in annual products and $6.5 billion in economic impacts.Agriculture will continue to be economically important to Livingston. The main agricultural products produced in the Livingston area include:

Chickens and Turkeys

The Foster Farms poultry company headquarters and main processing plant are located in Livingston. The chicken ranches import most of their feed from other parts of the United States. The tallest building in the area is the Foster Farms grain elevator located in Delhi, right outside the Livingston City limits

Dairy 

Merced County is the second largest dairy producer in California, right behind Tulare County. The Joseph Gallo Dairy, just outside Livingston, has the single largest dairy herd in the United States. Neighboring towns (especially Hilmar) have many more dairy cattle. According to statistics from the California Department of Food and Agriculture, Merced County had 305 operating dairies in 2006, down from the 327 dairies in 2005 and 335 dairies in 2000. While the number of diaries has gone down, the number of milk cows increased by 4,000 during that 12-month period. Dairy farmers and industry experts say recent increases in feed costs, tightened environmental regulations and growing pressure to sell land for development are among the factors that could be pushing some dairies to close. 

Grapes 

Joseph Gallo, Ernest and Julio Gallo, the Arakelian family, and many family farmers grow grapes for wine, the table and raisin-making. Ernest and Julio Gallo have a major grape pressing operation near Livingston.

Sweet Potatoes 

Ninety percent of the sweet potatoes grown west of the Rockies are grown and packed in Livingston, Delhi and Atwater. The sweet potatoes benefit from the sandy soil.

Other Crops

Other crops grown in the Livingston area include barley, wheat, corn, soybeans, onions, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, melons peaches and alfalfa. Most of the peach orchards have been replaced by almonds. The alfalfa, soybeans and corn are grown to support the dairies.