Intensive dairying was once flourished in suburban area of Los Angeles, especially in Bellflower, Artesia and Dairy Valley (Cerritos). Development of industrial, commercial and residential areas pushed out these dairies to Chino Valley and San Joaquinn Valley in 1960's. There were more than 300 dairies with average 600-700 milk cows in 1980's in Chino Valley, consisted of San Bernadino and Riverside counties, the most concentrated dairy area of the World. These intensive grassless dairies on the average 40 acres land were called as drylot dairies. Real state of dry lot dairies and background of their relocation are cleared by intensive field works in this paper.
Dairies in Chino Valley was included to Los Angeles milkshed around 1930, when 117 dairies operated by family farms. However, drylot dairies were moved to Chino Valley from Artesia region in 1960s with the expansion of builtup area. Thus, number of dairies increased from 97 in 1950 to 250 in 1963, 320 in 1977, 349 in 1991. Three forth of the dairies located in San Bernadino County and the rest in Riverside County. Agricultural reserve with 15, 000 acres was permitted for dairy promotion in 1968 in San Bernadino County.
Drylot dairies predominates in Chino Valley landscape. Dry lot dairy was consisted of milking parlor, feed storage, corral and sewage lagoon in addition to the stacks of hay bail. These feeds were supplied from Imperial Valley and Midwest as well as San Joaquin Valley. Owner and his parents houses locate in front of street as well as milking parlor. Cows were milked twice a day by hired laborer, mostly Hispanic, using automatic milking machines. Milk was shipped to milk bottling and dairy products companies in Los Angeles by lorries twice a day.
Some dairies relocate in San Joaquin Valley and other areas from 1980, when the urban pressure to dairies was amounted. New comers complain to fly, odor and air polution to the dairies. Environment Protection Agency forced promote to remove dairy manure and sewage water to prevent runoff and nitrate contamination. Dairies in Riverside County have a trends to relocate earlier than agricultural reserve in San Bernadino County. They build big dairies in San Joaquin valley with the big money, which sell their land at more than 100, 000$ an acre. Dairies in Chino Valley also relocate to high deserts, north states and New Mexico and Kansas High Plains. We also find that some big dairies build two or three sites for their brothers or sons. The number of dairies dropped sharply from 278 in 2001 to 134 in 2004.
After dairy moved out in Chino Valley, the farmstead was occupied by another dairies. Some dairies managed three or five dairy operations by renting relocated dairy lots like Hein Hettinga and Gorzenmann. Transitional land use were also observed in addition to dairies. Custom calf feeding, nursery and flower plants, and Chinese vegetable gardens are operated on the leased land. But dairy area changed to residential area through social fallow within 2 or 3 years.
