California farmers continue to out-produce every state in the nation despite shrinking farm acreage. According to Harold O. Carter, a professor of agricultural economics at UC Davis, this is due to diverse land resources, fertile soil and a forgiving climate that allows year-round production of an impressive array of crops. "To this, farmers add sophisticated technology and management systems, which allow them to produce and market superior agricultural products," says Carter, who recently co-authored a report on California agriculture. California exceeds the national average in yields per harvested acre in major crops and has more than double the U.S. per-acre yields of cotton and winter wheat. Even in a year when total farm revenues dipped, last year's exports of California farm products rose to new highs, bringing in a record $4.66 billion. Carter says the upswing in agricultural exports is due mostly to higher sales in the Pacific Rim and the European community. Factoring in multiplier effects, farming and related activities generated $63.1 billion, or 9 percent of California's $697 billion gross state product in 1991. The report by Carter and UC Berkeley professor George Goldman was recently presented to the California State Board of Food and Agriculture. It is titled "The Measure of California Agriculture: Its Impact on the State Economy."