{"id":7645,"date":"2015-02-11T09:36:24","date_gmt":"2015-02-11T16:36:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/plantingseedsblog.cdfa.ca.gov\/wordpress\/?p=7645"},"modified":"2020-02-26T09:11:47","modified_gmt":"2020-02-26T16:11:47","slug":"measurement-standards-started-farm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/plantingseedsblog.cdfa.ca.gov\/wordpress\/index.php\/2015\/02\/11\/measurement-standards-started-farm\/","title":{"rendered":"Measurement Standards: It All Started Down on the Farm\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"An<\/a>

An impressive array of equipment in an early CDFA metrology lab (undated). See additional photos at the end of this post.<\/p><\/div>\n

When you go to the supermarket and you buy a gallon of milk or a pound of oranges, how do you know you’re getting your money’s worth? How about a quart of oil, or an acre of land, or a truckload of building materials? Well, it all started down on the farm…<\/p>\n

As our ancestors made the transition from their hunter-gather origins to agriculture-based communities, the concept of the farm as an essential part of their lives evolved along with them. Over many generations, the farm became a central point not just for the community’s sustenance and survival, but also for its commerce. Early farmers and the people who bought, sold and traded for what they grew developed a richer understanding of the science of measurement as a basis for fairness in that burgeoning marketplace. Many industries developed and adapted their own measurement standards, but the standards for measuring staples like milk and grain, the weight of livestock, an acre of land and many more were largely learned and passed down by societies because of interactions with farmers.<\/p>\n

In the relatively brief history of California, folks who lived in rural communities and needed an accurate weight for a commercial transaction knew where to go \u2013 to the farmer. That\u2019s who had the spot-on scales and other measuring devices, as well as the expertise to use them. Even for the “city folk” who had ample occasion to make or convert measurements in their daily lives, one obvious place to look was the farmer’s almanac. For centuries, agriculture has provided a trustworthy, reliable platform for fairness in commercial transactions.<\/p>\n

Fast-forward to today, and CDFA\u2019s Division of Measurement Standards <\/a>carries on that public trust by ensuring the accuracy of a broad range of devices used in commercial transactions, from gas pumps to truck scales to supermarket price scanners. CDFA\u2019s regulatory leadership and technical expertise in the science of measurement is a key reason why Californians trust that a gallon is a gallon, whether it\u2019s milk or gas or olive oil.\u00a0With the assistance of county sealers and their inspectors, weights and measures officials are able to routinely inspect and test the 1.4 million scales, meters and other commercially used devices registered throughout California.<\/p>\n

The Future of Measurement Standards<\/strong><\/p>\n

As modern commerce races ahead with new technologies, products and services, the standards of measurement must keep pace. For example: with the recent approval of a hydrogen fuel dispenser at California State University, Los Angeles<\/a>, the Golden State\u2019s consumers are well on their way to adding a few kilograms of hydrogen (and zero emissions) to the weekly shopping list. CDFA’s experts approved the equipment used to dispense that fuel. Another new \u201cfuel\u201d is electricity, and CDFA is focusing its efforts on the specifications and accuracy requirements for publicly available electric car charging stations that are popping up to meet the demand created by 120,000 electric vehicles<\/a> now driving on California roads.\u00a0 Whatever the next advancement, we\u2019ll be there.\u00a0Just think of it as the latest in a long line of evolutionary steps that started on the very first farm.<\/p>\n