For instance, Kibbutz Yotvata is a dairy kibbutz, and Kibbutz Tzuba grows olives. They are both farming communities, but Yotvata is almost as far south as you can go before bumping into the Red Sea, and Tzuba is in the middle of the country near Jerusalem.
Because of the dramatic transitions in climate, from the arable north to the temperate center to the dry south, Israeli farmers are able to grow almost all of the produce that people want to eat within the country. Israel has to import very little in terms of fruits and vegetables, but it can depend on what is in season. We are in strawberry season right now, so they are sweet and plentiful. But in the winter, they are harder to get and much more expensive, because they are specially imported. It's a very different system from the U.S., where we import most of our fruits and vegetables from other countries and enjoy almost everything all year round based on the widespread availability in supermarkets.
Israel gets a lot of sun all year round! This means that crops can be grown all year round in a rotation. There are winter crops like grains, winter citrus and squash. The citrus produced in Israel is world renowned, so they actually grow so much that it can be exported. Then the spring brings corn, peas and oranges. By summertime, all of the best fruits are back in season. Pomegranates, cherries, strawberries and more all pop up in the fruit markets. The fruits and vegetables that people rely on most grow all year, such as apples, tomatoes and cucumbers.
