New report focuses on stemming farmland loss

Issue Date: March 5, 2008

By Kate Campbell
Assistant Editor

With California's ever-growing population, Merced County farmers, like those in many other counties in the state, see increased urban encroachment on agricultural land.

One of California's most precious natural resources--its highly productive farmland--is being lost at an alarming rate. And, a new report from the American Farmland Trust says unless a different approach to land-use planning and development is adopted, another 2 million acres could be gone by midcentury.

Of greater concern, however, is that the land most likely to be lost is also the very best, most productive farmland. The report calls for improving the efficiency of development, which includes increasing population densities in already urbanized areas to contain sprawl; designing more livable, efficient urban communities; and limiting haphazard "ranchette" development in agricultural areas.

The report, called "Paving Paradise: A New Perspective on California Farmland Conversion," notes that California is the nation's leading farm state and one of the most important food-production regions in the world.

John Gamper, California Farm Bureau Federation director of taxation and land use, said that while the information in the report is new, it also highlights decades-old concerns of California farmers and ranchers.

"We appreciate that the American Farmland Trust continues to gather and analyze data on the loss of farmland," Gamper said. "Their findings add weight to our position that problems related to the loss of farmland are getting worse."

He said there is an "insatiable" appetite for ranchette subdivisions that has been fueled to a large extent by proceeds from the sale of high-priced homes in coastal urban areas. The difference in property values between the coast and the interior valleys has enabled buyers to purchase ever larger rural parcels. This, in turn, has increased real estate values in agricultural areas, often pricing farmers out of the market.

"What we're seeing is enormous pressure on the most highly productive farm ground," said Paul Wenger, CFBF first vice president and a Stanislaus County walnut grower. "This is of great concern because this often is the very land that feeds the people of this state and nation."

Not only does this land create jobs and export goods that support the economy, he added, but the land also provides communities with open space and wildlife habitat.

Wenger said now that the American Farmland Trust has brought its findings to the public's attention, "we need to find ways to protect the most productive ground, not just the pastoral, naturally beautiful settings."

It is also critical to find ways to protect the state's agricultural base, he added.

"Our economy and our future depends on it," he said.

However, solutions to these problems will require a hard look at public policies and tax laws to ensure that this highly productive land remains in farming for generations to come, he said.

"Consumers say they want locally grown food," said Wenger. "The government recognizes the economic contribution and the strategic value of retaining control of our food supply. The question remains: What are we going to do to address this problem?"

The first step to preserving California's farmland, according to the American Farmland Trust, is to understand what's happening to the land and why.

About one-sixth of all land developed since the Gold Rush was lost between 1990 and 2004. That amounts to about half a million acres, nearly two-thirds of it agricultural land, said Edward Thompson, AFT's California director.

Based on findings from the state Department of Farmland Conservation, gathered through its monitoring and mapping program, during that 15-year period, an average of about 38,000 acres a year was gobbled up by development.

"But one of the other key issues is not just the amount of land; it's also the quality of the land being urbanized," Thompson said.

In California, land quality from an agricultural perspective is attributable to the fertility of the soils, the availability of irrigation water and micro-climates that are uniquely suited for the production of specific crops, he said. These are unique resources that can't easily be reproduced elsewhere, he added.

In addition, the trust points out that farm and ranch lands help control flooding, protect wetlands and watersheds and help maintain air quality. They also can absorb and filter wastewater and provide groundwater recharge. New energy crops that can be turned into ethanol have the potential to reduce U.S. dependence on fossil fuels.

"Of all the land converted in California, 28 percent was the state's best farmland--irrigated crop land that is prime, unique and of statewide importance," Thompson said. "This is the land that is so important for California's agricultural output."

The 2002 U.S. Census of Agriculture ranks the state's most productive agricultural counties, in descending order of farmgate value, as Fresno, Tulare, Kern, Monterey, Merced, Stanislaus, San Joaquin, San Diego, Kings and Imperial.

Thompson noted that in the last 15 years, more than 60 percent of the land developed in the San Joaquin Valley, which accounts for more than half of the state's overall agricultural output, was high-quality farmland. In five of the eight counties in the valley, 70 percent of the development took place on high-quality farmland.

With California's population growing by about a half million people a year, Thompson said the question of how many acres each person uses becomes "a very relevant factor."

Research indicates that urban population densities in California vary, but on average, it totals about 7.2 persons per acre statewide, not including the Los Angeles basin. This number, however, does not include ranchette development on very large rural lots.

In the San Joaquin Valley there were only 6.5 people per urban acre in 2004, while in the Sacramento Valley it was 6.3 people per urban acre.

The loss of high-quality farmland for development is most worrisome in the San Joaquin Valley, the report said. Between 1990 and 2004, the valley lost almost twice as much high -quality farmland to urbanization than any other region in the state--about half the state's loss.

In the middle of the San Joaquin Valley the land-use survey showed that a fourth of all land devoted to non-agricultural uses is occupied by rural ranchettes. But they only house 2 percent of the county's population.

"So, we're taking the very best land and developing it very inefficiently," Thompson said. "If we keep doing that at the current rate, California is going to lose more than 2 million acres by 2050."

The report "Paving Paradise," including county, region and state statistics, is available online at www.farmland.org. Under the Issues & Programs menu, click the link for State Issues & Programs

(Kate Campbell is a reporter for Ag Alert. She may be contacted at kcampbell@cfbf.com.)

Permission for use is granted, however, credit must be made to the California Farm Bureau Federation when reprinting this item. Top