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WHAT'S NEW?
• California Agricultural Vision - An Important Opportunity
• New AFT Report Details How California
is Paving Paradise
• Frenzy over Future of Fresno Farmland
• Tulare County's Agricultural Future at a Crossroads
• How Land Use Affects Climate Change
California Agricultural Vision : An Important Public Opportunity 
The State Board of Food and Agriculture and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) are launching a series of listening sessions that will provide a forum for the agriculture industry and public to give their input into a California strategic agricultural vision. This vision will be used to guide public policy and investment priorities at the state and national level for the next 20 years. It will be a vision that affects everyone who produces, ships, processes, markets, eats, drinks or wears California agricultural products. »Read More
Paving Paradise: New AFT Study Details Statewide & Local Farmland Losses 
One out of every six acres developed in California since the Gold Rush was paved over between 1990 and 2004. So concludes a new AFT report, Paving Paradise: A New Perspective on California Farmland Conversion. In all, more than a half million acres were urbanized during this period, almost two-thirds of it agricultural land. Among AFT’s other findings: More than 60% of the land developed in the San Joaquin Valley, which accounts for half of California’s agricultural production, was farmland of the very best quality. Statewide, development is consuming an acre of land for every 9.4 people – imagine them spread out over a football field. If sprawling development patterns continue, another 2 million acres of California land will be paved over by 2050. If, however, the state as a whole develops land as efficiently as Sacramento County or the Bay Area did in recent years, a million acres of California’s irreplaceable farmland could be saved. »Read More
Frenzy over Future of Fresno
Farmland
The fate of farmland in Fresno County is being determined right now in a series of overlapping planning and policy initiatives that will have sweeping impact on its ability to remain the nation’s leading agricultural county with $4.6 billion a year in farm product sales.
As part of a broader effort throughout the San Joaquin Valley, the county is doing a “Blueprint” for future growth and development. One of the alternative scenarios being considered is based on a proposed multi-modal transportation system called “Metro Rural Loop,” which would connect cities and people, but could promote urban sprawl unless accompanied by effective land use policies. »Read More
Tulare County's Agricultural Future at a Crossroads 
Tulare County is updating its General Plan, a process that will determine how the county will look in the year 2030 – including the fate of its farmland and agriculture. A draft plan and environmental impact report have been prepared and are available to the public. [Tulare County Plan and Reports] They have drawn criticism from a wide variety of interests as an invitation to more urban sprawl. The county planning commission will meet in Visalia on July 23 to decide how to respond and what the next steps in the process will be. AFT urges you to get involved as a strong voice for farmland preservation. »Read More
Climate Change Linked to Land Use:
AFT Joins New California Consortium to "Grow Cooler"
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The heat is on -- Wildfires threaten a California ranch. Photo © 2006 The Associated Press |
Climate change has become the defining issue of our time. Without bold, decisive action now, California, the nation and the world will face devastating consequences, including a shrinking water supply, deteriorating air quality, increased risks of both floods and wildfires, and,not least, declining agricultural production.
The clear link between climate change and the ability farmland to satisfy our need for food has prompted AFT to join a new consortium of nonprofit organizations, called Climate Plan. While others focus on more fuel-efficient cars, power plant emissions and other contributors to global warming, Climate Plan will specifically address the need for better land use planning and development in California in an effort to curb urban sprawl. A new report, Growing Cooler, by the Urban Land Institute, one of the Climate Plan partners, details the evidence connecting sprawl to excessive greenhouse gases. AFT’s own new report, Paving Paradise (above), documents how sprawl also leads to needless farmland loss.
farm policy reform
House and Senate Pass Farm Bill
Passed by Veto Proof Margins
Both the House and Senate passed the Farm Bill with overwhelming margins - 318-106 in the House, 85-15 in the Senate. It is anticipated the President will veto the bill by May 23rd.
The bill includes many program improvements and critical funding to improve our environment, make local foods more widely available, protect farm and ranch land, and dramatically increase food assistance for families struggling with rising food costs.
In a May 9th press release, AFT President Ralph Grossi commented, “After a long effort, the bill has strong bipartisan support with real gains in subsidy reform in the new Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) program, and desperately needed new funds for conservation, nutrition, and healthy, local foods.
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