Farmland needs more protection for growth
April 7, 2006
It
is not time to panic, but it is time to act. A new study of urbanization
in California’s Central Valley serves as a wake up call to communities
to employ smart growth strategies to stem the tide of sprawl on some of
the state’s best farmland.
The American Farmland Trust, a national non-profit organization that works
with communities and individuals to conserve farmland, has this advice for
counties and major cities in the valley: Take notice of inefficient
development and current building trends or risk losing thousands of acres
of farmland supporting local economies.
Over the years, dozens of reports have documented the rising flow of the
state’s population and the ebb of farmland. This report, issued a couple
of weeks shy of Earth Day and in the midst of an affordable housing crisis
in California, calls for conservation, smart development and strong
political will to save prime farmland from being paved over.
The proliferation of “ranchettes” and other inefficient development
like shopping and auto malls are targeted in the AFT report for
contributing to the loss of 97,000 acres of Central Valley farmland during
the 1990s, more than half of it prime farmland. The study correctly points
out that sprawl doesn’t just erase farmland; it creates greater
conflicts and congestion at the rural/urban interface and leads to
increased public service costs.
The state Department of Conservation indicates that more than 1 million
acres of farmland in the state was converted between 1988 and 1998. That
is equivalent to creating three new cities the geographic size of Modesto
every year.
Last year, California’s population officially topped 37 million, a
growth rate of 1.4 percent, representing 500,000 new residents in the last
fiscal year. Among the fastest growing counties on a percentage basis are
scores of Central Valley counties like Yuba, Kern, Colusa, Sutter and San
Joaquin.
This study deserves attention because the Central Valley is a critical
beachhead in the battle to save farmland. The Central Valley, extending
north to south nearly 450 miles, contains the largest irrigated area west
of the Rocky Mountains. It is an agricultural paradise where most of the
nation’s almonds, figs, kiwifruit, nectarines, olives, raisins and
walnuts are grown. Soil quality, water availability and other favorable
growing conditions make the valley’s farmland a unique agricultural
resource.
Urbanization will not stop. Demographers suggest that the Central Valley
could add another 4 million people by 2025, putting additional strain on
the valley’s agricultural resources.
Efficient development can help slow the rate of farmland conversion, but
as the AFT study pointed out, the goal of saving a significant amount of
farmland becomes harder every day that the status quo prevails.
Valley counties should heed the call for smart development.
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