County Awarded Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Planning Grant

01/19/23

On December 15, 2022, the California Strategy Growth Council (SGC) announced that the San Diego LAFCO (Local Agency Formation Commission) and County of San Diego were awarded a $450,000 Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation (SALC) Planning grant.

Administered by the SGC in partnership with the California Department of Conservation, the SALC Program offers Agricultural Conservation Acquisition grants, Planning grants, and Capacity and Project Development grants to fight climate change by protecting our productive farmlands and encouraging compact transit-oriented communities.

CA Department of Conservation logo

In order to deliver meaningful and impactful solutions for our struggling farming communities, particularly small farms, it is critical to identify the true underlying causes specific to the San Diego region. Sustainable agriculture promotes the economic viability of agriculture while preserving natural resources and the environment, relying on detailed planning based on timely information to effectively account for present and emerging market conditions. The proposed planning project, titled Greening Agriculture: Market Analysis to Inform + Support Economically Sustainable Small Farming in San Diego County, intends to generate comprehensive and timely market information and best practice data to support and preserve agriculture in San Diego County, with focus on aiding small-scale farming operations that otherwise have limited resources to perform this type of analysis and/or lack access to resources.

The grant funding will be used to accomplish the following tasks, to be completed by June 2025.

  • A market analysis highlighting market information and best practice data specific to the San Diego County region, including measurements such as average return on investment (ROI) for key crops, average ROI needed to sustain a small farm, and identification of key cost centers for the average small farm in the region.
  • A gap analysis that identifies the “gap” in costs and ROI between marginal farms and economically sustainable farms.
  • A strategic plan on prospective mechanisms such as incentives, technical support, programs, and regulatory streamlining to help bridge the economic gap and increase the economic sustainability of small farms while maximizing their contribution to environmental, economic, and public health benefits.
  • An outreach and education plan that aims to inform and educate the agricultural community – including disadvantaged, low-income, and underrepresented groups – on the project, gather input to assist in the overall implementation of the project, and in doing so, advance equity and opportunity in the region.

The planning project serves as a major extension of current SALC Planning Grant work being administered by San Diego LAFCO and the Resource Conservation District of Greater San Diego County, which was awarded $250,000 in 2019 to develop the San Diego Agricultural Planning Program to support existing and emerging farmers and, in doing so, curb the premature conversion of agricultural lands. This work is anticipated to wrap up in the Spring.

Image credit: RCD Greater San Diego County

Through the current grant work, a needs assessment was distributed to agricultural producers across the San Diego region to identify their concerns regarding long-term viability of farming operations. This has informed ongoing policy sessions and collaboration to address land access, workforce development, and water availability related to agriculture. Representatives from local jurisdictions, supporting organizations, and local producers are developing recommendations to achieve strategic initiatives to resolve these key issues. The project will also serve to inform local agencies’ decision-making to further aid, preserve, and maximize the vital contributions – economic, environmental, and public health benefits – that small-scale farms offer the county.

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