For Municipalities

The most effective farmland protection occurs in partnership with cities and counties.  Our best partners are the cities and counties who have recognized the inherent value of the farmland that surrounds their borders, and have taken steps to balance the need for development and farmland.  There are many ways jurisdictions can help protect the farms that feed our families, while still providing homes and jobs.

Mitigation Ordinances

Many California cities, recognizing the need for local, safe, affordable food, have adopted farmland mitigation ordinances.  A farmland mitigation ordinance is a tool that acknowledges farmland as a valuable natural resource, by requiring farmland be protected concurrently with development of farmland.  In other words, if farmland is built on, other nearby farmland must be prevented from being developed.  That prevention can take the form of a financial contribution to the California Farmland Trust (via a fee paid by developers when developing farmland), or placing an agricultural conservation easement on nearby farmland. The administrative burden of a farmland mitigation ordinance is minimal, while the protection it enables is massive.

Growth Policies

By considering the need for farmland in their expansion policies, cities, counties, and LAFCOs can help protect this vital natural resource.  We urge all agencies, before expanding urban limits, rezoning farmland, or approving development projects to consider the need for farmland to feed the people.

Use the form below to contact us if you are a representative of a city, county, or local agency that would like to demonstrate it values farmland.

Agency Interest

9 + 13 =

Farm Facts

June is Dairy Month

Ice cream, yogurt, cheese – wonderful cheese, milk, sour cream…yum-oh…and the list goes on. Not only do dairy cows provide all these delicious foods but these foods provide us with so much nutrition! Milk is the leading food source of nine essential...

Flood Irrigation – Friend or Foe

Flood Irrigation - Friend or Foe?

The Economic Impact of CV Ag: A Case Study

Merced County is an example of how we can tally CV's Ag impact

Q&A on Easements

A quick snapshot of easement basics for everyone

Ag Conservation Easements

Ag Conservation Easements – A Challenging Process, but There’s Hope! By Bill Martin, Executive director, Central Valley Farmland Trust The Central Valley Farmland Trust exists because of an overarching concern for the rapid depletion of prime irrigated farmland in the ...

BioFarming: the Middle Ground

Editor’s note: This is the last article in a three-part series to appear in the Legacy on drought and other challenges farmers face that can be mitigated through a nutrition-based management approach. Our primary contributors ...

Dr. Tom: Part 1

Editor’s note: This is the first article in a three-part series to appear in the Legacy on drought and other challenges farmers face that can be mitigated through a nutrition-based management approach. Dr. Thomas T. Yamashita (“Dr. Tom”) has a Ph.D. in plant pathology and over 30 years of research and ...

Legacy Summer 2014 – “The Browning of California Calls for New Thinking

Editor’s note: This is the second article in a three-part series to appear in the Legacy on drought and other challenges farmers face that can be mitigated through a nutrition-based management approach. Dr. Thomas T. Yamashita (“Dr. Tom”) has a Ph.D. in plant pathology and over 30 years of research and experience on the topic. The “Browning” of California Calls for New Thinking

Landowner Incentives

The Central Valley Farmland Trust (CVFT) is recognized as a 501 (c) (3) charitable organization by the Internal Revenue Service. This allows landowners under certain situations who place agricultural conservation easements (ACEs) on their property to generate...