A Landmark Victory for Agriculture: Lucas Ranch Protected In a significant stride toward safeguarding California’s agricultural heritage, California Farmland Trust has successfully closed an agricultural conservation easement (ACE) on Lucas Ranch, a beloved 66.93-acre walnut orchard located just two miles west of Gustine in Merced County. This easement closing not only preserves prime farmland but...Read More
Central Valley Farmland Trust is Born ~ By Vicky Boyd When representatives of four farmland conservation groups met in late 2003, they agreed that the status quo probably wasn’t the best way to protect agricultural land moving forward. Then the discussion evolved around possible new structures. Should the Sacramento and San Joaquin County groups...Read More
Passion Drives Action to Minimize Increasing Growth ~ By Vicky Boyd With development of prime farmland occurring all around them, a small group of Merced County residents had reached a tipping point in the early 1990s. Led by Linda Macedo, Eleanor Lema and a few other members of the Merced chapter of California Women...Read More
Spring is here and with it, the launch of many certified farmers’ markets (CFMs) across California. CFMs are a great way for farmers to bring their crops directly to consumers in accordance with rigorous state standards specific to food safety, handling and packaging. In turn, consumers have the opportunity to shop locally and build personal...Read More
“When you put houses on the land, it’s a one-time harvest…” We’re proud to introduce CFT landowner, Jean Okuye. Jean’s path to living a life dedicated to agriculture is unconventional compared to most. A Santa Barbara native, Jean married into a Japanese farming family and moved to Merced County in the 1980s, following a sudden...Read More
From Immigrants of the Avocado Capital of Mexico, to the Agricultural-Rich State of california We’re proud to introduce CFT landowners, Juan Carlos and Rodrigo Espinoza. In 2018, Juan Carlos and Rodrigo decided to permanently protect 78 acres of prime farmland under an agricultural conservation easement (ACE) with California Farmland Trust. Like many family farms, agriculture...Read More
Building Upon Resilient Roots Miller & Lux, Inc. Heir Works to Protect and Preserve Productive lands at bowles farming company It’s not every day you hear of a family farm that has lasted in California for six generations, reiterating that Bowles Farming Company (BFCo.) is truly one of a kind. What started as a meat...Read More
Greenbelt ensures scenic views and productive, protected farmland The story of C&T Murphy farms Tom and Chester Murphy grew up in a red brick house along Highway 4, which today is a paved gateway to the Sierra Nevadas with a steady stream of traffic, particularly on summer weekends. As kids, the two brothers remember their...Read More
Taking a stand The story of fiorini Ranch In 1909, long before cities were formed, third generation farmer, Randy Fiorini’s grandparents Francis and Mable made the life-changing move from Southern California to our most fertile soil, the Central Valley, putting roots down in Merced County, between what is now Turlock and Delhi. To say they...Read More
Investing in Innate Farmland The story of Machado family farms Nestled in the small town of Linden, the Machado Family first began farming in 1906 when Gregorio and Angelina Machado, immigrants of the Azores Islands, arrived in California. Initially started as a grade-B dairy farm, the Machado home ranch has evolved with the times into...Read More
Each year, California loses about 50,000 acres of farmland to development. Charlotte Mitchell, executive director of the California Farmland Trust, estimates more than 1 million acres have been lost since 1990, most of it prime soils that produce food and fiber for the U.S. and the world. The nonprofit trust has worked since 2004 to save...Read More
June is National Dairy Month; a great opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate California’s dairy industry, dairy farmers, and the nutritious dairy products they provide us. Originally established by grocers, as a way to distribute extra milk during the warm summer months, June Dairy Month has been a tradition since 1937. Not surprising, California has been...Read More
Together, six farms connect and expand farmland conservation. A reason to celebrate! California Farmland Trust (CFT) announces the conservation of six new farms in Merced County. Four adjacent farms have created a large area of closely protected farmland; while nearby two other properties join already previously protected areas. Connected Farmland Nearly 220 additional acres of...Read More
California Farmland Trust Earns National Recognition Strong Commitment to Farmland Protection and Conservation Excellence Elk Grove, CA (Sept. 24, 2019) – One thing that unites us as a nation is land: Americans strongly support saving the working farms and ranches they love and that feed them. Since 2004, California Farmland Trust (CFT) has been doing...Read More
What’s the hardest part of protecting farmland? Finding the funding! At least, in a typical year the hardest part is finding the funding. But 2019 is going to be a super special year. The State of California recently announced $17 million in new grants for agricultural conservation projects. The grants are from the Agricultural Land Mitigation...Read More
You Are Not Alone New Study Finds Strong Feelings for Farmland Melanee Cottrill A recent public opinion poll revealed an overwhelming preference for farmland preservation over development in the Capital Region. The scientific survey, conducted by Valley Vision and California State University, Sacramento across eight Capital Region counties, asked respondents about environmental issues. The purpose was...Read More
We are excited to announce that the application period for Spring 2019 Raley’s Field Trips on the Farm is now open! Please read the requirements below before proceeding to the application. Field trips are available only to grades 4-6. Field trips will take place in Brentwood, Contra Costa County. All applicants must be within a...Read More
[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.106″ background_layout=”light”] Thank you to our friends at Project R.I.D.E. for hosting another fabulous Big Day of Giving party! And to everyone who came out, donated, and had fun with our team! [/et_pb_text][et_pb_gallery _builder_version=”3.0.106″ posts_number=”10″ show_title_and_caption=”off” show_pagination=”off” gallery_ids=”4249,4248,4247,4246,4245,4243,4244″ fullwidth=”off” orientation=”landscape” hover_overlay_color=”rgba(255,255,255,0.9)” background_layout=”light” pagination_font_size_tablet=”51″ pagination_line_height_tablet=”2″ /][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]Read More
We are so excited to bring you our latest Legacy in this beautiful, new format. It’s like reading our newsletter as a magazine online. We hope you love it! Spring Legacy 2018 PDF versionRead More
Three farms on deck for protection Funding conservation easements, those agreements we talk about that make farms stay farms forever – is a challenge because they are costly (think anywhere from $4,000 – 8,000 per acre, plus transaction costs). Fortunately, we have several tools to help us match our private funding with state money to...Read More
Special Welcome to Jim Jorgensen, New CVFT Board Member Jim Jorgensen, along with his sisters, Joanne and Janice, worked with Central Valley Farmland Trust nearly a decade ago to place a conservation easement on their 300-acre ranch in Gustine. The agreement permanently ensures their family land always remains a ranch in agriculture. Now, he is...Read More
YOU DID IT! Together, we raised over $25,000 in just over 24 hours. Thank you! Farmland Wins! Join us next year for the BIG Day of Giving in May 2017. “We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.” – Sir Winston Churchill HUGE Thank you to:Read More
Donate to Central Valley Farmland Trust every time you shop at Amazon Smiles! Its a win-win! For eligible purchases at AmazonSmile, the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price to the customer’s selected charitable organization. http://smile.amazon.com/ch/77-0566494Read More
Planned Giving By Margaret Heiser Fulton, Certified specialist in estate planning, trust and probate law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization There are many ways in which you can make a gift to support the CVFT ...Read More
20,000 Acres – Here we Come! By John Herlihy, CVFT Board Member I have been involved in agriculture since high school. I did not grow up on a farm, but since high school have been involved either from the animal side or crop side ...Read More
The Central Valley Farmland Trust (CVFT) is often the go-to land trust in facilitating the placement of agricultural conservation easements to fulfill farmland mitigation requirements in the Central Valley. This is evidenced by the following: CVFT’s acknowledged experience and expertise in farmland mitigation led to its Executive Director being asked to sit on a statewide committee...Read More
Central Valley Farmland Trust was one of three land trusts in California to receive accreditation in September 2008, and remains the longest accredited exclusively agricultural land trust in California’s Central Valley. This program is administered by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance. Accredited land trusts meet national quality standards for protecting...Read More
