Santa Clara Valley Farmland and CGF in the News

SavetheDateFinal_County_CGFOur friend and colleague, Serena Unger of the American Farmland Trust (AFT), wrote a special featured in the Mercury News today (9/11/14) where she talked about the drought and the need to preserve what’s left of our farmland. She also mentioned Committee for Green Foothills and the upcoming summit we are partnering on with AFT and LAFCo that will be held next week. Here’s a highlight from her article, Saving farmland: Drought isn’t the only problem in Santa Clara County:

“As the climate warms, resulting in decreased snowpack levels in the Sierras — agriculture’s biggest “reservoir” of water — the average California farmer is expected to have access to 25 percent less water than needed to produce the same crop yield. As the climate warms, it may become impossible to grow tree fruit and nut crops in areas where these have been successful.

However, we cannot focus only on the climate impacts to food supply when the land itself is being lost at an alarming rate. We need to step up our efforts to protect the state’s best farmland; the land with the most fertile soils, the most reliable water, and the most resilient microclimates. And considering the impacts of a warming climate, every practical acre of fertile land in the state should be carefully considered for preservation.

The American Farmland Trust rallies support to help government officials adopt effective policies that encourage smart growth and permanently protect the state’s best farmland. To that end, next week the Trust, along with the Santa Clara County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) and the Committee for Green Foothills, will convene leaders from the county to discuss how the overlapping interests of agricultural viability and sustainable communities can meet the demands of our future population.”

For the full article online, please see: http://www.mercurynews.com/News/ci_26498780/Saving-farmland:-Drought-isnt-the-only-problem-in-Santa-Clara-County

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