Winter 1995 (v7n1)
by Gail Feenstra, SAREP
One of the most critical issues facing California agriculture is its interaction with nearby communities and cities. Regions across the state are being forced to come to terms with how agriculture can be preserved in the face of increasing market, development and population pressures. Realizing that addressing these issues would need to be a community process, a coalition was formed in Santa Cruz County in the fall of 1991 with funding from SAREP. The goal of the Agriculture and Community Project (Ag Comm) coalition was to examine "the historical, existing and future status of agriculture in Santa Cruz County... " and to "collaborate with the Santa Cruz Community to identify and explore critical issues to ensure the long-term viability of agriculture."
Principal investigators Steve Gliessman of UC Santa Cruz's Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, and Jim Pepper, Environmental Studies Program at the same campus, organized and directed the initial nine-member planning committee representing community interests including agriculture/production, agriculture/food processing, nutrition/food safety, development, environment/land use, health/housing, and government. After meeting for a year (May 1992-May 1993), the planning committee had defined topics which provided the foundation for specific areas of research and became the basis of the agenda for a community wide forum held November 20, 1993 in Aptos. At this forum, participants examined ways in which the entire community is connected to agriculture and explored strategies to broaden and strengthen this connection. Local residents were particularly interested in community education, encouraging the community to buy locally grown foods and finding common ground between urban and agricultural interests.
General Plan Law
Concurrently, the planning committee's work led to directed research by the Ag Comm staff about land use, farmland preservation and farmworker housing. Additional information was provided by student thesis research reviewing farmworker housing and farmland preservation policies in Santa Cruz County. Exploration of policy options included research on agriculture elements that have been drafted or approved under General Plan law in 11 different counties in California. When agriculture is elevated to "element" status under a county's General Plan, it gains equity with other recognized elements such as land use, open space, and housing when planning decisions are made. As a result of their work on land preservation, the Agricultural Policy Advisory Commission to the Board of Supervisors asked the Ag Comm group to advise them on issues such as agriculture at the urban edge. Should the Board of Supervisors and the County Planning Department decide to pursue an agricultural element, work on General Plan elements will be compiled along with recommendations for proceeding.
In the fall of 1994, the continuing interest in land preservation policies led the Ag Comm group to conduct a "mobile workshop' or bus tour for local agriculture leaders, planning officials and policy makers on "Preserving Agricultural Land on the Edge: Ag Land Preservation Techniques. " Tour participants visited selected sites and heard speakers in Marin and Sonoma counties, both of which have innovative agriculture preservation policies. Participants learned about particular tools designed to preserve ag land and which might be applied in Santa Cruz County. A workbook with articles describing the tools and techniques for preserving ag land produced for this mobile workshop and is available for purchase from the Ag Comm Project (contact project assistant Kerstin Ohlander, 40,8/459-3524).
Land Forum
A second public forum took place in November 1994, and focused on land preservation issues in Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Benito counties. This forum, "Community and Agriculture: Understanding the Concerns of a Changing Region, " assessed resource and land use conflicts at the urban edge. Keynote speaker was Elizabeth Scott Graham from American Farmland Trust. A panel of farmers discussed their concerns about urban growth and farmland preservation. A "tools and techniques" workshop addressed policy, education and housing issues and their connection with agriculture at the urban edge. Finally, participants were able to explore concerns and potential solutions in county workshops.
In addition to land use issues, the Ag Comm project also received a grant from the California Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture (CASA) to profile Central Coast farmers and understand their contributions to the local economy and regional food system. The project's objective is to understand the similarities among farms involved in the Lighthouse Farm Campaign, and organic and conventional growers in terms of their concerns, where they go for assistance and what their information needs are. The data gathered from approximately 60 interviews is being analyzed. Results will be available in the spring of 1995. For more information about this project, contact Rachel Bornfeld at (408) 459-3524.
The Ag Comm project is an example of how a small amount of seed money can initiate a process that continues the discussion, research and exploration of solutions to the agricultural issues most important to that community. According to Kerstin Ohlander, however, this process takes a lot of time, patience and listening. This project's success has been due in part to working with all elements of the agricultural community and cooperating in areas where there is common agreement. Instead of competing for scarce resources, Ag Comm has focused on ways to form linkages. Further cooperation with local agricultural organizations, government agencies, farmers and citizens will strengthen these links within the county and provide an opportunity for the community to work together.
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