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California conservationists and farmers urge Gov. Davis and state leaders to fight for state's fair share of Farm Bill conservation funds

Contact: Ben Wallace, 530-758-0380 ext. 110

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 9, 2002

Report Recommends New Ways to Promote Farming for Wildlife and Profitability

SACRAMENTO, July 9, 2002 — A coalition of farm and conservation groups issued a report today recommending new policies to help California farmers and ranchers protect wildlife habitat on their lands while remaining profitable producers of food and fiber for the nation.

The report by the California Wilderness Coalition, entitled Wild Harvest: Farming for Wildlife and Profitability, recommends 28 ways the state can maximize new conservation resources such as the 2002 federal farm bill and the 2002 Parks Bond enacted by California voters. For example:

•  Farmland Stewardship Agreements, like those used in Florida, can provide cost-effective habitat conservation on private lands and support the livelihood of California’s agricultural producers.

•  Safe Harbor Agreements can increase landowners' participation in voluntary habitat stewardship programs for threatened and endangered species.

•  Green payments, like those in the new federal Conservation Security Program, can reward farmers and ranchers who do the most to improve water quality, air quality and habitat on productive lands.

The report was sent to Gov. Gray Davis and California’s legislators, land agencies, and agricultural associations with a joint letter urging state leaders to adopt these new policies and to fight for the state’s fair share of the 2002 federal farm bill’s conservation funds. Endorsing the report are the California Sustainable Agriculture Working Group, Community Alliance with Family Farmers, Wild Farm Alliance, and Defenders of Wildlife.

California is the nation’s largest agricultural producer, has the greatest biodiversity of any state and more endangered species than any state but Hawaii, and loses 47 square miles of farmland to urban development each year. Yet historically California has received only about 5 percent of its fair share of federal farm conservation funds. From 1996 to 2001 the state averaged $8 million – but would have averaged more than $210 million if these funds were distributed proportional to the state’s agricultural output.

"California’s farmers have been getting rooked by the federal farm bill, but now we have a new opportunity to get our fair share of conservation funds," said Ben Wallace, conservation associate with the California Wilderness Coalition. "These conservation programs keep farmers and ranchers on the land, protect their livelihood, hold back sprawl, and provide habitat for ducks, deer, and California’s imperiled species."

With production costs rising and prices falling, many California producers are hard pressed to protect wildlife habitat on their lands. The 2002 federal farm bill provides new programs and up to $38 billion for conservation over 6 years – an 80% boost – but California’s share remains uncertain.

USDA is now writing the rules for new programs such as the Conservation Security Program and Grasslands Reserve Program which can bring much-needed funding to California–but only if the state’s leaders make sure the rules are fair to California’s producers. Unlike previous bills, the 2002 farm bill makes substantial new programs and funds available to California’s fruit and vegetable farms and livestock ranches, including:

• new Conservation Security Program will pay producers of all kinds to provide direct, measurable benefits to wildlife and habitat on their working agricultural lands

• new Grasslands Reserve Program will pay ranchers for short- or long-term easements to protect working ranchlands from development

The Wild Harvest report recommends that California vigorously pursue these federal programs as well as state and local policies to streamline permitting, create one-stop shopping for conservation funding sources, expand Williamson Act protections, and much more.

Charlie Rominger of AH Rominger & Sons commented on the Wild Harvest report: "I think it is a huge step in the right direction. Everyone who is concerned about the environment and our future needs to recognize that part of the solution needs to be engaging in a constructive way with the people who are managing the land."

Rominger and his family farm 5,000 acres of tomatoes, beets, rice, wheat, corn, and other row crops in Yolo County, and have won the Central Valley Habitat Joint Venture’s Innovative Farmer Award for providing wildlife habitat on their lands.