SACRAMENTO – California has some of the most productive farmland in the world, but the pace at which the state’s land is being urbanized is accelerating, exceeding 90,000 acres between 1998 and 2000
SACRAMENTO – California has some of the most productive farmland in the world, but the pace at which the state’s land is being urbanized is accelerating, exceeding 90,000 acres between 1998 and 2000, according to a new report from the California Department of Conservation.
DOC’s Farmland Mapping and Monitoring Program maps land-use change on 90 percent of the privately owned land in the state. It produces a biennial report to help decision-makers assess the status of California’s agricultural land and plan for the future.
California Farmland Conversion Report 1998-2000 shows that urban development increased by 30 percent, compared with the 1996-98 data. There were 91,258 new urban acres in the state, the most in a decade. Prime farmland accounted for 19 percent of the total. Other irrigated farmland comprised an additional 8 percent.
“California leads the nation in agricultural production and at the same time needs to create places to live and work for its ever-growing population,” Department of Conservation Director Darryl Young said. “This report is intended to help local policy makers decide how best to balance the needs of a growing economy and agriculture.”
Some of the highlights from the report:
Of the 48 counties involved in the survey -- those that do not have significant amounts of agriculture or lack modern soil surveys are omitted -- 29 had net decreases in irrigated acreage.
More than 10,000 acres were removed from irrigated farmland categories in Riverside, San Diego and Kern counties. It should be noted that farmland losses are not just due to urbanization, but also to conversion to low-density residential uses, ecological restoration projects, or long-term land idling. Fa