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SACRAMENTO – More
than 1,600 acres of new farmland were
created in Lake County from 1998-2000,
according to a map released today by the
California Department of Conservation.
The map is designed to help local
governments evaluate land-use planning
decisions.
The Farmland Mapping and Monitoring
Program, part of DOC's Division of Land
Resource Protection, maps 44.5 million
acres of California's public and private
land to produce a major study every two
years.
The FMMP noted numerous changes of land
previously categorized as grazing or
"other" land – wetlands, low-density "ranchettes"
and brush or timberlands unsuitable for
grazing. New vineyards and vineyard
expansions, primarily in the eastern and
southern parts of the county, accounted
for 1,671 new acres of farmland. The
individual changes ranged from 25 to 375
acres.
During the last mapping cycle, 1996-98,
Lake County gained 900 new acres of
farmland.
Lake County bucked the statewide trend
in not only gaining farmland, but also
experiencing a slower rate of
urbanization. During the 1996-98 cycle,
Lake County gained 787 acres of new
urbanized land. In the most recent
survey, the FMMP found only 75 new
urbanized acres.
Since the 1996 FMMP survey, Lake County
has gained 2,573 acres of farmland and
862 acres of urbanized land.
The new map has been sent to local
planning officials. Interested parties
such as the county Farm Bureau, Local
Agency Formation Commission, planning
consultants and area resource
conservation districts have received
copies.
"We do this mapping to help counties
plan and prepare for their expected
growth in the coming years," Department
of Conservation Director Darryl Young
said. "Unlike most of the state, there’s
more farmland in Lake County today than
there was two years ago. However,
urbanization can occur relatively
quickly, and it’s important for local
governments to have the information the
Farmland Mapping and Monitoring Program
provides as a tool to balance the needs
of a growing population with those of
the agricultural economy and natural
areas."
Of the 850,983 acres mapped in Lake
County, 59 percent was categorized as
"other" land, 28 percent as grazing
land, just under 6 percent each as
farmland and water, and less than 2
percent as urbanized land. The
California Department of Food and
Agriculture assesses the gross value of
agricultural production at $53.6 million
in Lake County in 2000, ranking it 40th
among the state’s 58 counties,
respectively.
While the amount of urbanization
occurring in Lake County is relatively
small, the California Department of
Finance projects that the population
will grow from its current 62,600 to
99,600 by 2020.
The latest statewide study by the FMMP,
Farmland Conversion Report 1996-98, was
released in the fall of 2000. About
70,000 acres were urbanized throughout
the state; more than 43,000 acres of the
new urban land, an area about the size
of the city of Modesto, were developed
on agricultural land.
Through the Department of Conservation,
the state offers programs that provide
financial incentives to keep land in
agricultural use. The California
Farmland Conservancy Program makes
monies available to local governments,
land trusts or resource conservation
districts to purchase permanent
agricultural conservation easements from
willing landowners. These easements
prohibit future development. Farmland
Security Zone and Williamson Act
contracts provide potential tax breaks
to landowners who commit to keeping
their land in agricultural use for
periods of 20 or 10 years, respectively.
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