San Diego Agricultural Planning Program
The San Diego Ag Planning Report is now available! Thank you to all of the producers and partners who contributed. Read the report here.
The San Diego region has the highest number of small and certified organic farms of any county in the nation, yet according to the 2015 California Farmland Conversion Report, our region has consistently ranked in the top 10 counties in California with the largest net loss of irrigated farmland since 1994. From 2019 to 2020, land dedicated to commercial agriculture decreased by almost 10,000 acres.
From Fall 2021 to Spring 2023, the San Diego Agricultural Planning Program identified, monitored, and assessed the ownership of active agricultural lands within the San Diego region to determine effective methods to strengthen agricultural production and the growing agricultural economy.
This two-year planning grant was funded by the California Department of Conservation with Cap-and-Trade proceeds through the Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program (SALC). The project was managed by the San Diego Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) and coordinated by the Resource Conservation District of Greater San Diego County (RCDGSDC).
These are the top ten policy priorities identified by agricultural producers to strengthen the future of agriculture in our County:
1. Assign agricultural liaisons for city and county governments
2. Design lease agreements that invest in working lands
3. Create a regional land use plan to prioritize agriculture
4. Fund growers to transition to low water-use crops and more efficient irrigation
5. Equip and incentivize producers to adopt climatesmart practices
6. Streamline construction of farmworker housing
7. Develop advanced water treatment facilities with priority for agricultural use
8. Inform small farming opportunities through analysis of costs and benefits of small farms
9. Expand technical assistance by providing more vocational training
10. Build capacity of farmers and farmworkers with training and services
What's Next?
The policy priorities identified by agricultural producers are being addressdd by partners across our region. Your interest keeps all of us accountable and moving forward. To check in on the status of a policy priority, contact us at ag@rcdsandiego.org and we will connect uyou with the lead partner on that effort.
Thank you for all your input, patience and trust through this process.
Mapping
- Mapping of historical, current and potential agricultural lands in San Diego County
- Estimation of carbon sequestration potentials on San Diego County agricultural lands
Outreach
- Producer needs assessment with more than 100 agricultural producers targeting under-represented operations, with support from our outreach partners at Mission RCD, CHIP's Farm to Institution, and Foodshed
- Two listening sessions with a variety of producers and demographics in different regions of the county
- Watch this overview of the Outreach Phase from UC Cooperative Extension’s 2022 Climate Symposium
Policy
Inventory of policies at local, regional and state level affecting priority policies identified in Outreach process
See here for a list of local policies affecting the primary agricultural regions of San DiegoHost (3) policy meetings to discuss priority issues for each topic
Land Presentation Slides- Water Availability and Efficiency
- View the recording of the Water policy meeting here
- Workforce Development
- View the recording of the Workforce policy meeting here
Host (1) strategic planning meeting to identify 1 project per policy topic, and form the working groups responsible for each project.
- You can view the working group project sheets below. If you are interested in the results of a working group, please reach out to Joel Kramer - ag@rcdsandiego.org.
Questions?
Please reach out to our Agriculture Department Director Joel Kramer
ag@rcdsandiego.org | 619-562-0096 x103