Show your support for land access!
Sign CAFF's letter of support to help pass this bill. (The deadline for signing is April 22nd.)
To date, there is no state-level program dedicated to providing financial or technical resources to support farmers with land tenure. AB 524 is a bold step to fill this gap, creating the first statewide program in California dedicated to land security. Administered by the Department of Conservation (DOC) in consultation with the Agricultural Land Equity Task Force, this program aims to do the following:
- Provide financial resources to various entities, including beginning and underserved farmer cooperatives, SDFR-serving non-profit organizations, community land trusts, Tribal governments, Tribal entities, and land trusts to purchase land with the overall purpose of providing long-term leases or transferring land to beginning & underserved farmers and Tribal communities directly.
- Provide essential technical assistance and infrastructural needs to ensure the long-term viability and success of these future farmers and land stewards.
Note: While CAFF is the public sponsor of this bill, CAFF is acting as a representative of the land equity collective – a BIPOC-led collective focused on developing transformational systems-level policy solutions to ensure equitable access to agricultural land in California.
Quick Facts about the California Land Equity Crisis
- The largest 5% of properties — with “property” defined as all parcels owned by a given landowner — account for 50.6% of California cropland, while the smallest 84% of properties account for 25% of cropland. (Luke Macaulay and Van Butsic / UCANR).
- 37% of landowners are non-farming owners and rent or lease out their land to others (Bigelow et al. 2016).
- 1 in 5 farmers in California are considered socially disadvantaged farmers & ranchers (SDFR; better known as underserved farmers).
- Land tenure is one of the most pressing challenges for underserved farmers as noted in the 2020 Farmer Equity Act Report.