How did you become involved in agriculture? I was born and raised on a cattle and sheep operation in Sonoma County and grew up helping my parents in all aspects of the operation. I went to the local junior college and then to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo to earn an ag business degree. What does the California Farmland Trust do? Our mission is to help farmers protect the best farmland in the world. We do this by way of a legal protection called a conservation easement. When a farmer comes to us, they want to ensure that their land can remain in agriculture forever. Many want to honor the previous generations’ hard work and see the land passed on to the next generation to continue its legacy. Putting the land in an agriculture conservation easement brings peace of mind to the landowner, knowing the land can never be turned into shopping malls or housing tracts. So the easement preserves a farm or ranch as agricultural land forever? When an easement is placed on the land, it says the land can no longer be subdivided into urban uses or non-agricultural uses, in perpetuity. We compensate the farmer for the (development) right that they’re giving up on their land. They still own the land; they still work the land and they can sell the land. It just needs to be in agriculture and farmland forever. You’re a strong advocate of California farmland. California has a unique, Mediterranean-type climate and prime soils that really are not found in very many other places in the world. California produces more than 400 commodities…. We have farmers that are embracing the latest science, new technology and eºciencies so we’re able to grow more food for more people all year long. We need to strive to have a more organized urban development pattern so that housing and urban amenities can exist, while producing the abundance of food in California. Do you have a personal investment in preserving farmland? My personal motivation is to ensure that my two boys, if they choose to, can have the opportunity to farm. Our oldest son, who currently works o the farm, wishes to take over the operation. I want to ensure that he has the ability to be in farming and has access to farmland.
Charlotte Mitchell walks through her family’s walnut orchard with sons J.C., left on opposite page, and Austin. She and husband Ken, above, honor the family’s agricultural legacy with a photo that includes his great- great-grandfather, a sheep shearer.
MORE ONLINE Discover which region of California is losing the most farmland and how the California Farmland Trust teaches schoolchildren about agriculture at californiabountiful.com.
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