October 21, 2024
Posted in: Press Releases
SANTA ROSA, CA (October 21, 2024) – Sonoma County Ag + Open Space is proud to announce the creation of a Buy-Protect-Sell pilot program, which aims to address barriers for farmers and ranchers looking to own their own land. Via a simple initial application process, Ag + Open Space will develop a pool of potential buyers, and will then identify, purchase, conserve, and sell a property to a potential buyer from that pool. Staff are looking to pilot the buy-protect-sell model with one property by the end of 2025, and the program materials are available starting today at SonomaOpenSpace.org/FarmlandForAll.
Borne out of the Vital Lands Initiative, this pilot is the first tool developed through the Farmland for All program, which will focus on offering multiple tools and strategies for conserving agricultural lands while enhancing equitable access for farmers and ranchers. Through extensive conversations with stakeholders, a path toward permanent land ownership was identified as a high priority for many farmers and ranchers.
“Agriculture is at the heart of what makes Sonoma County so vibrant and special,” said Ag + Open Space Board Chair David Rabbitt. “Small farms are a vital part of our agricultural community, and implementing tools like buy-protect-sell means we’re taking steps towards making farmland more accessible to those who otherwise wouldn’t have the resources needed to purchase their own land.”
To ensure the property chosen for this pilot is conserved and in agricultural use forever, Ag + Open Space will place a conservation easement and an affirmative agricultural covenant on the property after purchase. The conservation easement will remove the development rights on the land, meaning it cannot be further subdivided or developed, and the affirmative agricultural covenant will require the land to remain in active agriculture forever. Removing development rights and mandating agricultural use often reduces the land’s appraised value, making it more affordable.
Additionally, staff are exploring the use of an affordability covenant, an innovative practice that can limit the maximum price of the property in future sales and outline requirements for any future owners. Both the easement and the two covenants are tools that can protect the land’s natural resources, keep it in agriculture, and try to ensure its accessibility to future generations of farmers.
“Now is a time for creative responses to the many challenges facing farmers and ranchers,” said Ag + Open Space General Manager Misti Arias. “While we continue to conserve our multi-generational dairies and ranches, we are also looking at the current and future needs of our community and seeing what role we can play in supporting diverse agriculture throughout our county. Our Buy-Protect-Sell program is one way we’re trying to meet this moment.”
The program is informed by a study commissioned by Ag + Open Space, in partnership with UC Cooperative Extension and Sustainable Agriculture Education, to better understand the needs of limited resource farmers – a term used to refer to a farmer or rancher who has limited access to the funds and other forms of capital needed to support development of a financially sustainable agricultural operation. Limited resource farmers are often highly skilled and experienced agricultural producers – many of Sonoma County’s local food and fiber producers fall within this community. These farmers and ranchers are essential to building a vibrant, diverse agricultural sector, which provides multiple social, economic, and ecological benefits to the county.
“There are many people out there with the skills and drive needed to run a successful farm, but the barriers often feel insurmountable,” said Wendy Krupnick, Acting President Sonoma County Chapter of the Community Alliance with Family Farmers and owner and operator of Chiatri de Laguna Farm. “I’m heartened to see Ag + Open Space taking steps to increase land access, and feel hopeful for the future of small farmers in Sonoma County.”
This fresh and creative approach to increasing land access for agricultural operators is in response to major shifts occurring throughout the agricultural industry – skyrocketing property prices, existing farmers getting older and looking to retire, a rapidly changing climate, and the systemic barriers to people of color having the access and resources needed to purchase land.
“Ag + Open Space was created to, in part, help ensure a future for agriculture in Sonoma County,” Arias adds. “We’re excited to take this major step forward in finding solutions for making land more accessible to the future farmers we will all rely upon to feed us.”
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