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Posts Tagged: California Agriculture journal

GIS identifies best farmland for conservation

Geographic information system (GIS) models developed at UC Davis are being used to pinpoint the best farmland for conservation in the Central Valley. A new landscape-scale method, described in a recent issue of California Agriculture journal, was applied in Fresno County, and the approach is being extended regionally in the San Joaquin Valley.

“Policy programs and local planning agencies must assess farmland before implementing policies and programs aimed at farmland conservation,” lead author Evan Schmidt wrote in California Agriculture. “The application of GIS to existing land-assessment practices can update and reinvigorate [currently used] techniques.”

The method involves integrating environmental and human factors into a GIS to develop maps of strategic farmlands to be targeted for conservation. These five factors are:

  • Soil productivity, based on maps developed by the California Department of Conservation’s Farmland Mapping and Monitoring Program (FMMP).

  • Water cost and reliability, based on maps developed by California agricultural commissioner’s offices.

  • Microclimate, to identify areas with optimal growing conditions.

  • Environmental sensitivity, to incorporate state and federal designations of vernal pools and wetlands.

  • Urban growth pressure, to identify areas within and adjacent to existing cities that are expected to be developed in coming years.

With extensive input from the public, agency officials and land-use professionals, the method expands upon farmland assessment frameworks developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and FMMP soil classification maps.

The Fresno County GIS-based assessment identified 343,321 acres of “very-high-value” farmland, mostly in the eastern and southern county and located in areas without existing or projected urban development. “High-value” farmland, totaling 491,613 acres, was similarly situated but included more acreage in the western county.

“In Fresno County, we found that the majority of growth to 2050 could fit into existing spheres of influence,” Schmidt and co-authors wrote. “This important information challenges decision-makers to set and maintain policies that encourage compact growth and infill development in order to preserve Fresno County’s highest-value farmland.”

Posted on Wednesday, November 24, 2010 at 7:55 AM
  • Author: Janet Byron

Ag operations annoy some urbanites

Agriculture is a key industry in Merced County, contributing nearly $3 billion per year to the local economy, but city dwellers living next door find it's not all tranquility and charm, according to an article in the Merced Sun Star.

The story was based on a research report in the most recent California Agriculture journal, "California communities deal with conflict and adjustment at the urban edge," which focused on the confluence of agriculture and neighborhoods in Merced and Monterey counties.

UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor Maxwell Norton, one of the study's authors, told reporter Carol Reiter that the research involved interviews and the tracking of urban-agriculture complaints to agricultural commissioners. Most complaints from urban residents are about aerial spraying, night noise and dust.

"In Los Banos people seem to be very sensitive to planes flying over their homes," Norton was quoted. "They automatically think if it's a small plane, it's an ag plane."

The study also looked into reasons for varying levels of urban/ag conflict in different localities.
"We found that the population of Los Banos is fundamentally different from the population in Livingston," Norton said. "In Los Banos, there are a lot of truly urban people, Bay Area transplants who are commuting. They did not grow up around ag."

Norton said farmers have learned to tread lightly when it comes to getting along with their neighbors.

"They try to avoid tractoring or spraying in the afternoons when children are home," Norton was quoted "And there are some crops they avoid growing near urban areas, like cotton."

Keeping urban areas as compact as possible will help ease conflicts as the valley's population grows, the authors suggested in the California Agriculture article.

"There are many more residents now scattered throughout the rural areas," Norton said. "It's become increasingly difficult to have a buffer between the farms and residential areas."

An 'urban edge' near Monterey. (Photo: California Agriculture journal)
An 'urban edge' near Monterey. (Photo: California Agriculture journal)

Posted on Tuesday, September 21, 2010 at 8:15 AM

A Salute to California Agriculture

Do you recognize the native bee that graces the cover of...

California Agriculture
California Agriculture

A CARPENTER BEE graces the cover of the current edition of California Agriculture. This spectacular photo is the work of Rollin Coville. See the California Agriculture journal online at http://californiaagriculture.ucanr.org/.

Posted on Wednesday, July 8, 2009 at 6:17 PM

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