The Governator's War on Agriculture

The Ethicurean alerts us to a troubling little "add on" to The Governator's Budget Plan.

As suburbia roars into farming and ranching areas, the new housing and offices bring the possibility of higher property-tax rates for farms and ranches, which means more money in the coffers of local government. If owners of working farms and ranches are required to pay property taxes based on their land’s residential or commercial valuation, they usually have no choice but to sell the land to developers. A 1965 California law known as the Williamson Act helps preserve farms and ranches by allowing those who enroll in the program to have their land taxed at a rate based on actual use, not potential use. The state then compensates cities and counties for the revenue loss.

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

BURIED IN Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s budget plans for next year is a small but truly bad idea. He wants to save $40 million by canceling a farmland preservation program.

He thinks he can dump the costs on rural and suburban counties, a favorite gambit of Sacramento budget balancers. In this case, however, he will unhinge a successful state plan that rewards agriculture and local government for staving off sprawl.

…Ditching [the Williamson Act] won’t mean that hard-pressed counties will step in and take over the subsidies. It will likely result in land sales, a decline in farming and ranching, new development in unprepared areas and a giant monkey wrench tossed into efforts to control and plan California’s growth.

Just a little thought...nearly 16.9 million of the state’s 29 million acres of farm and ranch land are currently protected under the Williamson Act. California Department of Conservation statistics show that between 2002 and 2004, Fresno County lost 11 agricultural acres a day. Kern County lost 9 a day, Merced 4, Stanislaus 8, San Joaquin 5 and San Diego 10. Kings and Imperial both lost the equivalent of 6 acres a day during that period.

Do we really want to trust all of our food to be imported from China?

The California Department of Health Services (CDHS) is advising consumers not to eat monkfish imported from China because the product may actually be puffer fish, a species that may contain a powerful toxin which can cause serious illness or death if consumed. - KFSN Fresno