California loses an average of 50,000 acres of farmland annually, primarily to urban and suburban development, which increases greenhouse gas emissions and exacerbates farmland access and food security challenges.¹ In California, cropland emits 58-70 times fewer greenhouse gases per acre compared to developed land.² To combat this challenge and address the need for smart growth strategies that protect farmland, California launched the Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program (SALC) in 2014, which provides grants to support the permanent protection of at-risk agricultural land. Funding is available for agricultural conservation easements and fee title acquisitions, capacity and project development grants, and local government plans that prevent the conversion of farmland to more greenhouse-gas-intensive uses.³

The program is funded through the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) program as part of its strategy to promote infill, transit-oriented development and protect farmland. AHSC also funds affordable housing and transportation near jobs, schools and other essential services.

SALC currently receives 10% of the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program’s 20% continuous appropriation from the state Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) which is funded through the state’s Cap-and-Trade program.⁴ This continuous funding source has enabled the administering agency, the Department of Conservation, and farmland conservation partners to plan around consistent grant application timelines and funding availability, and allowed for permanent staff hires to support program administration.

Since 2014, SALC has funded 204 conservation easement projects and 2 fee title acquisition projects to protect approximately 244,700 acres in 38 counties across the state.⁵ This conserved acreage is equivalent to almost four times the size of Sacramento. The program additionally has funded 38 planning projects and 39 capacity projects to help organizations develop agricultural conservation easement and fee acquisition projects for future rounds.

The SALC program is the third most cost-effective greenhouse gas reduction program in the state out of ninety programs funded through GGRF. SALC is responsible for 15% of the GGRF’s total emission reductions despite receiving only 2% of its funding.

CalCAN and American Farmland Trust worked with 20 California land trusts and other farmland conservation advocates, including the California Farm Bureau, this spring to share a letter with the legislature urging them to maintain the state’s 20% AHSC allocation, ensuring at least 2% of GGRF for SALC.

CalCAN has a broader strategy around ensuring stable investment in agricultural climate solutions through cap and trade. As recently shared in our May Revise blog, this year CalCAN has been advocating to protect the continuous appropriation for SALC and to secure a continuous set-aside of funding for a portfolio of other agricultural climate solutions and programs. CalCAN has also been advocating for reforms to the Cap-and-Trade Program that could increase overall GGRF revenue by approximately $1 billion per year in order to invest in solutions that more directly protect communities and lower costs for California households.

How You Can Support

To be successful in these efforts, we will need a strong show of support from our network. If you’re a land trust, farmer, or farmland conservation partner interested in joining our letter or joining our advocacy, please email Anna Larson, Associate Policy Director, at anna[at]calclimateag.org.

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1. https://www.conservation.ca.gov/dlrp/fmmp/Pages/Fast-Facts.aspx ↩︎
2. https://farmlandinfo.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/08/AFT_FUT_Abundant-Future-7_29_22-WEB.pdf ↩︎
3. https://sgc.ca.gov/meetings-events/council/2023/12-14/docs/20231214-8_SALC_Staff_Report_Round_9_Awards.pdf ↩︎
4.  https://sgc.ca.gov/meetings-events/council/2023/12-14/docs/20231214-8_SALC_Staff_Report_Round_9_Awards.pdf ↩︎
5. https://sgc.ca.gov/meetings-events/council/2023/12-14/docs/20231214-8_SALC_Staff_Report_Round_9_Awards.pdf ↩︎