June 2026
Action Alert: Protect Funding for Farmland Conservation
California is at risk of losing one of its most effective tools for permanently protecting farmland, preserving open space, and combating climate change.
Proposed reductions to funding for the Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation (SALC) Program threaten future opportunities to permanently conserve working farms and ranches across the state.
Now is a pivotal moment for the future of farmland conservation in California. The legislative decisions made today will determine whether future generations inherit productive farms and ranches or watch them disappear forever. Here in Yolo County, where agriculture is woven into our landscape, economy, and way of life, the consequences of reducing farmland conservation funding would be profound.
Agriculture is the backbone of California’s economy, environment, and food system. According to the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), California produces more than 400 commodities, supports over 1.2 million ag-related jobs, and is home to 43 million acres of farmland and rangeland. Nearly half of the nation’s vegetables and more than three-quarters of its fruits and nuts are grown here.
California loses an average of 37,000 acres of farmland and ranchland each year to conversion to non-agricultural uses. Once these lands are paved over or fragmented, they rarely return to agriculture. The loss is permanent, not only for the farmers who steward the land, but for every Californian who depends on a resilient local food supply, open space, clean air, and a healthy environment.
The SALC Program provides critical funding to permanently protect farmland from conversion to non-agricultural uses. Through conservation easements, land acquisitions, and planning grants, the program prevents urban sprawl, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and keeps working lands working.
Since 2015, SALC has been funded by the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF). As part of California Climate Investments (CCI), the program directs Cap-and-Invest dollars toward projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, strengthen local economies, and improve public health and the environment.
Out of 115 programs funded through GGRF, SALC is the third most cost-effective greenhouse gas reduction program in the state. Remarkably, SALC is responsible for 20% of the GGRF’s total emission reductions despite historically receiving only 2% of its funding.
Agricultural lands are one of California’s most effective climate solutions. An acre of farmland produces 66 times fewer greenhouse gas emissions than one acre of developed land.
SALC is a win for climate, food security, farmers and ranchers, and for California’s agriculture economy.
In Yolo County, some of the most fertile and productive farms in California face increasing pressure from development, water scarcity, and a changing climate. Without programs like SALC, farms and ranches that feed our communities, support wildlife habitat, sustain rural economies, and help combat climate change will continue to disappear.
For organizations like Yolo Land Trust, along with many other organizations, SALC is more than a grant program, it is one of the primary funding sources that allows agricultural conservation easement projects to move forward.
Yolo Land Trust has seen firsthand what SALC makes possible. Since 2018, YLT has received $2.02M in SALC grant funding to permanently protect 313 acres of prime farmland. Most recently, SALC provided YLT with $2.34 million to permanently protect 800 acres of Yolo County farmland across four family-owned farms. Without the SALC program, many conservation projects simply would not be financially feasible.
Looking ahead, Yolo Land Trust hopes to access SALC funding to protect two additional farms, totaling more than 1,000 acres. Those opportunities, and many others across California, could be lost if funding is reduced.
Demand for farmland conservation has never been greater. Yet SALC funding now faces significant reductions despite being California’s premier farmland conservation program. Demand has historically exceeded available funding. In 2025 alone, the program invested more than $130 million to support 47 projects statewide, with more than $212 million in applications submitted.
SALC is not the only tool available for farmland conservation, but it is one of the most important. Public investment has played a vital role in protecting Yolo County’s farmland. In the past, Yolo Land Trust has secured funding to protect local farmland from the former California Farmland Conservancy Program, and the former USDA Farm and Ranchlands Protection Program. At the local level, Yolo Land Trust continues to rely on Measure O funding to preserve agricultural lands in Davis. Together with private easement donations and private purchase required for mitigation, these historic grant program investments have enabled Yolo Land Trust to permanently conserve 13,085 acres across 78 farms in Yolo County.
Every conservation success depends on a diverse funding strategy. If the SALC Program is reduced, we lose one of our most consistent, accessible and flexible funding sources dedicated to permanently protecting California farmland.
Yolo Land Trust urges the California Legislature to maintain the Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation (SALC) Program’s continuous Cap-and-Invest funding and appropriate $90 million to meet current and increasing funding demands.
Protecting farmland means protecting our food, our environment, our rural communities, and our future. The time to invest in SALC is now.