CA agricultural industry divided into conversions of solar farms

From And WaltersCalmness

This comment was originally published by CalmattersS Register about their ballots.

Imperial irrigation area that provides water to farmers in the southeast corner of California, prepare a figurative line in the sand earlier this month, calling for stopping the Transformation of agricultural fields to solar panel farmsS

Noting that more than 13,000 acres of fertile land have already been transformed, the water area has asked the Council of the Imperial County Supervisory Bodies to protect productive agricultural lands.

“Our identity and economy in the Imperial Valley are rooted in agriculture,” said Gina Dokstader, who chairs the Regional Council. “Solar energy plays a role in the future of our region, but it cannot come with the price of our agricultural land, supply of food or families that depend on agriculture. This resolution is to protect our way of life.”

Imperial Valley conflict is a manifestation of an increasingly acter debate within California Agricultural sector of $ 60 billion – The largest of any country – above what needs to happen, as the area dedicated to crops and livestock is shrinking.

The State Department of Conservation says that The agricultural land decreased by more than 1.6 million acres Between 1984 and 2018., An average of 47,000 acres a year. The most productive land is the most delayed. Urbanization – the transformation of areas into homes and businesses – is a larger part of the decline, but housing has slowed in recent years, contributing to a shortage of chronic housing.

Other factors, such as labor shortages, production costs and uncertain water supply, have created what Industry leaders say it’s a crisisS The Institute of Public Policy in California estimated that the recently imposed restrictions on eavesdropping on underground aquifers to irrigate crop will lead to 500,000 decares of agricultural land have been removed from productionS

Just recently, President Donald Trump imposing tariffs and repression on undocumented immigrants have given more pressure on the agricultural industry.

As farmers, especially larger corporate producers, remove land from production, many believe that their economic salvation is located in solar panel massifs that generate electricity without emissions that the state wants, as it gradually feeds on the hydrocarbons.

However, this does not sit well with farmers who want to continue production, as implies the call of Imperial Servation District for a solar moratorium.

Like many conflicts, this one has landed in Capitol in the form of legislation. Assembly Bill 1156 It would facilitate farmers whose lands are obliged to remain an open space under the Williamson Act to avoid paying the heavy penalties required by law.

Thehe Williamson ActAdopted six decades ago to delay the spread of urban development in agricultural land, it gives farmers huge interruptions of taxes on land ownership they maintain as an open space. AB 1156 would say specifically that farmers can replace crops with solar farms without imposing penalties if the owner is lacking water. The bill is supported by solar electricity, environmentalists, unions and very large farmers.

The California Agricultural Bureau and Family Agricultural Groups are opposed to it, claiming that it will undermine the Williamson Act, as almost every farmer can declare a shortage of water, given the chronic uncertainty of California water supply. Burning the position of Imperial Servigation District, opponents claim that the conversion of wholesale of agricultural land into solar farms will devastate rural communities that depend on agriculture for jobs.

Politically, this is David’s conflict against Goliath. AB 1156 worn by Assembly Buffy WicksDemocrat from Oakland moves quickly through the legislative process. This has already been cleared at the meeting and is likely to hit the Senate floor soon.

The problem of shifting solar farms is just one of the many factors that will determine the future of agriculture in California. The bigger existential question deserves more political attention than it gets.

This article was Originally Published on CalMatters and was reissued under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Noderivatives License.