[Scpg] SF Gate: Return to its roots/Sonoma County about to test plan to let farmers grow vegetables on public land instead of deserting region

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Tuesday, December 11, 2001 (SF Chronicle)
Return to its roots/Sonoma County about to test plan to let farmers grow 
vegetables on public land instead of deserting region
Pamela J. Podger, Chronicle Staff Writer


    Rich soil lying fallow around Sonoma County's cities holds new promise for
vegetable farmers squeezed by rising vineyard and real estate prices.
    The county is proposing to plow greenbelts into farm belts in a rare
conversion of public land into production agriculture. The experimental
program will see vegetables sprouting on 50 acres of land owned by the
Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation & Open Space District.
    Andrea Mackenzie, the district's general manager, says the Small Farms
Initiative, which is to begin next month, will give farmers a place to
grow tomatoes, eggplant, snow peas and other vegetables. If it succeeds,
more greenbelt acreage will be devoted to farming.
    Growing vegetables on public land is usually a small-scale, neighborhood
venture, like community gardens on vacant lots. Sonoma County's program is
far more ambitious, intending to educate people about farming, retain crop
diversity and diminish trucking costs by cultivating vegetables near the
outdoor markets and specialty grocers that offer local fare.
    "To us, this has multiple benefits," Mackenzie said. "We've preserved the
scenic values, but we want to return this to working farmlands and have
the community understand where their food comes from."
    The plan will also give farmers access to expensive Bay Area acreage that
would otherwise be out of reach.
    "Some of the best farmland is on the urban fringe," said Keith Abeles,
regional coordinator for the Community Alliance with Family Farmers, which
will help the program with neighbor relations. A program like this, he
said, will make "it easier to get it (produce) into the market" -- a key
consideration in the Bay Area, where consumers place a premium on
freshness and quality.
    The need for farmland at nonspeculative prices is considerable. The Sonoma
County agricultural crop reports show that in the past few years, about
850 acres was removed from vegetable production, from 1,507 acres in 1997
to just 659 acres in 2000. Some of acreage was converted to wine grapes or
housing.
    Mike Gregg of American Ag Appraisal says the county's land prices depend
on the land's soil and location. Petaluma's clay soils near Highway 101
command prices of $8,000 to $15,000 an acre, but that jumps dramatically
in Healdsburg's Dry Creek Valley, a premium wine-growing area, where an
acre fetches about $70,000.
    As a result, many vegetable farmers -- who face stiff competition from
growers in the Central Valley, where production costs are lower -- hope
for long-term leases to lock in their land costs.
    About 30 vegetable farmers have expressed interest in the pilot program,
which makes the land available for at least five years. That will give
farmers enough time to enrich the soil, build greenhouses, dig a well and
recoup other long-term investments.
    Wayne James, 45, has been growing vegetables for 15 years on leased land.
He sells his produce at farmers' markets in Marin, Sonoma and San
Francisco counties with his sister, Lee, and his partner, Eve Truxaw. He
also offers subscription farming, where he delivers boxes of seasonal
vegetables to consumers.
    James is eyeing a parcel owned by the Open Space District that has the
potential for a roadside stand for direct marketing.
    "To buy something of value here is impossible for us," James said. "My
friend in the Central Valley tells me to come down there, where you can
get 40 acres with producing fruit trees, house and barn for $400,000."
    By contrast, James said the sellers of a 13-acre piece of flat land
suitable for vegetable farming in Healdsburg wanted $2.25 million.
    "There is absolutely no way that farming vegetables could even pay the
interest on that land," he said.
    Ken Orchard, 36, a certified organic farmer since 1996, said that
"everything is against you at the beginning" -- the years when, with
minimal income, a vegetable farmer builds up the soil, installs irrigation
or constructs a greenhouse. Orchard currently farms about 10 acres
scattered throughout the county and sells his produce by subscription as
well as at six farmers' markets.
    "I am very prepared to be the largest grower in Sonoma County," he said.
"It is a matter of finding the land. . . . If I don't have the 100 or 200
acres, I can't say 'yes' to people when they call and ask if I have salad
mix."
    Mike Dimmock of Select Sonoma County, a program that promotes local farm
goods and will help market produce from the Small Farms Initiative, said
allowing farmers access to the public land would benefit the county.
    "Small farmers are good for the mix, and their existence enhances the wine
industry," Dimmock said, noting that many growers had already moved
elsewhere because of the high land costs and labor expenses. "The Open
Space District will get some revenue from the farmers, but they aren't
looking for a return on investment like a corporation. Their perspective
is what helps the public good -- in this case, it is defined as the
retention and enhancement of specialty crop growers in Sonoma County."
    Desmond Jolly, director of the Small Farms Center in Davis, commended
Sonoma County's "conscious effort" to allow farming on public land.
    "You preserve the green space and support the development of family-scale
farming that provides employment," Jolly said. "We would like to monitor
and see how it works. Then, maybe we have the grounds of replicating it
elsewhere."

    E-mail Pamela J. Podger at ppodger at sfchronicle.com.
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Copyright 2001 SF Chronicle

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