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Currently, California’s land-use strategies focus more on preserving existing farmland and promoting efficient, sustainable agriculture rather than expanding the acreage under cultivation or "ruralizing" previously developed land. However, a few initiatives do explore limited ways to add farmland by reclaiming degraded or underutilized land for agriculture:
Urban Agriculture Incentive Zones (UAIZ):
Brownfield Remediation and Reclamation:
In California, while these efforts don’t directly increase the total farmland acreage on a large scale, they represent incremental approaches to making more land productive for agriculture. The focus remains largely on protecting and optimizing the use of existing agricultural lands rather than adding significant new acreage.
Urban Agriculture Incentive Zones (UAIZ):
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California’s Urban Agriculture Incentive Zones allow private landowners in urban areas to receive tax incentives if they convert vacant or underutilized lots into urban agriculture sites. This program aims to add small-scale, localized agricultural production within city limits, indirectly increasing California’s overall agricultural output by tapping into underutilized urban spaces
Agency Forward® - Nationwide
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Programs like the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s (CDFA) Healthy Soils Program encourage regenerative practices that may allow previously marginal or degraded lands to become productive again. Although not specifically aimed at expanding farmland, regenerative practices improve soil health, allowing some previously underperforming lands to be revitalized for agriculture
Taranis
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Some conservation programs work to restore degraded rangelands for grazing. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) partners with ranchers to enhance soil and vegetation quality on grazing lands. While this doesn’t add new farmland, it expands the productivity of grazing areas, indirectly contributing to the agricultural economy
FIC
- Some local organizations and land trusts work to rehabilitate underused rural lands for small-scale farming. For instance, initiatives focused on regenerative agriculture, such as those promoted by American Farmland Trust (AFT), advocate for policies and practices that encourage the use of rural land for diversified, small-scale agriculture
Agency Forward® - Nationwide
Brownfield Remediation and Reclamation:
- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides grants to clean up brownfields, which are previously developed or contaminated lands. In some urban and peri-urban areas of California, these remediated brownfields are repurposed for agriculture, particularly in community or urban farming projects. For example, the EPA’s Brownfields Program and local California agencies encourage converting suitable remediated lands into urban farms, increasing productive agricultural space within cities
FIC
In California, while these efforts don’t directly increase the total farmland acreage on a large scale, they represent incremental approaches to making more land productive for agriculture. The focus remains largely on protecting and optimizing the use of existing agricultural lands rather than adding significant new acreage.