May 2010 Information Share
Each month the Alliance members conduct an ‘information share’, exchanging news and events of interest to members and the community. At the May meeting members shared these:
- On May 25th, the Ag Permit streamlining ordinance will go before Supervisors. This ordinance was a balanced approach that neither side was completely satisfied with. It covers farm worker housing, gate posts/fences, agricultural structures, and development plan thresholds for environmental review. In the new plan, the threshold is 50,000 sf for large properties.
- The Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board held a public workshop on Wednesday, May 12, 2010 in San Luis Obispo, to discuss the preliminary draft regulation of discharges from irrigated lands. AFA member Kevin Merrill gave testimony at this workshop.
- UCSB students gave a presentation on May 13, including data on local agriculture production and consumption (90% of SB production goes out of the county). They are planning a conference for the Fall on local agriculture that will include obesity and malnutrition issues, as well as efforts for school foods programs.
Press Coverage of Buffer Policy Recommendation
The Alliance’s proposal for creating buffer zones around productive agricultural grounds has been noted in the press! Check out these links for coverage:
SBAFA Releases Recommended Ag Land Buffer Ordinance
March 16, 2010
Today members of the Ag Futures Alliance of Santa Barbara County (AFA) released the group’s proposal for an County ordinance to provide for land buffers around agricultural operations. The group has worked for over 12 months in developing this proposal and it represents a historic balancing of interests and needs between the County’s agricultural and environmental interests.
SBAFA Supports Hibbits Ranch Conservation Easement
February 2010—The members of the Santa Barbara Ag Futures Alliances agreed by consensus to send letters of support to the US Department of Agriculture and the California Department of Conservation in support of the Hibbits Ranch conservation project and the grant application of Land Trust of Santa Barbara for the project. To see the full text of the Alliance letter, click below:
Read More »5 Reasons why Ag Matters in Santa Barbara County
As part of the formation process for the Santa Barbara County Ag Futures Alliance, members were asked to list five reasons why agriculture matters in Santa Barbara County. Jim Poett, 5th-generation Santa Barbara cattle rancher wrote this eloquent appeal for the long-term value of ag to the County
Why Ag Matters, Jim Poett, Santa Barbara County AFA member
- NO DEAD END JOBS: I would prefer that my kids do not end up in dead end jobs. I did not encourage them to go into ag but I did not discourage them. Both of them in different ways, however, are making life decisions that are moving them in that direction. And both of them are more interested in ranching then sod busting. Ag matters because there are people who want to do it.
- MATRIX B: I participated for almost three years in the Gaviota Study Group. The idea was to find common ground on the future of the Gaviota Coast between environmentalists and landowners. For me one of the more enlightening moments grew out of a diagram Mike McGinnis (Bren School) brought to a meeting. The diagram was labeled “Matrix A”. It showed a “core reserve” drawn as a circle connected to another core reserve by a corridor so that at its heart the diagram, looked like a dumbbell. This “Core Reserve” and “Corridor” was surrounded by two buffer zones called inner and outer. The whole diagram looked like three concentric dog bones. This was an environmental paradigm and a strategy for looking at environmental conservation. I drew what I labeled “Matrix B” as an alternative. I erased “Core Reserve” at the center of the dumbbells and replaced it with “Urban Areas. Ag matters in SB because it is a more holistic way of environmental conservation. Read More »
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