- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
California had been spending nearly $38 million a year to protect about 16 million acres of farmland under the Williamson Act, but budget cuts could mean the program designed to slow the state's staggering rate of urbanization will disappear, the Associated Press reported.
California cut Williamson Act funding funding by 10 percent in the 2008 budget year and cut all but $1,000 for it in 2009. The current budget originally included $10 million for the program, but Gov. Jerry Brown eliminated that last month. Budget negotiations are continuing, but there's little expectation the program will...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Enacted in 1965, the Williamson Act has allowed many of the state's farmers to stay in the agriculture business instead of selling their property for development. Under the act, rural land owners commit to keeping their property in farming for 10 years and, in exchange, receive a property tax break. The state reimbursed county governments from the state general fund for money lost to the tax break.
However, because of the budget crisis, the state is considering suspending the reimbursements, according to an column by freelance writer Don Curlee. In the story, Curlee outlined an article that appeared...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
University of California Cooperative Extension will be at the table with the Tulare County farm bureau, farmers, county supervisors and others as the Tulare County Resource Management Agency looks for ways to preserve farmland without the Williamson Act, according to an article in the Porterville Recorder.
The story said 6,611 Williamson Act contracts are in place in Tulare County, affecting 35 percent of county land.
Because of the difficult budget times, the state cut funding for the Williamson Act, which provided tax benefits to farmers who agreed to keep their land in agriculture for set periods of time.
RMA is holding a...