San Diego County officials would have you believe that they are responsible stewards, and concerned about Smart Growth and the impacts of sprawl on our agriculture and development in the region.

While it’s true that the economic value of farming is on the rise, the numbers of acreages is decreasing across the board, even for the ornamental croplands that raise floral and other high-value products. The net number of farms and acreage devoted to farming is declining in the wake of our public officials’ decisions to convert land from prime, statewide & unique farmland, and locally important farmland to non-agricultural uses.

• Currently, there are over 15,000 acres of agricultural land west of the County Water Authority being considered for development by the County Department of Land Use.*
  
  
• Since 1984, San Diego County has lost 30,000 acres in all categories of farmland.
  
  
• The total acres of farms in San Diego County decreased 8%, twice the statewide average for the period between 1992-1997.
  
  
• According to the CA Dept. of Resources, San Diego County ranks in the Top Ten Counties in the state with the largest “Net Losses” of Irrigated Farmland. And we’re moving up in the ranks from the 9th worst county losses in the state in 1994 to the 8th in 1998.

*200,000 acres in San Diego’s backcountry are currently under a moratorium for development, subject to the County’s General Plan Amendment 96-03 lawsuit between SOFAR and the County of San Diego.

For further information on San Diego County Farming statistics, please follow the links below:
http://www.consrv.ca.gov/dlrp/FMMP/pubs/convrsn/9496/96rptrv2.pdf
http://www.nass.usda.gov/census/census97/highlights/ca/cac037.txt