Salt Buildup, Erosion Called Threat to Farms

Soil erosion and salination have become major causes of diminished productivity of farmland in California that could severely damage the state’s $54-billion agriculture industry, a conservation organization warned Thursday.

In a report on the state’s disappearing agricultural land, the American Farmland Trust, a Washington-based nonprofit conservation foundation, listed urban sprawl, soil erosion, salt buildup and water supply problems as major problems that threaten the state’s No. 1 industry.

Called “Eroding Choices, Emerging Issues,” the study found that 33% of the state’s 31 million acres of crop and range lands suffered from “excessive” soil erosion.

About 1.7 million acres of croplands, the report said, “are shedding soil faster than nature can replace it, due to wind, water, or both.”

Toll of Urbanization

Citing figures provided by the state Soil Conservation Service, the report said that 1.6 million acres of irrigated land have salinity problems due to poor drainage or a high ground water table. Some salinity occurs naturally, but most results from the application of fertilizers and chemicals, the study said.

Not unexpectedly, the report also said about 44,000 acres of prime farmland are gobbled up each year by urbanization. All the problems combined, the report said, threaten to destroy an additional 650,000 acres in the next 15 years.

The report suggested that a variety of steps be taken to preserve farmland, including local planners’ giving higher priority to conservation of agricultural acreage and placing a bond issue before the voters to finance ground water recycling.

At a press conference to discuss the report, American Farmland Trust President Ralph Grossi described the problems as “troublesome” individually but “not immediately disastrous for the health of California agriculture.” But, he added, “The combined effect is more serious and does suggest that action be taken before the problem becomes unmanageable.”

“We’re past the environmental movement and open space issue of the 1960s. It’s a real economic issue now,” said Grossi, a Marin County dairy farmer.

No Land to Spare

“In the past we were able to make up for these losses with spare farmland, but we no longer have it,” said Will Shafroth, California director of the organization.

Grossi said that although general agreement exists over the need for conservation of California farmlands, few measures addressing the issue have cleared the Legislature.

Assemblyman Jim Costa (D-Fresno), who shared the podium with Grossi and Sen. Milton Marks (D-San Francisco), said that without implementation of remedies proposed in the report California’s ailing agricultural economy will worsen.

“We are in the worst economic state since the Great Depression of the 1930s. This is the year, in my opinion, that farmers throughout the state are going to hit rock bottom,” Costa said.