The Office of the Governor of the State of California

10/14/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/14/2025 16:02

California protects over 40K acres of agricultural land, supporting rural communities

What you need to know: Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the award of more than $128 million in grants to permanently protect more than 40,000 acres of croplands and rangelands across 24 counties, returning more than 11,000 acres to California Native American tribes, securing farmland for military veterans, and benefiting low-income communities.

SACRAMENTO - Governor Gavin Newsom today announced that more than $128 million in Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation (SALC) Program grants have been approved to permanently protect more than 40,000 acres of croplands and rangelands across 24 counties, returning more than 11,000 acres to California Native American tribes, securing farmland for military veterans, and benefiting low-income communities.

Land protection goes hand-in-hand with community needs - today's grants work with Native communities, veterans, and farmers in low-income areas to ensure that California's fertile farmland is put to good agricultural use, while protecting our environment, our unique habitats and biodiversity, and communities.

Governor Gavin Newsom

Eight projects receiving grants will return 11,316 acres of land to California Native American tribes to support cultural and traditional agriculture uses. This work furthers partnerships between the state and tribes and builds on the Governor's direction for state entities to work cooperatively with tribes in returning ancestral lands to tribal ownership.

"It has never been more important to protect California's agricultural lands from conversion to more pollution-heavy land uses such as residential development," said Erin Curtis, executive director of SGC. "SALC projects that support farmers, preserve habitats and protect our environment are a win-win-win, and we are so grateful for the partnership."

These funds support 52 grants, including grants that will secure hundreds of acres of land for three veteran-owned farms, with another four grants that will support farmers in low-income communities. These projects support landowners and the local agricultural economy, maintain access to nutritious food, help prevent the conversion of farmlands to development, protect rural lands and habitats, and prevent more pollution.

"Once we lose California's agricultural lands and open space, we can never recover them. The SALC program protects our state's agriculture, greenhouse gas emission reduction and biodiversity for generations to come," said Jennifer Lucchesi, Director of the Department of Conservation. "We are proud to be partnering with the Strategic Growth Council on this important milestone and congratulate all the award recipients on this funding opportunity."

Once completed, these acquisition investments will permanently protect tens of thousands of acres and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 3,332,497 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, which equates to taking 777,322 gasoline-powered vehicles off the road for one year.

This funding comes from Round 10 of SALC, which, over the course of ten rounds, has awarded over $400 million to support over 200 projects to protect 240,000 acres.

SALC is a component of the Strategic Growth Council's Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program (AHSC). The two programs work together to ensure that California is building new affordable homes quickly, in the right places, while protecting open spaces and working agricultural lands at risk of development.

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