1997 Agricultural Summit

Executive Summary

In May 1996 Marin County Agricultural Commissioner, Stacy Carlsen, called together a coalition of agriculture related groups to meet as a follow-up to the Agricultural Workshop held earlier in that year. The groups’ purpose was to continue exploring opportunities which would benefit agriculture throughout the county.

The group gradually evolved into a task force with a goal to design a conference which would attract producers within the county who represented the broadest possible range of agricultural production. An additional goal was to maintain a conference structure which would include a component of participants from various sectors which support, regulate or network with agriculture.

On January 10, 1997 a group of ninety people gathered at Walker Creek Ranch to attend the “Marin County Agriculture Summit”. The intentionally inclusive range of attendees represented the full spectrum of agriculture and its attendant concerns: farmers, ranchers, aquaculture, educators, environmentalists, marketers, county government, non-profits, sustainable food system advocates, water and resource conservationists and more. Its primary purpose was, as stated by Commissioner or Agriculture, Stacy Carlsen, in his opening remarks, “to create a vision for sustaining agriculture in Marin into the 21^st century and to define strategies for the development and promotion of agriculture.”

The entire assembly was moved by a common sense that Marin has so much to offer in terms of agriculture, the food system itself, and the quality of life within the county. The broad range of experience represented by the keynote speaker and a morning panel of four agricultural entrepreneurs provided inspiration and motivation for new ventures and approaches which respond to market driven opportunities. These opportunities are created when consumers are engaged through marketing programs which highlight local production and food product safety.

At the end of the presentations, participants broke into table discussion groups in order to compile a list of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats impacting agriculture in Marin County. Table seating was organized with an emphasis on diversity of viewpoint and experience. The participants were asked to identify concerns and record their findings for later presentation to the group.

In keeping with the work of the day, which was to formulate strategies for sustaining local agriculture, lunch was prepared using Marin grown ingredients. Many producers attending the conference contributed their products to the seasonal menu.

After lunch, participants returned to their working groups and began to sort through issues of concern in order to identify major themes. A group process separated concerns into eight broad categories:

• Land Protection
• Networking
• Marketing
• Education
• Animal Damage Control
• Regulation
• Water Policy
• Community Food Security

Concerns ranged from very specific strategies for predator control with industry specific impacts, to the whole-systems approach of community food security which entails a re-orienting of the entire food system toward local production and distribution. Participants were invited to select one of the eight identified categories and move to a roundtable dedicated to an in-depth discussion of that topic. The purpose was to create a specific agenda for action-oriented solutions for each topic. These eight agendas for action, together with the core groups of informed, motivated stakeholders, are a potential multi-issue agricultural task force within the county.

On an individual basis, participants were also asked to identify a single thing they would change about Marin County agriculture. Review of responses revealed four dominant themes:

• Preservation of farmland as a productive and foundational resource of the food system. Protection of farming as a way of life through policies which encourage the economic viability of farms.
• Desire for a continuation and enhancement of sustainable and ecologically sound farming practices within the county.
• Need for a regional marketing strategy which engages consumers and retailers, one which promotes Marin County farms and agricultural products. The program would emphasize quality, freshness, and environmentally sound farming practices which are particularly considerate of Marin’s countryside.
• Necessity for a coordinated educational outreach program which is targeted at Marin County school children at all grade levels, consumers and voters and visitors, and at Bay Area markets. Such an effort would complement and reinforce the regional marketing program and also build relationships between various segments of the agricultural community itself.

The day was an exploration of the economic, environmental and social impact of agriculture on the lives of Marin County’s farmers and the population in general. The depth of commitment of those who attended can hardly be overstated. The day was designed to identify important questions about farms and farmers, and to assess the possibilities of sustaining farming as a way of life in this county into the 21^st century.

It would seem that, in addition to the benevolence of nature, the power for positive change lies in the informed actions of people. With regard to the preservation of farming as a way of life, public policy will, intentionally or otherwise, contribute to a resolution. Therefore, part of the solution lies in engaging the stakeholders in this local food system in such a way as to elicit their informed support. This modern and necessary reality will lead to new alliances among producers and consumers.

Understandably the day was filled with more questions than answers. While the work undertaken in this conference relates specifically to agricultural enterprises in Marin County, the broad issue of sustainability that it addresses pertains to agriculture all across the county. The Marin County Agriculture Summit represents the commencement of efforts of one farming community to call the question regarding its own inventiveness and ability to adapt to changing conditions.

Next Steps: A Summary of Recommendations

The Executive Committee, from the 1997 Marin Agriculture Summit’s planning group, recommend the following action, based on our collective impressions from transcripts and attendance at the meeting.

Create a more locally oriented food system through implementation of these recommendations:

1. Recommend and implement governmental regulations and a permit process that benefits agricultural development.
2. Promote agricultural land preservation as distinct from open space preservation.
3. Develop county supported, technologically appropriate water projects for agricultural use, such as ponds, tanks, roof catchment, and recycled water systems.
4. Facilitate understanding and cooperation between farmers, environmentalists, fisheries advocates, aquaculture, and resident and commercial water users.
5. Improve predator control through additional funding for ADC (Animal Damage Control) specialists and tools.
6. Build and promote a landholder/farmer partnership model.
7. Create a Marin agricultural identity within the regional marketplace through value added products.
8. Educate consumers and growers about agricultural practices that promote sustainability.

Assessment of Marin Agriculture:
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (S.W.O.T.) Facing Marin County in 1997

Background

Several studies have looked at the value of agriculture to the local economy. Most of the studies conducted about Marin Agriculture focused on farmland preservation and viability and are over 25 years old. The Economic Impact of Certain Industries on Marin County was prepared by Dominican College for the Marin Economic Commission in 1995. In its eight page analysis of Agriculture, researchers discuss the potential for economic growth. Their study concluded that growth would be very small, in the foreseeable future, for topographical, climatic, and competitive reasons. In February, 1996 partially as a result of that report, 122 participants met at Walker Creek Ranch for a one day workshop on agricultural diversification possibilities in Marin. This assessment provides a more qualitative evaluation of the future of Marin Agriculture.

Process

Individual table teams worked in small groups to brainstorm and discuss their ideas. Each group reported their three highest priorities. The following analysis is a summation and compilation of the entire group’s work.

S: STRENGTHS

• Proximity to Bay Area market
• Grass roots people committed to the land
• Climate and land excellent with good drainage
• Public and institutional support
• Diversity of product line varieties
• Natural resources: open space, environmental value, land, climate
• Committed, experienced and innovative producers
• Receptive local and regional markets
• Political support of agriculture industry: MALT, County-wide plan
• Environmental/agriculture alliance
• Agriculture protection: County-wide plan, zoning, Williamson Act, MALT
• Marketability
• Supportive county agencies
• Good natural resources
• Human resources/historic connection/community support
• Openness to new and innovative ideas
• Geographic, demographic and historical position
• Regional economic possibilities among counties
• Preserves large amount of agriculture land
• Unique list of cooperation with ranchers, government and environment
• Local base of consumers with intelligence and money
• Hillside ideal for sheep
• Lack of agri-business – primary family farms

W: WEAKNESSES

• Government permit process is cumbersome – local ordinances not taking agriculture land into consideration
• Not enough irrigation projects
• Burdensome process in product development (regulations)
• High land values
• Lack of sustainable models and solutions to sustainable practices
• Burdensome regulations and permit costs
• Lack of public education: limit of public access
• Low recognition of Marin agriculture products
• Lack of government protection for agriculture products
• Lack of scale for production, marketing and distribution, costs
• Historic focus on one industry – dairy
• Predators
• Open space equals agriculture preservation – a weakness
• Low market price
• Pollution problems
• Lack of political representation
• Limited financial resources and incentive
• Lack of government understanding support for agriculture and food production
• Limited land, water, capital
• Lack of critical mass coordination/communication
• Water rates are expensive
• Overhead costs: money to produce fixed amount of product, startup costs, housing for laborers
• Regulations that favor large farms versus small farms
• Commodity prices too low
• Limited public access to land and ranches for education
• Limited warm weather growing areas
• Less productive hillside soils

O: OPPORTUNITIES

• Agriculture tourism, e.g., farm trails
• Large businesses working with farmers in various partnerships
• Marin Bay Area markets
• Access and utilization of land
• Public awareness
• Better food security
• Sliding scale permit fees
• New economic potential: for agriculture tourism, value-added agriculture, processing and diversification
• Beneficial use for agriculture waste
• Proximity to market: discriminating consumers with money, u-pick, CSA
• Tourists: tastings, farm stands, tours, education
• Linkage/partnerships between landowners and small growers
• Interested consumers
• Create local identity and regional recognition
• Cooperative support structure – grow market groups
• Education: schools and communities
• Regional cooperation with marketing and distribution
• Broad based agricultural education
• Regional cooperation with marketing and distribution
• Broad based agricultural education
• Green waste composting County-wide
• Chance to revitalize agriculture industries
• Education of public about agriculture
• Progressive Marin population equals more money

T: THREATS

• Market captures by big companies
• Competition from mass production
• Real estate development
• Cost of developing product
• Environmental: laws, threats, regulations
• Lack of education of voting public
• Water supply is a huge constraint
• Irreversible land conversion leads to a critical mass problem
• Need to show more products to respond to increasing demand for products
• Coyotes and big cats – animal rights groups
• Government regulations/permits/ordinances
• Large urban population versus small agriculture population
• Money available for agriculture
• Financial – high cost of property
• Incompatibility of urban and agriculture land use
• Urbanization pressure
• Labor issues
• Uneducated decisions regarding immigration and labor supply
• Over-regulation at all levels
• Loss of local control if park (Pt. Reyes National Seashore) expands
• Erosion
• High degree of technical knowledge needed to be competitive
• Radical environmentalism