The Overview
Buying farmland is out of reach for many would-be farmers, and a new California law aims to change that. California's governor signed a law on Sept. 18 that creates a state program to fund groups that buy farmland for beginning, tribal, and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers. The program cannot begin until the Legislature approves spending for it from the 2024 Proposition 4 bond funds. The law is Senate Bill 178, a public resources budget trailer bill, and was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D).
A 2024 study published in *Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene* identified affordable farmland access as a particular barrier for California farmers from socially disadvantaged groups, and 59 percent of its survey respondents said they had experienced discrimination in accessing agricultural land, credit, or government programs. The law takes effect immediately because it is a spending measure.
What the Law Does
The law creates the Farmland Access and Conservation for Thriving Communities Program under the Department of Conservation, administered through the existing California Farmland Conservancy Program. It directs the department to provide grants and technical assistance to qualified organizations so they can buy farmland and either transfer it to, or lease it on a long-term basis to, socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, tribal producers, and beginning farmers and ranchers.
The program draws on $30 million from Proposition 4, the $10 billion Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act approved by voters in November 2024, but it only starts once the Legislature formally approves the spending. The program ends on July 1, 2041, or when the Proposition 4 funding runs out, whichever comes first, so it can run for about 15 years at most.
For the 2026–27 fiscal year only, it adds a one-time $60 million to community conservation corps recycling grants, paid from the California Beverage Container Recycling Fund. It also directs the Department of Parks and Recreation to report by April 1, 2027, on reducing traffic congestion at Point Lobos State Natural Reserve in Monterey County, with $150,000 from the General Fund to support that work.
Legislative Status
The bill was sponsored by the Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review. The Senate passed it 28-10 on March 20, 2025. The bill sat in the Assembly Budget Committee for about 17 months before it was amended and advanced in late August 2026. The Assembly passed it 79-0 on Aug. 31, and the Senate approved the Assembly's amended version the same day, 30-1.
The California Association of Food and Farming said the Farmland Access and Conservation for Thriving Communities Program was created through budget trailer-bill language and called its funding a first-ever agricultural land-access program. The California Association of Local Conservation Corps called the bill a one-time funding infusion for local conservation corps.
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