An article in the July-September 2010 issue of the University of California's California Agriculture journal explores how communities deal with conflict when new residents - often commuters to urban centers - move into farming areas. The entire issue can be viewed and downloaded at http://californiaagriculture.ucanr.org.
"The common wisdom repeated in newspaper reports is that newly arrived edge residents with urban backgrounds are more likely to be upset by local farm operations than residents with rural backgrounds and longer tenure in a locality," writes lead author Alvin D. Sokolow, a UC Davis public policy specialist emeritus, and co-authors. "Our research supports this observation."
Sokolow and his colleagues conducted a comparative case analysis of two communities in each of three counties: Merced (Los Baños and Livingston), Monterey (Prunedale and Salinas) and San Diego (Ramona and Oceanside). The paired cities within each county were selected in order to compare low- and high-conflict situations. The researchers conducted numerous interviews between 2003 and 2005, and studied demographic trends and related literature.
The levels of conflict detected in the six communities often corresponded with population growth rates. For example, Los Baños, which experienced a much higher rate of complaints than Livingston, saw its population double between 1990 and 2004, while Livingston grew only 60 percent.
"Newer residents [in Los Baños] have higher incomes, are residentially concentrated in new subdivisions on the edge of town and adjacent to farms, and are more likely to work in occupations not associated with agriculture," the researchers write. "Livingston, by contrast, is in the central part of the county, closer to other San Joaquin Valley communities and less accessible to Bay Area communities...Livingston seems to lack the social and occupational divisions that have developed in Los Baños." (Sokolow can be reached at (530) 758-1736 or ajsokolow@ucdavis.edu.)
A related research article in the July-September 2010 issue of California Agriculture describes the use of geographic information systems (GIS) to bolster land-use planning and conserve prime and strategic farmland in the Central Valley. The new method was used in Fresno County, and the approach will now be extended regionally in the San Joaquin Valley. Plus, an opinion piece by Sokolow ponders the future of the Williamson Act, California's longstanding farmland protection program, which is threatened by state budget cuts. Other research articles in the July-September 2010 issue of California Agriculture report that:
- Polyacrylamide was highly effective in mitigating sediment runoff from furrow-irrigated cropland in Davis and Chico, as were vegetated ditches and sediment traps - but to a lesser extent.
- Surfactant treatments reduced runoff from relatively undisturbed, native, forested sites in the Lake Tahoe Basin.
- Large almond growers encompassing much of the state's acreage have implemented best practices for efficient nitrogen applications in their orchards, but smaller growers may need financial and technical assistance to adopt better fertilization strategies.
- Grape berries with sugar accumulation disorder exhibited lower weight, pH and anthocyanins than normally developing fruit; the other causes of shriveled grapes in vineyards include sunburn, dehydration and bunchstem necrosis.
California Agriculture is the University of California's peer-reviewed journal of research in agricultural, human and natural resources. For a free subscription, visit http://californiaagriculture.ucanr.org or e-mail calag@ucdavis.edu.
WRITERS/EDITORS: To request a hard copy of the journal, e-mail jlbyron@ucdavis.edu.