High speed, high stakes for growers in California rail

08/20/2012 7:07:18 PM
Mike Hornick

California High-Speed Rail Authority An early phase of a state project to link San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego by high-speed rail has come under fire from California Farm Bureau Federation members who say it will take farmland out of production.

Bureaus in Madera and Merced counties have joined other groups and local officials in a lawsuit filed in Sacramento against the California High-Speed Rail Authority, challenging an environmental review of the 75-mile Merced to Fresno stretch.

The state Senate gave final approval to the multibillion-dollar project — the nation’s first dedicated high-speed rail line — by a 21-16 vote in July.

“Madera County is ground zero,” said Anja Raudabaugh, executive director of the Madera County Farm Bureau. “They’re moving forward with property acquisition, but formal offers can’t be made until there’s environmental clearance and lawsuits are resolved. If they don’t start by January, it won’t get done on time without blowing every budget known to man.”

“We will not be willing sellers on this alignment,” she said. “Prime farmland in California has tripled in value from $8,000 an acre in 2005 to a minimum of $22,000 now. The rail authority is not responsive to that. Farmers will fight tooth and nail for a fair price, and preferably not sell.”

Nearly half her membership of 1,110 growers fear going out of business as a result of the project, Raudabaugh said, and about 70 dairies are at risk.

“Because there can’t be crossings, it will close access to several feed yards and packing operations, separate pomegranates from their juicing facilities and almonds from their hulling facilities,” she said.

Other issues arise from the route-cutting across parcel lines.

“If you separate 30 acres out of 100, often the 30 becomes unfarmable,” Raudabaugh said. “That can be the difference between making a profit or not.”

If farmland is lost, proceeds from the state’s Williamson Act — which provides for a lower property tax rate on agricultural land — will also be at stake. “We’ll lose 25% at minimum,” Raudabaugh said.

Initial path more urban

Opposition to high-speed rail from agriculture is fairly recent. Farm bureaus, for example, had supported the project along transportation corridors like Highway 99, as its bond measure called for. Crops like pomegranates, walnuts, almonds and pistachios are typically planted several miles away.

Comments (5) Leave a comment 

“We’re working with the Authority . . . "

There is your mistake. You cannot work with an entity that will as soon destroy you as negotiate with you. You must work to end them.

This is not a transportation project. This is a federal dollar acquisition scheme. A fraudulent loss of generations of family farm land. The High Speed Authority must be exposed.

Jay Tulock, Vacaville

Another hit for the farmers. I think you'd be hard pressed to find any farmer who is voting for the current administration. Between the ICE audits, DOL raids, and EPA regulations the farmers are getting fed up with the feds! This is yet another insult to the ag industry in CA. Who plans on riding this train anyways? It wont be ready to ride in my lifetime.

“They wanted to avoid the cost of elevating the rail in towns, and the 99 route had a lot of wetlands,” said Raudabaugh, who’s established a legal fund for her efforts. “They’d rather challenge the farmers than the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or the Army Corps of Engineers.”

Three words: Mussel Slough Tragedy.

"Farm land has risen from $6K to $22k /acre...:" during the years of the 2nd biggest recession ???!! Somethings fishy...farmers trying to fleece the government on land sales? Same people who take farm subsidies but"want big government off their back"?? Just keep sending the check ....and where was this heartfelt love of the land when farmers were selling off property for crappy tract homes that have turn ag land into bedroom communites for the Bay Area over the last 20 years..all sounds a little hollow.

We're talking about a rail line here folks--not some mammoth land-grabbing project like
all those ill-conceived, auto-centric suburban developments eating up prime farmland
throughout the Central and San Joaquin Valleys. But then the land owners (farmers and
agribusiness) make huge profits converting from food production to development, and
one certainly doesn't hear any outraged complaining from the farmers then. All this
moaning about the HSR is disingenuous Tea Bagger rhetoric complaining about "the
government" that they clearly do not agree with. Well, you guys have been taking my
tax payer dollars for years with all your government subsidized water and crops so now
it's time to suck it up and get with the 21st century. The California HSR is a tremendous
opportunity for California and its people, and as a tax payer, I am more than happy to
support a project that actually holds promise of delivering tangible benefits on many
fronts. Not least, I want to see my fellow Californians with decent and meaningful jobs.