Multibenefit Land Repurposing Program News Today

At the Water Education Foundation annual water summit last week in Sacramento, Eric Oppenheimer, chief deputy director of the California State Water Resources Control Board, discussed what he described as the state’s “antiquated” water rights system.

The state is sending millions to farmers throughout the San Joaquin Valley to keep water in the ground.  The money, paid through the LandFlex program, goes to groundwater sustainability agencies (GSAs) and then directly to

“We knew that we were going to have to cut back on pumping. And that necessarily meant land conversion.”

There are three groups who are most harmed by industrial agribusinesses practices in California.

The 2022-23 budget package provides a total of $23.7 billion from various fund sources—the General Fund, bond funds, and a number of special funds—for programs administered by the California Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Agencies.

A state program aimed at retiring and repurposing farmland could get $60 million – more than doubling its current funding – under Gov. Newsom’s proposed budget.

How California’s new Multibenefit Land Repurposing Program aims to ensure communities and farmers are more involved in land and water use planning by making their engagement a requirement for funding recipients.