Carol Scheiber’s farm in Lincoln, California in 2011. In 2026, Placer County invested in the Placer County Agriculture Resilience Initiative.
Renée C. Byer
rbyer@sacbee.com
Placer County supervisors approved a $549,655 effort to develop an agriculture resilience plan that will guide future farmland protection and farming policies.
The project, known as the Placer County Agriculture Resilience Initiative, was requested by members of the county’s agricultural community and is intended to guide policies that improve climate and economic resilience, according to a county staff report.
It focuses on six areas of the county’s farming industry: the economic value of farming, which farmland is most at risk of development, how to protect the best farmland, housing for farmworkers, how farms can better prepare for climate challenges and how to grow agricultural tourism.
The state of California will pay $500,000 through a grant from the California Department of Conservation. Placer County will pay the remaining $49,655 from its general fund.
The county’s Department of Agriculture, Parks and Natural Resources Director Josh Huntsinger said agriculture is at the heart of what makes Placer County special.
“This plan will give us the tools to protect our farming heritage, support the people who work the land and grow the agricultural economy for the next generation,” he said. “We are grateful for the state’s support and look forward to working closely with our farming community every step of the way.”
Farmers, ranchers and other community members will be invited to share their ideas through meetings, interviews and online input. These meetings will be used by PlaceWorks, Ag Innovations Network and BAE Urban Systems to shape the final document.
The county selected PlaceWorks without a competitive bidding process, known as a sole-source procurement, because the firm is already leading the county’s general plan update, according to the staff report.
The document is expected to be complete by the end of 2027. The final plan will be presented to the Board of Supervisors for approval.
“It is timed to align with the county’s general plan Update, making sure farming needs are built into long-range county planning,” the county said in a statement.
The Sacramento Bee
Nicole Buss is The Sacramento Bee’s Roseville/Placer County watchdog reporter. She previously covered Placer County at Gold Country Media. Buss grew up in Lincoln and is a graduate of Sierra College and Arizona State University.