BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1242
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Date of Hearing: April 18, 2001
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE
Barbara S. Matthews, Chair
AB 1242 (Wiggins) - As Amended: February 23, 2001
AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED
SUBJECT : Intergenerational farm transfers.
SUMMARY : Creates 'The Farm Futures Act of 2001' and makes
findings and declarations regarding the importance of farms to
the state and appropriates funding for this purpose.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the California Department of Food and Agriculture
(CDFA) to take primary responsibility for:
a) Researching trends in farm transfers.
b) Developing training materials to promote
intergenerational farm transfers.
c) Supporting efforts of other organizations that provide
training to facilitate intergenerational farm transfers.
2)Requires CDFA to contract with an appropriate non-profit
organization that has had experience in:
a) Outreach to the agricultural community, such as
seminars, workshops and grassroots meetings.
b) One-on-one technical assistance to address business
planning, family lands mediation, estate planning, and
other planning.
c) Sponsoring mentoring program activities.
d) Promoting innovative techniques to facilitate farm
transfers, which may combine estate planning strategies
with land conservation strategies and similar techniques.
e) Maintaining a database of retiring and aspiring farmers
and facilitating preliminary meetings between the parties.
f) Serving as a clearinghouse for professional services,
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business planners, financial planners, succession planners,
real estate agents, and others experienced with or
committed to facilitating family farm transfers.
EXISTING LAW :
1)States that the Legislature shall review actions taken in the
implementation and furtherance of the state agricultural
policy for their impact on productive agricultural land and
family owned farms, among others. (Section 822 Food and
Agriculture Code)
2)Permits beginning farmers to receive operating loans of up to
$200,000 at a subsidized interest rate through the federal
Farm Services Agency (FSA).
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriates $200,000 annually over 5 years to
CDFA for purposes of implementation of this program. From this
amount, $50,000 may be used for CDFA personnel salary per year.
COMMENTS : According to the author's office, this legislation
addresses the challenge of facilitating transitions of family
farms from one generation to the next. The economic future of
California's agriculture depends on the ability of a new
generation to enter farming, yet trends over the last few years
have been alarming. The 1997 Census of Agriculture reports that
26% of California farmers are over 65 years of age. This age
group totals approximately 30% of all farmers in California.
Currently, 25 states are involved in farm linking programs that
connect retiring farmers to prospective buyers. In 20 of these
states, there is an active role certain agricultural nonprofit
organizations take when linking two parties together. They
conduct workshops, oversee apprenticeships, create and
distribute educational materials and provide one on one
consultation.
The proposed amendments specify that the CDFA may contract with
more than one nonprofit organization.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California FarmLink
AB 1242
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Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Dawn Clover / AGRI. / (916) 319-2084