California’s Farm Conservation Law and Farmers Lead in Conservation

**Proposed legislation to modify California’s longstanding farmland conservation law could pave the way for large swaths of farm acreage to be repurposed as sites for renewable energy projects like solar power.

Assembly Bill 2528 would allow farmers on Williamson Act land that lacks sufficient water to cancel their contracts without paying mandated cancellation fees.

Farm advocates warn the proposed law could accelerate the loss of farmland and reduce food supply.

**America’s farmers and ranchers lead the way in greenhouse gas emissions reduction through voluntary conservation efforts and incentives.

That’s according to the EPA’s “Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions: 1990-2022, that shows American agriculture reduced emissions 2% from 2021 to 22 alone, the largest of any economic sector.

American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall says this demonstrates agriculture’s commitment to growing America’s food and fiber while improving the land, air, and water.

**The Food and Agriculture Information Sharing and Analysis Center released its first annual report on U.S. ransomware incidents in the food and agriculture sector.

The report shows while there were fewer ransomware attacks in agriculture, there were 167 ransomware attacks against agriculture out of 2,905 total in 2023.

Ransomware hackers use malicious code that blocks access to the data without paying a ransom.