New California law aims to clean up neglected farmland, farmers could face fines

TULARE COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- Tougher enforcement against abandoned farmland could soon have some growers facing big fines.

A new state law, unanimously approved by the legislature and signed by Governor Gavin Newsom in October, gives counties more authority to crack down on neglected land.

Assembly Bill 732 will soon give county agricultural commissioners the authority to issue fines of up to $1,000 per acre for neglected land.

The goal is to prevent properties from becoming infested with pests and creating more problems for nearby farms.

"We don't want to see farmland going out of production. We don't want to see land abandoned, neglected and the point of this is not to fine people, it is just a mechanism to make sure that people come into compliance," says Christopher Greer with the Tulare County Ag Commissioner's Office.

Local farmer Andres Avitua shares that decades ago, his farm was thriving, providing fresh citrus to local farmers' markets; now, they are dealing with dead crops, dead trees, and even more fines.

"The chips have been stacked against us; it seems like every time we turned around, there was another problem, so this was very difficult," shares Andres.

Andres and his sister inherited these two acres of citrus after their brother Joe died 13 years ago.

The farm once did well, until water became scarce after a one-two punch: the orchard's pump failed amid a drought.

Repairs would have cost thousands, and the wait, Andres says, was over a year.

"By that time the business had already gone down the drain and the trees had already suffered shock, so we were not able to continue," recalls Andres,

Despite the heartbreak and distress that dying orchards cause local farmers, there are real concerns over pests spreading from neglected land and hurting more farmers.

That's why county officials say they need this tool.

They remain focused on solutions.

"At the end of the day, we don't want to go through the abatement process, we don't want to fine you, we just want to mitigate the situation," explains Greer.

To learn more about AB 732: Agriculture: neglected or abandoned crops: public nuisances: pests, visit here.

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