Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 93500. Section 93500.
The sum of three hundred million dollars ($300,000,000) shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for improving climate resilience and sustainability of agricultural lands.
CHAPTER 7. Climate Smart, Sustainable, and Resilient Farms, Ranches, and Working Lands [93500. - 93600.]
Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC 7.
in effectCal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 93510. Section 93510.
Of the funds made available by Section 93500, one hundred five million dollars ($105,000,000) shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the Department of Food and Agriculture’s Office of Environmental Farming and Innovation for improvements in climate resilience of agricultural lands and ecosystem health and allocated to eligible projects as follows:
(a)
Sixty-five million dollars
($65,000,000) shall be available for grants to promote practices on farms and ranches that improve soil health, or accelerate atmospheric carbon removal or soil carbon sequestration.
(b)
Forty million dollars ($40,000,000) shall be available for the State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program to promote onfarm water use efficiency with a focus on multiple-benefit projects that improve resilience to climate change and save water on California agricultural operations.
(c)
Funds allocated pursuant to this section shall be allocated to projects that provide meaningful and direct benefits to socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers.
Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 93520. Section 93520.
Of the funds made available by Section 93500, twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) shall, upon appropriation by the Legislature, be available to the Department of Food and Agriculture for purposes of funding invasive species projects and activities recommended by the Invasive Species Council of California. Preference shall be given to projects that restore and protect biodiversity and ecosystem health. Consideration shall be given to geographic equity.
Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 93530. Section 93530.
Of the funds made available by Section 93500, fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000) shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the Department of Conservation for projects for the protection, restoration, conservation, and enhancement of farmland and rangeland, including, but not limited to, the acquisition of fee title or easements, that improve climate resilience, open-space soil health, atmospheric carbon removal, soil carbon sequestration,
erosion control, watershed health, water quality, or water retention. Projects shall provide multiple benefits. In awarding funds for farmland and rangeland projects pursuant to this section, the Department of Conservation shall give preference to projects for small- and medium-sized farms.
Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 93540. Section 93540.
Of the funds made available by Section 93500, ninety million dollars ($90,000,000) shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the Department of Food and Agriculture for grants that benefit small- and medium-sized farms, socially disadvantaged farmers, beginning farmers or ranchers, and veteran farmers or ranchers, and increase the sustainability of agricultural infrastructure and facilities that support food systems, and increase market access.
Funding made available pursuant to this section shall be allocated as follows:
(a)
Twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) shall be available for infrastructure related to certified mobile farmers’ markets, including, but not limited to, a mobile farmers’ market vehicle, refrigeration, and other equipment to comply with relevant sections of the Health and Safety Code and related regulations.
(b)
Twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) shall be available to develop year-round infrastructure for certified farmers’ markets, as defined in Section 47004 of the Food and Agricultural Code, fishermen’s markets, as defined in Section 113780 of the Health and Safety Code, or tribe-operated or native-serving farmers’ markets, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(1)
All-weather infrastructure such as canopies and
shade structures, tables and seating, market stalls, restrooms and hand wash stations, tent weights and tie-downs, produce washing stations, barricades and bollards for traffic management and pedestrian safety, bicycle parking racks, and other equipment.
(2)
Facilities for food preparation, cooking demonstrations, and other nutrition education.
(3)
Wireless electronic benefits transfer point-of-sale terminals for market managers and producers to process CalFresh transactions.
(4)
Wireless electronic benefits transfer point-of-sale terminals for producers to accept the electronic cash value benefit through the program designed to implement the federal WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Act of 1992 (Public Law 102-314) pursuant to Section 123279 of the Health and Safety Code, or equivalent tribal programs.
(5)
Other equipment to support the seniors farmers’ market nutrition program, as described in Section 3007 of Title 7 of the United States Code, or equivalent tribal programs.
(c)
Twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) shall be available for urban agriculture projects that create or expand city or suburban community farms or gardens, including community food producers, as defined in Section 113752 of the Health and Safety Code, through in-ground small plot cultivation, raised beds, mushroom growing, rooftop farms, and cultivation of vacant lots and in parks.
(d)
Fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000) shall be available for grants for regional farm equipment sharing. Preference shall be given to projects and programs that benefit small- and medium-sized farms and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers.
(e)
Fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000) shall be available to advance tribes’ food sovereignty to grow, produce, procure, and distribute foods that reflect Native American culture and traditions and support the development of tribal producers and vendors, including, but not limited to, the following projects:
(1)
Irrigation and water infrastructure.
(2)
Utility and power infrastructure.
(3)
Food processing infrastructure.
Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 93550. Section 93550.
(a)
Of the funds made available by Section 93500, thirty million dollars ($30,000,000) shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the Department of Conservation, in consultation with the California Agricultural Land Equity Task Force at the Strategic Growth Council, to improve land access and tenure for socially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers, tribal producers, and beginning farmers and ranchers.
(b)
The Department of Conservation may make low-interest loans to qualified entities, which shall include land trusts, nonprofit organizations, public agencies, farmer cooperatives, tribal governments, or tribal entities, for the purpose of acquiring agricultural lands to transfer or provide long-term leases to socially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers and beginning farmers and ranchers.
(c)
Any agricultural land acquired pursuant to this section shall be required to have an agricultural land conservation easement before being leased or transferred, and the department may require additional appropriate resale restrictions, such as affordability provisions, preemptive purchase right, or shared appreciation consistent with the purposes of this subdivision.
(d)
The Department of Conservation shall ensure that the proceeds
of future resales of land continue to be used for purposes of this chapter.
Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 93560. Section 93560.
Of the funds made available by Section 93500, fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000) shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the California Vanpool Authority for grants for the deployment of vanpool vehicles, clean technologies, and related facilities, including, but not limited to, charging and alternative fuel infrastructure, for use by low-income agricultural workers.
Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 93570. Section 93570.
Of the funds made available by Section 93500, fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000) shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the State Department of Education, in consultation with the Department of Food and Agriculture, for purposes of providing grants to public postsecondary educational institutions that are designated as Agricultural Experiment Stations or Agricultural Research Institutes, to develop research farms to improve climate
resiliency. Funding provided pursuant to this section shall not exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000) per institution and shall be constructed and maintained with environmentally sustainable infrastructure practices.
Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 93580. Section 93580.
Of the funds made available by Section 93500, ten million dollars ($10,000,000) shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, as part of the Farmworker Housing Component of the Low-Income Weatherization Program through the Department of Community Services and Development, to low-income farmworker households for no-cost energy efficiency upgrades designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by saving energy. These energy efficiency upgrades shall include,
but are not limited to, insulation, central heating and cooling system upgrades, lighting upgrades, and window replacement.
Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 93590. Section 93590.
For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:
(a)
“Beginning farmer or rancher” means a farmer or rancher who has not actively operated and managed a farm or ranch with a bona fide insurable interest in a crop or livestock as an owner-operator, landlord, tenant, or sharecropper for more than five crop years, as determined by the United States Secretary of Agriculture and as defined in
Section 1502 of Title 7 of the United States Code.
(b)
“Veteran farmer or rancher” means a farmer or rancher who is all of the following:
(1)
Has served in the United States Armed Forces, as defined in Section 101 of Title 38 of the United States Code.
(2)
Meets either of the following:
(A)
Has not operated a farm or ranch.
(B)
Has operated a farm or ranch for not more than five years.
(3)
Is a veteran, as defined in Section 101 of Title 38 of the United States Code, who first obtained status as a veteran during the most recent five-year period.
(4)
Is a
beginning veteran farmer or rancher, as that term is used in Section 1502 of Title 7 of the United States Code.
Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 93600. Section 93600.
Projects funded pursuant to this chapter shall be consistent with the policies and guidelines established by the Department of Food and Agriculture and the Natural and Working Lands Climate Smart Strategy, if applicable.
Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026