California Farmland Conservancy Program

The California Farmland Conservancy Program (CFCP) is a statewide grant program that supports local efforts to establish agricultural conservation easements and land improvement projects for the purpose of preserving important agricultural land resources and enhancing sustainable agricultural uses.

Announcements

June 4, 2025 - The Department of Conservation is pleased to announce the release of the 2025 California Farmland Conservancy Program (CFCP) Solicitation. Pre-proposals and applications will be accepted on a rolling basis.

2025 CFCP Solicitation (PDF

The CFCP was created by the California Farmland Conservancy Program Act of 1995 to:

Encourage voluntary, long-term private stewardship of agricultural lands
Protect farming and ranching operations in agricultural areas from nonfarm or nonranch land uses that may hinder or curtail such operations
Encourage long-term conservation of productive agricultural lands in order to protect the agricultural economy of rural communities, as well as that of the state, for future generations of Californians
Encourage local land use planning for orderly and efficient urban growth and conservation of agricultural land
Encourage local land use planning decisions that are consistent with the state's agricultural land conservation policies
Encourage improvements to enhance long-term sustainable agricultural uses

Funding Source(s)

This program is currently funded by the California Drought, Water, Parks, Climate, Coastal Protection, and Outdoor Access for All Act of 2018 (Proposition 68).

Project Type(s):

Agricultural Conservation Easements: Grants to protect agricultural lands under threat of conversion to nonagricultural uses through the acquisition of voluntary, permanent agricultural conservation easements.
Land Improvement Grants: Grants for the improvement of lands protected by a conservation easement or similar long-term conservation agreement as determined by the Department’s Director if the improvement will directly benefit the protected land.

Eligible Applicants:

Tax-exempt nonprofit organizations qualified under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and qualified to do business in this state. Eligible non-profits must have as their primary purpose the preservation, protection, or enhancement of land in its natural, scenic, historical, agricultural, forested, or open-space condition or use (“Primary Purpose").
The state or any city, county, city and county, district, or other state or local governmental entity, if otherwise authorized to acquire and hold title to real property and if the conservation easement is voluntarily conveyed.
A federally recognized California Native American tribe or a nonfederally recognized California Native American tribe that is on the contact list maintained by the Native American Heritage Commission to protect a California Native American prehistoric, archaeological, cultural, spiritual, or ceremonial place, if the conservation easement is voluntarily conveyed.

Application Materials