Woodland Daily Democrat 

County approach to agriculture a bit scary
Daily Democrat
Article Created: 04/27/2008 09:40:00 AM PDT

This is in responding to the action of the Board of Supervisors on April 22. Agreement with UC Agricultural Issues Center for the mapping and economic analysis of agricultural regions of Yolo County.

This is a bit scary to me. It almost sounds like the county is going to tell us what our property is going to produce. Crops or divided up and developed. And this is going to cost all of the tax payer's of Yolo County $76,358,00. Ask the farmer's: Do they need this to know what will and what will not grow on their land? Be honest Board of Supervisors, stop using the word agriculture in all of this.

As taken from the front page of The Democrat, the goal of the mapping project was to determine how county government could "contribute to a healthy economic environment for local farmers and ranchers and the overall agricultural sector." but yet the farmer/rancher sitting on our Board of Supervisors voted against it.

If someone has land that they want to know all of what this study is going to show, let them pay for it themselves. Why should we all have to pay?

I have been referred to the Solano County report. I have read it, tell me what has it done for that area's agriculture? When I drive to Dixon all I see is development from there all the way down the Interstate-80 corridor.

In the state of the world today people out of jobs, gas prices the highest that they have ever been, not enough money for schools, foreclosures at a 148 percent right here in our county, food prices raising everyday, a town in the bay area on the edge of bankruptcy. Yeah - Yolo County has $76,358 to spend on a study! Maybe someone from the county needs to have a "show and tell" to tell the school children why there is never enough money for schools.

Thank you Supervisor Duane Chamberlain and Supervisor Matt Rexroad for the common sense voting against this.

RAINY BEWLEY, Woodland