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Silicon Valley farms? They're there, and they're worth millions

Written by Eric Kurhi. Published in the Mercury News September 24, 2017. Photo by Josie Lepe/Bay Area News Group

SAN MARTIN — As fourth-generation men of the earth, the Bonino brothers know their picked profession isn’t for everyone.

Their century-old LJB Farms has been around since long before the term “Silicon Valley” was coined, but it’s now an outlier in Santa Clara County, a throwback to days when it was known as the Valley of Heart’s Delight.

The Economic Impact of the 2016 Loma Fire

The 2016 Loma Fire, which burned over 2,000 acres of the Open Space Authority’s lands, caused state and local agencies to incur significant costs - including substantial costs to the Authority during and after the fire. But in terms of economic impacts, often overlooked are the fire-related costs to the health and sustainability of our communities that stem from loss of vital ecosystem service benefits.

County of Santa Clara Awarded Grant to Preserve At-risk Farmland for Climate Benefit

Preserving farmland has many benefits, including decreasing the carbon emissions associated with urban development. A recent $100,000 grant was awarded to the County of Santa Clara, in partnership with the Open Space Authority, that will identify and protect at-risk agricultural lands in order to help reduce greenhouse gas emission. “If agriculture is to survive in South County,” says Andrea Mackenzie, Open Space Authority General Manager, “we need an innovative action plan. The time is now to align plans, programs, policies and investment affecting undeveloped agricultural lands and demonstrate that conserving farmland from development is a critically important climate change strategy.”

Valuing Open Space—Preserving Land is No Frivolous Luxury

by Andrea Mackenzie, General Manager
Published in the San Jose Mercury News on June 13, 2014