Business & Tech
South Coast Agriculture Survey Reveals Common Concerns
Results to be released this morning in Pescadero by nonprofit organization Puente.
A survey about agricultural resources available to farmers in the South Coast region of San Mateo County has identified common concerns, according to , the Pescadero and LaHonda-based community organization which sent out a questionnaire to 120 local farmers.
Declining farm and ranchland, increasing difficulty finding housing affordable for agrarian incomes, issues around regulations, farm interns and costs as well as access to land were common concerns identified by survey respondents, according to Doniga Markegard, a Half Moon Bay farmer who raises pastured beef, lamb, pork and eggs with husband Eric at Markegard Family Grass-Fed.
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The top resources identified as needs for local farmers include incentives for landowners to keep agricultural land, access to affordable health care and access to legal assistance, said Kerry Lobel, Executive Director of Puente.
Puente initiated the survey in order to identify opportunities to help grow the South Coast's local economy by combining and sharing resources, as well as to identify any needs in the agricultural community for social services, Markegard said.
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Respondents took the survey online or through a paper questionnaire sent in the mail, according to Markegard.
The survey results will be released Friday morning in Pescadero, where interested vendors and community members will meet immediately afterwards regarding the second of the starting on May 3.
The agriculture resource survey results and Pescadero Grown! Farmer's Market meeting is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. today (Friday, April 27) at the Pescadero Country Store (251 Stage Rd., Pescadero). The 2012 Pescadero Grown! Farmer's Market will be held every Thursday from 3 p.m. - 7 p.m. next to the Pescadero Country Store starting on May 3.
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