The rural landscape in California changes each day as more agricultural land is taken out of production and is paved over with shopping malls, housing developments and parking lots.

From 1990 to 2002, about 280,000 acres of the state's farmland were converted to urban uses, according to information provided by the California Department of Conservation, Farmland Mapping and Monitoring Program. Included in that total is about 96,600 acres of prime farmland, which is defined as the richest soils for growing crops long term.

To guarantee that production agriculture is preserved for future generations, California Farm Bureau Federation recommends being part of the process. This is especially crucial when it comes to developing a city or county general plan, which serves as the blueprint for local development.

"The general plan is very important to agriculture, particularly in the context of development pressures and all of the other things that the agricultural community is faced with. The more that we are involved in the general plan processes, the more that we can defend the values and promote the values that are important to us," said Chris Scheuring, CFBF Natural Resources and Environmental Division managing counsel. "Agriculture simply can't afford to be absent from the process, especially with the population of the state expected to reach 50 million by the year 2025."

At the recent CFBF Leaders Conference in Sacramento, John Weech of the CFBF Natural Resources and Environmental Division and former staff counsel at the California Department of Conservation's Legal Office, provided members with the nuts and bolts that make up a general plan. The Department of Conservation is charged with, among other things, conserving California's farmland, which involves implementing, interpreting and enforcing the state Williamson Act, the state's premier ag preservation statute.

"Basically, the general plan is the constitution for either a city or a county that guides all of their land-use decisions. With very few exceptions, the local government is required to make its land-use decisions consistent with the general plan," Weech said. "Get involved as early as possible and know the staffs, the planning commission and your board of supervisors. Attend all of the meetings you can. By law there has to be at least one public hearing and there are usually many. This is a multi-year process."

As individual communities plan for the future of land use, Weech stressed the importance of having a seat at the table by being at every meeting.

"I can tell you right now the building industry and environmentalist groups will be involved. They will be at every public meeting, they will be writing letters, they will be testifying," Weech said. "You will probably never be happy with every single thing in the general plan, but you could be a lot less unhappy with something that you actually worked with and had a part in than something that you didn't."

As president of the Tehama County Farm Bureau and former Tehama County supervisor, Burt Bundy has seen both sides of the general plan update process. Bundy is currently involved in Tehama County's general plan update process that began in 2003.

"Early involvement is very, very important but I will take it a step further. Be involved in land use before the general plan amendment comes up, because not only do you get informed you also inform your planning commission and board of supervisors of your philosophy of ag use," Bundy said. "Start early. Have a land-use plan or policy for your Farm Bureau. That is very helpful. I can't stress that enough."

During the general plan update process, Bundy said, it is important to keep an open mind and be prepared to compromise.

"Sometimes you have to bite the bullet and really decide what the best thing is," Bundy said. "I feel pretty strongly about ag land but in building coalitions with groups such as The Nature Conservancy, you can find places where you can agree and sometimes you can make those coalitions work. You might have to give up a little, but you need to work together and come up with coalitions that everybody can live with."

In Shasta County, a permit for a proposed auto mall on land that was designated as agricultural was defeated after county Farm Bureau members wrote letters and provided testimony asking that the county government uphold its general plan. Shasta County Farm Bureau First Vice President Ivar Amen, a cattle rancher who also owns businesses throughout the county, said the win came as a result of being part of the process.

"You've just got to be part of what is happening because there are people that are going to be making decisions about what is going to happen to your land, so stay involved. That is 98 percent of it (with praying making up the other 2 percent)," Amen said.

Tulare County is in the process of updating its general plan and Nancy Pitigliano, a member of the CFBF board and a planning commissioner, says the county recognizes that agriculture is important and it does what it can to ensure that family farms remain in production.

"We have a unique situation here in Tulare County because ag is our No. 1 industry, so the county is very cognizant of that. You can't be a No. 1 ag county if you don't have ag land. It is as simple as that," Pitigliano said. "We are trying very hard to make our sphere of influence for the cities and for the communities to stay within certain boundaries. The biggest impetus in Tulare County is to eliminate this leapfrog development. We are really working hard for that not to happen here."

Pitigliano suggests that farmers throughout the state get involved in the process, know the Farm Bureau's land-use policy and get to know county government officials and staff.

"It makes a huge impact to have ag at the table in these discussions," Pitigliano said. "We are very fortunate in Tulare County because the planning commission sends notices to the county Farm Bureau whenever a change of zoning or anything comes up on the agenda so that our land-use committee can look at that and comment. That is something that we've cultivated for years and worked on very hard to have that relationship with the county planning staff."