Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins sent a letter to California Governor Gavin Newsom demanding that the state abandon a proposal that would redistribute land based on race, ethnicity, and national origin.
The letter comes as the California Land Equity Task Force considers a draft proposal that would encourage and facilitate land transfers and financial assistance exclusively to certain minorities.
“Those proposed policies would grievously hurt farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers,” the Secretary said in the letter. “All people should be treated equally, and what California has proposed directly targets those who work from sunrise to well past sunset, faithfully tending our nation’s land and livestock.”
In 2022, the state’s legislature established the task force to develop recommendations on how to equitably increase access to minority farmers and tribes.
The task force is currently reviewing a draft that recommends action that would only apply to certain minorities.
