Contact the Agricultural Liaison
The Agricultural Liaison is here to answer your questions about farming, ranching, regulatory issues or anything else you may want to know about Central Coast agriculture.
About the Agricultural Liaison
In January, 2020 the Santa Clara County Food System Alliance published a report, Small Farms, Big Potential: Growing a Resilient Local Food System. One of the recommendations was to create a new position connecting the agricultural community with local government to streamline permitting processes and assist farmers and ranchers with technical questions. The position was created as part of the University of California’s Cooperative Extension (UCCE) office in January, 2022.
Santa Clara County is one of only five in the state that has an Agricultural Liaison. In Santa Clara, the position was created as a partnership between the Board of Supervisors, Department of Ag, Weights & Measures, and the UC Cooperative Extension office with the intent to promote the diversification of agriculture and support producers as they set out to build, expand or modify their operations for long-term success.
The Ag Liaison in Santa Clara County is Julie Morris. She can be reached at 408-201-0674 or at jfmorris@ucanr.edu
The Ag Liaison is a “one-stop-shop” for information on the many county, state and federal regulations that apply to commercial agriculture and, when appropriate, help producers to navigate the permitting or licensing process necessary to move their operation forward.
The Ag Liaison has no enforcement responsibilities, which means that they can be a safe, neutral person to explore ideas with and help producers understand the laws in order to make their own decisions. This kind of information can be very helpful whether a farmer or rancher wants to dig an irrigation pond, start a value-added business, build a new barn, or sell eggs at the farmers market.
We hope the resources on this page will aid you in navigating your new agricultural enterprise. Questions to the Ag Liaison are confidential; UCCE is not a regulatory agency. Ask a question by contacting Julie. We’ll get back to you shortly.