Our History

Our founding members and staff have attended conferences, consulted with farmers, ranchers, geologists, political scientists, and citizen groups to develop a plan to address the lack of a coherent, long term plan for our county and the Central Valley. In January, 2006, Valley Land Alliance incorporated as a 501 (c) (3).

Board member and volunteers raised funds and conducted a poll of Merced County residents on key development and land use issues.

Over the past two years, Valley Land Alliance has co-sponsored the Heartland Festival and River Fair at Riverdance Farms in Livingston educating hundreds who attended the festival.

For four consecutive years, board member Charlie Magneson has hosted over one-hundred Palo Alto High School students for a one day educational tour of the family dairy and the San Joaquin River.

We have worked side by side with the Merced County Farm Bureau, the Merced Alliance for Responsible Growth, the Merced Chapter of the Sierra Club, the Planada and LeGrand Associations, Farmland Working Group, The Farmer’s Union, The San Joaquin Chapter of the California Alliance of Family Farmers, the American Farmland Trust and the Sierra Nevada Alliance. We have taken public positions in opposing the Riverside Motorpark Raceway while supporting the efforts of local farmers to oppose parcel splits adjacent to their farmland. We have opposed recent amendments to the Merced County general plan which contradict the land use and agricultural elements.