Conservation Success at Citrus Property

In January 2022, the California Farmland Trust successfully placed an agricultural conservation easement on Flying M Ranches’ Citrus Property.

The idea for Flying M Ranches was conceived in 1959 when John and Lucia Myers began purchasing land in Merced County. According to the couple’s grandson and now the ranch’s co-trustee, Wes Myers, the name of the ranch stemmed from John’s passion for aviation.

On top of their cattle operation John and Lucia grew a variety of commodities, a few of them being citrus.

“Originally, this was all a cattle ranch with irrigated pasture, but my grandmother loved citrus trees and the smell of citrus, so my grandfather planted citrus trees, hence the name Citrus Property,” Wes said.

Due to the Meyer family’s environmentally sound agricultural practices, a large portion of the landscape still possesses the same amounts of charm and rich nutrients that it did back in the late 50s.

Wes said this didn’t come as a surprise to anyone, as conservation was a principle that his grandfather had valued most. Since the 80s, approximately 5,000 acres of the Meyers family land has become protected through conservation efforts.

In 2015, the remaining citrus trees on this property were removed and the family replanted the 253 acres with three different varieties of almond trees –

Nonpareil, Wood Colony, and Aldrich.

Those 253 acres weren’t under protection, leading the Myers family to work with CFT to place an easement on the land that has become part of their family legacy.

“It’s nice working with CFT because this is my first introduction to conservation on the farming side,” Myers said. “We’ve been involved in the ranching business a little longer, but we’re newer farmers. Hopefully land trusts like CFT will start being recognized as having positive conservation effects to development.”

Funds for this project were provided through the Agricultural Land Mitigation Program (ALMP), which is administered by the Department of Conservation (DOC) on behalf of the California HighSpeed Rail Authority.

Because of this new easement, the Myers family can look at the future of their ranch with high hopes. Their family’s farm can stay a family farm – forever.