Solano Grown-Community Web Design

About the Program

Category: Community and Economic Development (Best in Category)

Year: 2011

Solano County is a significant agricultural county producing over 80 different crops valued at over $250,000,000 situated between Sacramento and the San Francisco bay area. In 2000, the County began to look at ways to both maintain its agricultural land base while increasing the value of agriculture production, to the community and area growers. Through a series of meetings and projects running from 2000 to 2010, which included an Ag Futures Report prepared by University of Davis and adoption of a comprehensive Agricultural Element in the 2009 General Plan, the County has dedicated resources and adopted policies in support of agricultural viability in Solano County. In 2009, the County Department of Agriculture was awarded a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant, specifically for the development of branding and direct marketing in Solano County. This effort led to the development of a collaborative of growers known as Solano Grown, a marketing strategy that included a shared website. The County Department of Information technology (DoIT) was central to the development of this website that serves the agricultural community and area residents, providing a way of encouraging local support for locally grown products and adding a direct marketing venue for area growers.