The Ventura County Agricultural Commissioner has a Senior Planner on staff to provide expertise into Land Use Planning for proposed development that may threaten or adversely impact production agriculture. The Agricultural Commissioner's Office provides staff to the Ventura County Agricultural Policy Advisory Committee (APAC). The APAC is comprised of five growers appointed by the County Board of Supervisors to advise them and other decisionmakers on projects, County Zoning Ordinance and General Plan amendments and other matters affecting the county's agricultural resources.

Conflicts arising from the proximity of conventional agriculture and residential areas, industrial areas, schools, and other locations where the public is likely to gather are common in Ventura County due to the fact that many of the agricultural parcels are protected from development by various low growth ordinances such as S.O.A.R. There are 23 public and numerous private schools directly adjacent to agriculture in the County. Mitigating conflicts at the agricultural/urban interface is an important part of our daily routine.

The APAC continues to work on refining measures to alleviate agricultural-urban interface conflicts, including setbacks, vegetative "shelter belts" (buffers) and easements to compensate growers for necessary modifications to their farming practices.