California Making Waves Again

Sonoma County in Northern California is known for its Sonoma Valley wine region (an author favorite) and is the home of the original Lagunitas brewery in Petaluma (another author favorite). It could also be home to some of the most restrictive regulations in the nation on confined livestock feeding (CAFOs) come Election Day. Measure J, on the general election ballot on Nov. 5, would in effect make CAFOs illegal in the county. It is supported by a coalition of animal rights and environmental justice groups called the Coalition to End Factory Farming. The group gathered 37,000 signatures to get the measure on the ballot and if passed would phase-out existing CAFOs over a three-year span and forbid future ones from development.

Sonoma County has a sizable agricultural sector including dairies, poultry operations, and fruit and vegetable growers in addition to its notable wineries and breweries Nathan Owens with Agriculture Dive reported the county is home to nearly half of California's organic dairies. The state as a whole produces about 13% of the nation's organic milk.

Agricultural producers have lined up against the measure, their primary argument being Measure J's passage could have a sizable detrimental economic impact on the county. According to Owens, Mike Weber, owner of a CAFO in the county, testified at a hearing on the measure that wiping out the big farms would trigger a domino effect on other agricultural businesses, such as creameries and feed mills, making it hard for surviving farms to operate. A study by the University of California-Davis said that if all dairy and poultry farms in the county were to close it would result in a $381 million loss to the county's economy along with significant job and wage losses.

California tends to be a bellwether regarding livestock and environmental regulation. Proposition 12 and the state's low carbon fuel standards stand out. Nebraska agriculture should keep an eye on election results in Sonoma County. Already tries have been made to place moratoriums on livestock development in a few Nebraska counties. The success of Measure J could spawn another round.