An aerial photo of calf hutches, individual housing for calves, at Mertens Dairy in Sonoma . [Photo courtesy Coalition to End Factory Farming]
agriculture in Sonoma County and beyond. Our industry values collaboration among producers, recognizing that a strong, unified agricultural community benefits the entire sector. This is why many winegrape growers joined with animal agriculture producers to oppose Measure J,” says Collins. Political and economic ripples Even with Measure J defeated, local animal agriculture businesses are trying to calculate how they would have been affected. They want to crunch the numbers for the next time a similar measure might be on the ballot. “If the measure had passed, I thought I’d have to go below 200 cows—that would mean selling off almost 40% of my herd,” says Doug Beretta, owner of Beretta Family Dairy in Santa Rosa and president of the Sonoma County Farm Bureau. “I talked to the Sonoma County Water Quality Control Board, which said that I would not have a concern because our farm had a water permit. Yet I didn’t trust this to remain static, because activists could bring a lawsuit.” Beretta’s statement about the water quality permit goes to CEFF’s assertion that there are no Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs), sometimes referred to as factory farms, in Sonoma County permitted to discharge waste. CEFF maintained animal agriculture facilities without such permits would have had three years to close, downsize or alter operations so they did not meet the definition of a CAFO. Direct Action Everywhere is continuing to advocate for local measures that would ban businesses it terms CAFOs. In December, the group celebrated the passage of Measure DD, a November 2024 measure that banned CAFOs in Berkeley. The measure, which needed a majority of “Yes” votes to pass, passed by 61.89%, with 30,761 votes. At the time of Measure DD’s passage, there were no businesses that could be considered CAFOs in
the city. The legislation now bans any such businesses from starting operations there. “Direct Action Everywhere came to Sonoma County because they thought voters here would be sympathetic. We’re taking that seriously. We stand behind the Sonoma County Farm Bureau and other farm bureaus to support them going forward,” says Steven Fenaroli, director of political affairs and policy advocate for the California Farm Bureau Federation (CFBF), a state organization that represents farm bureaus throughout the state. The CFBF opposed Measure J. One of the unusual aspects about Measure J was the Democratic and Republican parties in Sonoma County both joined the “No” campaign. Heath says he was “ecstatic” when the Sonoma County Democratic Party joined the GOP to oppose Measure J. “We saw a great movement of the two parties come together to support our agricultural community,” says Heath. According to Ghirardelli, the Sonoma County Farm Bureau fielded calls from voters about how Measure J would affect local farms. Wendy Hudson, chief deputy registrar of voters for Sonoma County, says the Registrar of Voters received complaints and questions about signature gatherers, “which is not unusual.” “We would explain to those with complaints that we do not oversee or manage petition gatherers and feedback (or) complaints should be given to the proponents or opponents of the petition. Any legal concerns should be reported to law enforcement,” says Hudson. Donors lined up The list of donors for both sides was extensive. These lists grew after the Coalition to End Factory Farming gathered enough signatures for Measure J to be placed on the ballot.
48 NorthBaybiz
March 2025
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