Activists are trying to make California's Sonoma County, legendary the world over for its wine, the first county in the United States to ban concentrated animal feeding operations by popular vote.
Farm groups are organizing to defeat the initiative. The California Farm Bureau Federation alone has contributed $100,000, including $85,000 in January, to the Sonoma County Family Farmers Alliance PAC.
On the other side, Lush Cosmetics, a UK-based makeup marketer that advertises "cruelty-free" products, is helping fund the Coalition to End Factory Farming (CEFF), a group of more than 35 businesses, nonprofits and organizations that led the initiative. In early March, CEFF submitted more than 37,000 signatures – nearly double the required number – to the Sonoma County Registrar of Voters.
CEFF includes Berkeley-based activist organization Direct Action Everywhere (DxE), whose protestors have a record of trespassing on Sonoma County farms to take chickens and ducks.
Samantha Faye, a spokesperson for CEFF, said the group’s preliminary polling in Petaluma has shown that a majority of voters support the ban.
“There is a large and motivated volunteer base that will be speaking with members of the public about the initiative. We’ll be tracking commitments to vote yes and inviting supporters to volunteer with the campaign,” said Faye.
Lush Cosmetics has contributed $8,100 to CEFF, while the Karuna Foundation in Colorado, a non-profit that works to prevent cruelty to animals, provided $45,000 to support the measure.
Dayna Ghirardelli, Sonoma County Farm BureauBut Dayna Ghirardelli, executive director of the Sonoma County Farm Bureau, said the initiative is deceptive “in every way, from the title of the measure to the intent.”
“The fact is the proposers of the measure are animal rights activists who wish to eliminate animal-related food sourcing,” said Ghirardelli.
She said if the initiative is successful in Sonoma County, it will quickly be exported to other counties in California and outside the state.
“Clearly, Sonoma County has been targeted because of its proximity to Berkeley where a majority of the animal activists are located and belong to … DxE, a self-proclaimed activist organization fully intending to eliminate any consumption of animal-related products,” said Ghirardelli.
Sonoma County is home to more than 20 operations that CEFF members consider CAFOs. The number includes organic dairy, poultry and cattle producers. Poultry producers have lost more than 250,000 birds to avian flu in the past two years. Local dairy producers have seen a shrinking demand for dairy products and lower milk production rates per cow.
The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors hasn’t officially put the initiative on the November ballot. Earlier this month, the board ordered a report on the fiscal impact of the initiative. The report will cover how the initiative would affect agriculture, land use and the county general plan.
Supervisor David Rabbitt, who chairs the board, wants every department to report any impact it could identify. After the report is generated, staff findings would be reported in a public meeting. The board will review the report, which should come out in mid May, before deciding whether to put the initiative on the ballot.
The Sonoma County Economic Development Board’s 2023 “Agriculture: Industry Insider” report says dairy is behind only wine grapes among the county’s agricultural products.
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"My sense is that if [it] passed, almost all the egg and milk production in Sonoma County would end," said Daniel Sumner, professor of agricultural economics at the University of California, Davis and a former chief economist at USDA. "The production costs would rise enough to make farms that produce most of the milk and egg output no longer financially viable,”
He added the farms involved would have higher costs but not higher revenue.
“Organic milk production is already struggling, as is Sonoma [County] egg production. It is hard to see most farms reinvesting in…[new] or renovated facilities [due to the initiative],” he said.
The Animal Agriculture Alliance, a national organization of animal agriculture farmers and related entities, told Agri-Pulse it has helped with efforts to share farm security resources and recommendations with Sonoma County farmers.
The group has also engaged with law enforcement offices in Sonoma County to make the farmers aware of instances of criminal activity on farms and facilities and the groups behind such activities.
The Sonoma County Family Farmers Alliance PAC, which is funding the fight against the ballot measure locally, has also received $50,000 from Building a Healthy Future for California, an entity facilitated by the Agricultural Council of California (ACA). The latter is a member-supported organization that advocates for more than 15,000 farmers across the state.
Local businesses and other county farm bureaus from Mendocino County down to Tulare County made smaller contributions. Among major donors are Spaletta Ranch dairy farm in Petaluma, Valley View Dairy in Petaluma, San Joaquin Farm Bureau and Morrison Dairy in Santa Rosa.
Steven Fenaroli, CFBF director of political affairs, said his group is committed to helping the Sonoma County Farm Bureau defeat the initiative. The goal is to “defeat [it] handily,” he said.
“We’re working hand in hand with the Sonoma County Farm Bureau to provide the support and resources they need to run a successful campaign to defeat this measure,” said Fenaroli.
Local farmers are concerned that a ban would require them to reduce their livestock numbers.
The initiative would "irreparably damage Sonoma County’s vibrant regional food system," said Michael Benedetti, senior director of sustainability, regulatory and quality at Clover Sonoma in Petaluma. "If passed, this measure will have a profound negative impact on Clover Sonoma’s local family farm partners – who adhere to the highest animal welfare standards in the industry – and all who work in, and rely on, dairy production.”
Doug Beretta, owner of Beretta Family Organic Dairy in Santa Rosa and president of the Sonoma County Farm Bureau, said the initiative would force him to reduce his herd size by 50%. “If this happens, it will make our business non-profitable. The fourth generation, my son and daughter, will not be able to continue our family legacy,” said Beretta.
For years, Sonoma County’s animal agriculture businesses have been on alert for activist trespassers. Beretta said DxE’s actions put animals and employees at risk.
“Our farm has been under attack from DxE multiple times, from drone [video] footage to DxE members videoing us at our daily tasks. Our farm is positioned along a busy county road so we are an easy target,” he said.
Beretta added he would not put up a large fence because many Sonoma County residents enjoy driving by and seeing the animals. Beretta is working with the Rural Crimes Task Force of the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office to protect his family, employees, and animals, he said.
A representative of DxE contacted by Agri-Pulse referred questions about the initiative to CEFF.
DxE has posted on its website news about past trials of organization members.
Last November, DxE co-founder Wayne Hsiung was convicted of two counts of misdemeanor trespass and one count of felony conspiracy to trespass in Sonoma County. The convictions related to Hsiung helping lead protests in 2018 and 2019 in which activists associated with DxE took chickens and ducks from Sunrise Farms and Reichardt Duck Farm, both in Petaluma.
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