What is Sonoma County Farming?
We want the community to feel connected to their farmer, and connected to their food. These are some of the questions we’ve been asked lately.
Family Farms are owned and operated by a local family. Much of the time, the way Sonoma County farms are ran, these families live on the farmstead along with employees of the farm. This is the old-fashioned way, where everyone lives and works together.
This is maybe the most interesting question, and one we are asking ourselves daily. Sonoma County farms are some of the smallest in the nation. They are regenerative, poly-cultures, that sequester carbon, and have the highest animal welfare standards around. Most of our farms are voluntarily Humane Certified by 3rd parties. So this ballot measure makes no sense here. We can only think that there is something else behind it. If anyone is great at following the money, we’d love an answer to this question too.
History tells us that these farms will be developed if this measure passes, as land that is no longer in agriculture is not sustainable on its own. Who would want that? Plus our local food will go away. We know that agriculture is the best way to preserve land while mitigating fire danger and protecting native flora and fauna. Check out the Muir Woods philosophy and study. Keeping these organic farms from becoming extinct, helps our local food supply, native plants and animals, and our local way of life. We believe that cows are more fun to look at on the rolling hills than huge houses.
It is very important to the animals in Sonoma County that we defeat Measure J. If it passed, these animals would either be sent to slaughter, or would be sold to a much larger farms that could handle more animals. There are no smaller farms than the ones in Sonoma County, so to think they’d end up in a smaller farm is impossible because there is no such thing. There is no better place for these animals than our pasture-based lifestyles in Sonoma County. Please help these animals thrive; Vote No on Measure J.
Absolutely not. There is nothing in Measure J that is intended to protect animals. In fact, California already has the highest standard of protections in place, and on top of that, this area goes above and beyond. The organizations behind Measure J would prefer that you not know that most of the farms in Sonoma County have chosen to be Humane Certified, Certified Organic, Pasture Based farms… These are the gold standard for animal welfare.
Animals are funny…. if they are not happy, they do not do what you’d like them to do. Farmers put a lot of effort into something the industry calls “Cow Comfort”. As farmers, we learned a long time ago that happy, stress-free animals, produce the best products.
As humans, we aren’t as productive when we are grumpy, right? Same with the animals. A happy cow naturally makes more milk, and a happy chicken naturally makes more eggs. If animals are stressed or unhappy, they make less product.. that makes the farmer’s spouse unhappy… so the farmer genuinely tries to keep the animals as happy as they can. #happywifehappylife 🙂
Farmers love tending to the land and the animals. They chose this as their career path, just like anyone chooses a career path. It’s a great way to raise children, and to be close to nature every day. It’s not an easy life, but it is what fills our hearts.
This is the coolest question you’ve asked so far! We’d love your help in keeping food and farms local. The best thing anyone can do, is to help get the word out; Share our social media and this website, and tell friends what you’ve learned about our local food supply.. If you’d like to do more, please send us a message and we would be glad to let you know more ways to help.
None. There are no factory farms in Sonoma County. This is a term that is used to confuse. All of our dairies are pasture raised and the smallest in California. Not only is “Factory Farm” not a defined term, our farms are the farthest thing from what an imagination might conjure up about crowded animals and confined spaces… that’s just absolutely not how we farm in Sonoma County.
There are only 54 dairies in Sonoma County. There were 800 dairies here less than 100 years ago, so they are the new endangered species of this area. Help keep them from disappearing.
This ballot measure would shut down all but about 3 of our 54 dairies, and the few remaining would not survive because their support services, like feed stores and veterinarians, would be gone.
Nope, Measure J will close down Straus and Clover. That’s how misguided this measure is. Straus and Clover have publicly spoken out about this. They would be forced to close their doors, eliminating all our local milk, butter, and cheese. Those foods would then be shipped in from outside this area. There would be no more local dairy products.