BOARD OF
DIRECTORS
KATHRYN HECHT, CHAIR - JORGE ALCAZAR
SKIP BRAND – BETZY CHAVEZ - LINDA KACHIU
WAYNE LEACH - REGINA MAHIRI - RICHARD MARZO JORDAN
KIVELSTADT – NICHOLAS SCHWANZ
ETHAN BROWN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
707.565.7170 WWW.SONOMAEDB.ORG
141 STONY CIRCLE, STE 110 | SANTA ROSA, CA 95401
Proposed Prohibition on Concentrated Animal Feeding Ordinance in Sonoma County
MEMORANDUM
To: Board of Supervisors
From: Economic Development Board
Date: May 14, 2024
Re: Proposed Prohibition on Concentrated Animal Feeding Ordinance in Sonoma County _______________________________________________________________________ Economic Impact
In response to the proposed ordinance, the local University of California Cooperative Extension contracted with the College of Agriculture at California State University, Chico Agribusiness Institute to conduct an Economic Impact Analysis of the Prohibition on Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations in Sonoma County. The results of this analysis presented a significant impact to the Sonoma County economy referencing losses in agricultural products ($259 million), reductions in spending through the region ($38 million) in addition to a significant loss of labor income and employment. The findings of the report conclude that “for every job lost f rom the livestock and poultry production sector, we can expect to lose one additional job f rom the Sonoma County economy”.
The estimated production value of Sonoma County’s agricultural animal sector is approximately $180,119,777 (2022 Sonoma County Crop Report). Out of thirteen dif ferent animal sectors within the region, there are five that could be impacted by the approval of this ordinance including: Cattle or cow/calf pairs, Mature or dairy cattle, Chicken other than laying hens, laying hens or broilers and ducks, equating to approximately 97% ($175,146,377) of the region’s total production value.
Large Size Threshold – Confined Animal Feeding Ordinance (CAFO) Animal
Sector
Total
Business
es
District
1 District
2 District
3 District
4 District
5 Mature or
dairy cattle
5 1 3 - - 1
Chicken
other than
laying hens
2 1 - - - 1
Laying hens
or broilers
4 - 2 - 2 -
Total 11 2 5 0 2 2
BOARD OF
DIRECTORS
KATHRYN HECHT, CHAIR - JORGE ALCAZAR
SKIP BRAND – BETZY CHAVEZ - LINDA KACHIU
WAYNE LEACH - REGINA MAHIRI - RICHARD MARZO JORDAN
KIVELSTADT – NICHOLAS SCHWANZ
ETHAN BROWN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
707.565.7170 WWW.SONOMAEDB.ORG
141 STONY CIRCLE, STE 110 | SANTA ROSA, CA 95401
Medium Size Threshold – Confined Animal Feeding Ordinance (CAFO) Animal
Sector
Total
Business
es
District
1 District
2 District
3 District
4 District
5 Cattle or
cow/calf
pairs
5 1 1 - 1 2
Mature or
dairy cattle
33 - 21 1 - 11
Chicken
other than
laying hens
5 1 2 1 - 1
Laying hens
or broilers
5 - 5 - - -
Ducks 1 - 1 - - -
Total 49 2 30 2 1 14
• A total of 60 varying agriculture businesses may be directly impacted by the passing of this ordinance, 49 of which may fall within the Medium Confined Animal Feeding Ordinance size threshold.
• All businesses that potentially fall within either the Large or Medium CAFO size threshold are in Unincorporated Sonoma County.
• While impacted businesses are spread across all five Supervisorial Districts of Sonoma County, 58% (35) are located within the Second District and 27% (16) within the Fif th District.
As stated in the Executive Summary of the “Prohibition on Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations” Supporting Arguments document produced by the University of California Cooperative Extension, Sonoma County dairies and poultry facilities represent the most impacted animal sectors for this proposed ordinance. These sectors implement animal care standards through those required by the National Organic Program or through third-party welfare certification programs. 100% of dairies managing 200 or more cows (medium and large size per CAFO index) implement one or more of these tools. Additionally, Proposition 12 is a voter driven initiative requiring space minimums for egg-laying hens, veal, and breeding hog operations. Those operations regulated under this law in Sonoma County retain Distributor Registration and comply with the law. Humane handling and disease prevention directly help achieve the ethical and financial goals of farms.
Production of local food and the establishment of food security as well as food mileage are important for not only the local economy but for the business owners and families of our surrounding areas and communities. The farther away food must travel to get to consumers, the more emissions are created and higher the cost of that food.
BOARD OF
DIRECTORS
KATHRYN HECHT, CHAIR - JORGE ALCAZAR
SKIP BRAND – BETZY CHAVEZ - LINDA KACHIU
WAYNE LEACH - REGINA MAHIRI - RICHARD MARZO JORDAN
KIVELSTADT – NICHOLAS SCHWANZ
ETHAN BROWN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
707.565.7170 WWW.SONOMAEDB.ORG
141 STONY CIRCLE, STE 110 | SANTA ROSA, CA 95401
For the impacted businesses referenced above to successfully comply with the requirements of this proposed ordinance, in addition to any existing regulatory requirements, the necessary livestock reductions would be insurmountable given the standard business model for agriculture and/or farming.
In addition to businesses within the agriculture sector directly impacted by this ordinance, there will also be an additional impact to businesses that provide a variety of supplies and services to the local agriculture sector. Examples of these businesses include, but aren’t limited to veterinary services, farm product/feed suppliers, automotive and tractor retailers as well as construction equipment and materials.
• More than 80 additional local businesses located in both Unincorporated and Incorporated areas of Sonoma County, as well as outside of the county may be indirectly impacted by the passing of this ordinance.
• 43% (33) of these businesses are retailers providing local agriculture businesses with basic farm and feed supplies.
• While impacted businesses are spread across all five Supervisorial Districts of Sonoma County, 51% (42) are located within the Second District.
County Jurisdiction
Unincorporated Incorporated Total Land Acreage District 2 Housing District 1 Business Impact by District
District 5 Workforce
Sonoma County Prohibition on Concentrated Animal Feeding Ordinance Size Threshold District 3 District 4 Business County Monetary Animal Sector
Large
CAFOs
(Large)
Medium
CAFOs
(Medium)
Small Large
Medium
Small Estimated Production
Value Large
Medium
Small# of Employees
Impacted
# of Persons
Housed Large
Medium
SmallLarge
Medium
SmallLarge
Medium
SmallLarge
Medium
SmallLarge
Medium
SmallLarge
Medium
SmallLarge
Medium
Small
Cattle or cow/calf
pairs 1,000+ 300 0 999 <300 0 5 75 $ 20,880,400.00 0.00 15,000.00 225,000.00 0 1 15 0 1 20 0 0 10 0 1 10 0 2 20 0 5 75 0 0 0 Mature or dairy
cattle 700+ 200 0 699 <200 5 33 12 $ 114,869,077.00 13,899.96 35,983.70 1,998.23 323 642 1 0 1 3 21 8 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 11 3 5 33 12 0 0 0 Veal calves 1,000+ 300 0 999 <300 0 0 0 $ - 0.00 0.00 0.00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Swine <55 lbs 2,500+ 750 0 2,499 <750 0 0 10 $ 472,300.00 0.00 0.00 1,500.00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 Swine >55 lbs 10,000+ 3,000 0 9,999 <3,000 0 0 0 $ - 0.00 0.00 0.00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Horses 500+ 150 0 499 <150 0 0 0 $ - 0.00 0.00 0.00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Sheep or lambs 10,000+ 3,000 0 9,999 <3,000 0 0 100 $ 4,501,100.00 0.00 0.00 30,000.00 0 0 0 0 20 0 0 20 0 0 20 0 0 20 0 0 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 Turkeys 55,000+ 16,500 0
54,999 <16,500 0 0 0 $ - 0.00 0.00 0.00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Laying hens or
broilers 30,000+ 9,000 0 29,999 <9,000 0 0 0 $ - 0.00 0.00 0.00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Chicken other than
laying hens 125,000+ 37,500 0 124,999 <37,500 2 5 0 35.41 45.15 0.00 15 1 1 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 5 0 0 0 0 Laying hens or
broilers 82,000+ 25,000 0 81,999 <25,000 4 5 2 220.00 120.00 100.00 85 0 0 0 2 5 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 5 5 2 0 0 0 Ducks 30,000+ 10,000 0
29,999 <10,000 0 1 2 0.00 350.00 20.00 31 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 Ducks 5,000+ 1,500 0 4,999 <1,500 0 0 0 $ - 0.00 0.00 0.00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 $ 39,396,900.00 33
Sonoma County Economic Development Board
May 2024