PROHIBITION ON
CONCENTRATED ANIMAL
FEEDING OPERATIONS
A Report to the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors
On the Issues & Impacts of the Proposed Ballot Measure
May 14, 2024
On April 16, 2024, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors (BOS) accepted the certification of the ballot initiative signatures, as present by the Registrar of Voters.
The BOS directed staff to return May 14, 2024, with information on the impact of this proposed initiative.
Participating County Departments:
• Auditor, Controller, Treasurer, Tax Collector
• CAO
• Clerk, Recorder, Assessor
• County Council
• Department of Agriculture Weights and Measures
• Department of Human Services
• Economic Development Board
• Permit Sonoma
• UC Cooperative Extension (UCCE)
BACKGROUND
CAFO & AFO:
Terms developed
by the US EPA
Clean Water Act to
assist in identifying
& preventing
pollution risks to US
waterways.
AFO: Animals
brought into an
area to feed for 45
days or more
annually, area not
used to graze.
CAFO: based on
herd of flock size
(EPA Table 18-0)*
DEFINITIONS
*pollution source /
delivery method
Animal Sector Large Medium*
Cattle or cow/calf pairs 1,000 + 300 – 999
Mature dairy cattle 700 + 200 – 699
Veal calves 1,000 + 300 – 999
Swine (more than 55 pounds) 2,500 + 750 – 2,499
Swine (less than 55 pounds) 10,000 + 3,000 – 9,999
Horses 500 + 150 - 499
Sheep or lambs 10,000 + 3,000 – 9,999
Turkeys 55,000 + 16,500 – 54,999
Laying hens/broilers (liquid manure handling
system)
30,000 + 9,000 – 29,999
Chickens other than laying hens (other than a
liquid manure handling system)
125,000 + 37,500 – 124,999
Laying hens (other than a liquid manure
handling system)
82,000 + 25,000 – 81,999
Ducks (other than a liquid manure handling
system)
30,000 + 10,000 – 29,999
Ducks (liquid manure handling system) 5,000 + 1,500 – 4,999 GHG Emissions
• Grazed pastures provide scenic open space to Sonoma County while increasing carbon sequestration through managed grazing.
• Managed grazing by dairies, combined with seeding, leads to sequestering 22,768 MTCO2 annually over lands that are unmanaged.
• Dairies identified in Sonoma County Climate Action Plan to help achieve the goals of AB32; reducing methane emissions by 2030 by implementing manure management practices. • Climate smart agricultural practices implemented on local dairy and livestock farms; seventy-eight Sonoma County agricultural operations have implemented a variety of practices to reduce or sequester greenhouse gas emissions by 17,438 MTCO2 annually (CDFA OEFI).
Animal Welfare
• Organic dairies must meet the National Organic Program (NOP) animal care standards to ensure animal welfare. • Proposition 12 requires animals (egg-laying hens, veal, and breeding hogs) housed in confinement systems be managed with a minimum amount of space to allow movement. Those operations regulated under this law in Sonoma County retain Distributor Registrations and comply with the law. • 100% of the dairies (organic and conventional) with 200 or more cows address animal welfare through NOP standards and/or third-party animal welfare auditing.*
WHEREAS CLAUSES SCIENTIFIC FINDINGS
*American Humane Certified and Validus
WHEREAS CLAUSES SCIENTIFIC FINDINGS
*Evaluating Ecosystem Services, California Rangelands Trust, 2020.
Public & Environmental Health
• Antimicrobial resistance in Northern California dairies (non-organic) is reported as lower than other regions in California, likely due to the management of cows (Abdelfattah et al., 2021).
• 84% of dairies in Sonoma County are certified organic and do not utilize antibiotics with regular herd management. • Water quality impacts from Sonoma County dairies are highly regulated by the Regional Water Quality Control Board.
Property Values
• Research determined that, while new AFOs developed in areas with no existing livestock decreased property value, if a house was previously surrounded by livestock, a new AFO facility would increase property value (AAEA). • Forested, publicly owned and privately owned open space and privately owned open space in grass, pasture, and crops had similar high amenity values. Vacant open land was the least valued type of open space (JSTOR). Loss of managed lands could impact land and house values more than continuing to manage land with animals. • 56% of Sonoma County dairies reside in the 94952-area code, an area considered an area of positive home value growth, with values averaging $1.1 million, up 0.4%, according to the North Bay Business Journal.
Ecosystem Services
• Conservation easements were estimated to return between $1.35 and $3.47 for every dollar invested. If ecosystem services are completely lost through development without a conservation easement in place, conservation value rises to between $42.20 and $167.76 per dollar invested.*
Agricultural Commissioner
• Ballot initiative creates an unfunded mandate that will require increased ongoing General Fund support for AWM; Approx. $1.6 million in S&B
• Identify, inspect and monitor all pre-existing CAFOs over the phase-out period. Respond to complaints; ongoing.
• Build and maintain a public facing database.
• Contract for development of BMP manual.
• Support an employment assistance program for current and former CAFO employees.
AWM STAFFING IMPACTS
The Economic Impacts of a Proposition Limiting Livestock & Poultry Production in Sonoma County (9111 REPORT)
For every job lost from the livestock & poultry production sector, we can expect to lose one additional job from the Sonoma County economy.
OUTPUT LABOR INCOME TOTAL EMPLOYMENT
DIRECT IMPACT $259,049,852 $36,058,857 701
INDIRECT IMPACT $121,666,257 $31,391,115 469
INDUCED IMPACT $37,583,610 $12,934,169 211
TOTAL IMPACT $418,299,719 $80,384,141 1,381
UCCE commissioned a report from CSU, Chico, Agribusiness Institute. The report used IMPLAN, the industry’s standard for conducting agriculture economics & change analysis.
SUPPLY CHAIN IMPACTS (Economic Dev.)
Supply Chain
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 are
not limited to veterinary services, farm
product/feed suppliers, automotive and tractor
retails 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.
Thank you. Questions?