photo credit: Greta Mart
Clover used their cartons, even those sold in Walnut
Creek where voters would not see Measure J on
their ballot, to rally against the Sonoma County measure.

The biggest race on the local Sonoma County ballot was arguably Measure J.

For months, we've all been seeing the many No on J signs all over the county...and they seemed to have worked.

"The no vote, the no vote is at 85%!" Dayna Ghiradelli, Executive Director of Sonoma County's Farm Bureau exclaimed after the first release of voting results Tuesday night.

It was all smiles at the Flamingo Hotel in Santa Rosa as Sonoma County’s agricultural community closed out the campaign against a local ballot measure that they say would have put them out of business.

Measure J was spearheaded by animal rights activists connected to the Berkeley-based animal rights group Direct Action Everywhere. It would have banned what the measure language called CAFO’s - concentrated animal feeding operations –in Sonoma County.

Campaigners for Measure J estimated 21 different facilities, a mix of dairies, poultry barns, egg laying operations, and a duck farm; would’ve been shut down or had their operations heavily curtailed had the measure passed.

Mike Weber is co-owner of Weber Family Farms, a long-standing egg producer outside the city of Petaluma. It’s one of the businesses that would’ve been affected by the measure. He said he and other farmers can start looking forward again.

"We are the center of progressive agriculture, not only for California, but for the United States," Weber said. "Being threatened by this, it put everybody on hold, things we wanted to do. We've got a water processing thing we want to be able to do so that we can actually start irrigating our land as well and run chickens out on green pastures. We put that on hold."

The “No on J” campaign marshaled an extensive and well-resourced campaign, with large contributions from industry groups like Western United Dairies and the California Farm Bureau. Those two contributed $500,000 and $100,000 respectively. Local producers like Clover Sonoma and Petaluma Poultry spent $100,000 and $105,000 to oppose Measure J. Overall spending in the race topped $2 million.

Campaigners for the measure said they’re not done fighting to alleviate animal suffering, and that Measure J will be looked at as a pivotal moment in the path to ending what they label as factory farming.

Kathy Tresch, a long-time Sonoma County organic dairy farmer, and major supplier to Straus Family Creamery, said Measure J made clear the need for public outreach and education.

"We thought everybody understood what buy local means because it was so supported in our county, but now I see that they need more information about what our farms are really about."

Sonoma County is home to 40% of California’s organic dairies. The opponents of Measure J say they are hopeful the overwhelming rejection of a ban on large animal agriculture operations will ward off efforts in Sonoma County, and across the state, in the future.