The January 29 edition of the AgNet News Hour delivered one of the most wide-ranging and passionate interviews of the year as hosts Nick Papagni and Josh McGill sat down with Dayna Ghirardelli, Executive Director of the Sonoma County Farm Bureau. From animal-rights extremism to water insecurity, vineyard market shifts, and the rising cost of simply staying in business, Ghirardelli laid out why farming in Sonoma County has become a daily fight — and why giving up is not an option.
Ghirardelli opened by acknowledging the beauty of Sonoma County, while making it clear that agriculture there faces relentless pressure. Wine grapes remain under market strain, the Potter Valley Project threatens regional water reliability, and animal-rights activists continue to target dairies and poultry operations despite strong local voter support for agriculture. “It’s another day in agriculture in Sonoma County,” she said. “And it never slows down.”
A major focus of the conversation was Measure J, a ballot initiative backed by animal-rights groups that aimed to ban so-called “factory farms” in the county. Ghirardelli explained that the measure deliberately misused the EPA’s CAFO definition, which is meant to regulate water quality — not eliminate animal agriculture. Had it passed, she said, the fallout would have devastated poultry, dairy, and the many businesses that support them. Voters overwhelmingly rejected the measure, stopping what she called an attempt to turn Sonoma County into a statewide test case for eliminating animal agriculture altogether…