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| Anja Raudabaugh |
by Anja Raudabaugh is the CEO of Western United Dairies as it appeared in Agri-Pulse.
The latest assault on the dairy industry–Measure J in Sonoma County–has been soundly rejected by voters. This measure was a blatant attempt by outside interests to eliminate dairy farming in Sonoma County by prohibiting farms and other animal production operations that have been in the county for generations and are vital to the future of the region.
Measure J would have effectively eliminated dairy production in Sonoma County, driving up the cost of food, devastating the local economy, killing thousands of good-paying jobs overnight, and wreaking havoc on county budgets that fund police, fire, and other vital social services. The ballot measure would have also negatively impacted a variety of economic sectors related to the animal agricultural economy, including veterinarians, mechanics, and farm and feed suppliers.
In the midst of this historic defeat, proponents are already threatening to take this fight to other regions of the state. Reflecting on what went right in Sonoma County sets the industry up for similar successful outcomes no matter when and where we come under attack again, whether it be at the ballot box, in the legislature, or anywhere in between.
We’ve also seen what happens when we don’t mount a strategic, coordinated, and well-funded campaign to oppose these types of efforts, such as the overwhelming passage of two farm animal confinement statewide initiatives–Proposition 2 (2008) and Proposition 12 (2018).
Even before Measure J qualified for the ballot, Western United Dairies started to build an opposition campaign that was instrumental in ensuring this measure was not just defeated but crushed. Eventually becoming a new Political Action Committee, Sonoma United was formed by WUD to specifically oppose Measure J.
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