Napa Farm Bureau Takes Position On Oak Woodlands Initiative

NAPA VALLEY, CA - From the Napa County Farm Bureau: On Thursday, September 28, 2017, the Napa County Farm Bureau Board of Directors convened a special meeting to discuss the two Oak Woodlands Initiatives currently on file with the County.

After a lengthy process of fact gathering and debate on this issue, the Farm Bureau Board of Directors voted to oppose both the initiative co-sponsored by the Napa Valley Vintners and the re-filed version of the 2016 initiative proposed by Jim Wilson and Mike Hackett.

During its meeting, the Board of Directors sought to establish a committee of a broad group of stakeholders to communicate to the public the reasoning behind this decision.

The Napa County Farm Bureau’s staff and Board of Directors have engaged fully with this issue. The Farm Bureau’s Executive and Land Use Committees met with backers of the initiatives, and the NCFB Board completed due diligence through fact gathering and a process of multiple rounds of clarifications between Farm Bureau, the backers, and the legal counsel that helped draft the Napa Valley Vintner version.

“These initiatives directly affect the future of agriculture in our county”, said Manuel Rios, Farm Bureau President. “Our mission is to protect the agricultural heritage of Napa while embracing sound conservation measures. We stand ready to advance sound public policy that protects Napa agriculture and we urge the public to reject this initiative. We will be working tirelessly to involve both the farming industry as a whole and members of the community to help find more common sense solutions”.

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