New Grange Considered for Petaluma

Large commercial farms have the Farm Bureau to represent their interests. But when it comes to small, family-owned farms, there is really no one watching their back.

Tonight, the president of the California State Grange will be in Petaluma to discuss forming a grange that would promote local farms by representing their interests in Sacramento and Washington, DC.

“Our role would be to bring farmers together and there’s strength in numbers,” said Bob McFarland, president of the California Grange Association, which has 185 granges around the state and 10,000 members. “All of our legislative efforts come from grassroots organizations. Our members tell us what to do not the other way around.”

There are critical issues facing small-scale farms including labeling genetically-modified food, allowing farms to have internship programs (which let farms take on apprentices in exchange for room and board) and rooting out farmers market “cheaters,” vendors who misrepresent their food as organic.

According to McFarland, grange membership around the country is growing for the first time in 30 years, as more people become interested in eating organic and healthy food and supporting small farming operations in their communities. For example, just last month a grange opened in an old train station in Kentfield that will represent the interests of small farms in Marin County.

Petaluma actually had a grange for more than 100 years, which shuttered in 1975. Now, there is interest in reviving the movement that is all about enpowering small farmers.

“There is large group of young folks in this area that are interested in finding an organization that they can work with to help them support their causes and help them get their message out,” McFarland said.

UPDATE: Thursday night, community members decided to form a grange in Petaluma. Stay tuned for updates on next meetings and others details.