Tim Tesconi, executive director of the Sonoma County Farm Bureau, does a good job extolling the virtues and benefits of wine grape growing, but conveniently leaves out any of the myriad downsides.
He begins and ends his prayer (“Thank God for the grapes”) and paean to wine grape farming by insulting any who would dare to question this divine right, calling those who do whiners that are “uninformed urbanites,” “misguided county leaders,” and the “newly rural” who are obviously boobs when it comes to farming. A suggestion to the Farm Bureau’s director: It’s not wise or winning to insult your readers or those who might have a different view. It’s not going to gain greater acceptance or allies to your arguments; Public Relations 101.
While there are positive benefits in wine grape farming as delineated in Tesconi’s article there are downsides as well. Grape farming uses a lot of pesticides, chemicals and fertilizers when not done organically, which is most of this farming. Natural landscapes have lost thousands of trees in clear-cutting for vineyards. The Farm Bureau has vigorously opposed any regulations that have attempted to establish safe setbacks from vulnerable riparian areas, which has resulted in excessive sedimentation and chemical run-offs into streams and waterways in close proximity to vineyards.
The amount of groundwater used in wine grape growing has never been adequately measured because monitoring of that usage is not mandatory. There is however overwhelming evidence of well draw-downs as well as creek draw-downs by some farmers, especially for frost protection in the winter months, resulting in near-extinction conditions for salmon and trout in some riparian areas.
While it’s true and unquestionably beneficial that wine grape farming is providing thousands of jobs, it’s also true that many of these jobs pay minimum wage, which does not prevent those hard workers from living below the poverty level. It is unjust and unfair that a multi-billion dollar industry does not pay its workers a livable wage to provide the necessities for individuals or their families. Mr. Tesconi is eager to sing the praises of wine grape farming, but there’s not much mention of the farm workers whose labor makes wine’s economic success possible. That part of the equation is entirely missing from Mr. Tesconi’s version of the story.
These are just a few examples of the flipside to wine grape growing left out of Tesconi’s PR pitch. Attempts by some affordable housing groups in the county to encourage farmers to provide farm-worker housing have with few exceptions been to no avail.
The point here is not to condemn this industry, but to point out there are farming practices that leave much to be desired and that there has been and is need for change. Yes, grape-growing and wine production has been an economic boon for Sonoma County, drawing in hoards of tourists, but it’s not been without a price to pay. The costs have included a loss in the preservation of small-town character, and in some cities and town squares, conversion from essential businesses to tourist-oriented ones, dismissing residents’ needs.
There is much room for improvement and I expect Mr. Tesconi knows this full well.
Will Shonbrun,
Boyes Springs
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