Santa Barbara County AFA Launches
In July of 2007, Santa Barbara County became the fourth County to launch an Ag Futures Alliance. Invited by local partners, the Santa Barbara County Farm Bureau and the Environmental Defense Center, a small group of growers, environmentalists, and community leaders gathered at the Alma Rosa Winery in Buellton. The group seeks to find the consensus solutions to keeping agriculture and the local environment healthy in perpetuity.
Santa Barbara County is one of California’s most spectacular and desired places. Long known as a premier ranching area, it has gained most recent acclaim for its wine growing, particularly of the sensitive pinot noir variety. Less well known is the County’s importance as a grower of leafy greens and other vegetables.
The County has been the site of epic battles between northern county agricultural interests and the more populous souther part of the county that includes the city of Santa Barbara. Several efforts to split the County on north/south lines have failed. The County is often characterized as contentious and gridlocked.
Into this challenging environment, the members of the AFA are hoping to bring reason, a big view, and the common interest of all County residents to create a future worth having, back into the dialogue about agriculture and the environment.