Visalia Times-Delta
November 3-4, 2001
According to a recently released study by the Community Alliance for Responsible Environmental Stewardship (CARES), the dairy industry contributes nearly 67,000 jobs and $17.5 billion to the economy of the San Joaquin Valley. In Tulare County alone, the dairy industry creates an estimated 22,600 jobs, while pumping nearly $2.8 billion into the local economy. That represents about 16.2 percent of all employment in our county, or about one in every six jobs. The industry also has tremendous growth potential and will likely create another 25,000 new jobs in the San Joaquin Valley over the next decade, as dairies and processing facilities continue to expand. Given a chance, many of these jobs will be right here in Tulare County.
One organization, however, is trying to change that. The Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment, a Bay area-based anti-developing group, has sued dairies and local government in at least four counties, including Tulare County, by exploiting California's environmental protection laws. Their lawsuits have bought the issuance of dairy permits to a virtual standstill. While they claim they are not opposed to dairy farming, their actions speak louder that words and their position is clear: No dairies, anywhere period. The center's name also suggests its members are concerned about poverty. They should be. They are causing it. Local businesses that normally build new dairies have had to lay off hundreds of workers. Several thousand new jobs are not being created, because permits for 70 planned dairies here in Tulare County are on hold.
Tulare County already suffers from annual average unemployment of 16 percent, and with more than one in four people living below the poverty level. The center's lawsuits are clearly worsening these problems while blocking the people who most need jobs from getting them.
Equally troublesome is that land-use planning decisions are being shifted from local elected officials to the courts with each new lawsuit that is filed. We cannot allow Bay are environmentalists to dictate their "no impact - no growth" mentality in our rural communities. Everything we do from driving a car to a weekend backyard barbecue has some impact on the environment. The key is balance. Local planning officials and the County Board of Supervisors must continue to balance economic and environmental issues as dairies and processing plants continue to expand and create jobs in our communities.
Local dairy farmers are doing their part, and recently submitted comprehensive environmental documentation on a local dairy project for review and approval by the planning offices. Like other modern dairy operations, the Hilarides dairy is designed to minimize and eliminate environmental impacts. The plans call for storing waste more carefully to eliminate runoff, and leaving sufficient land available for the safe field applications to manure. At modern dairies, manure isn't waste at all - it's a vital crop nutrient, used safely and efficiently to grow the feed crops necessary to support the dairy. New and promising technologies are also being tested, including technologies that capture air emissions. Some $10 million is currently being spent throughout the Valley on dairy biogas demonstration projects.
Dairy families in Tulare County have a long track record as excellent environmental stewards and community partners. No one wants to degrade the land, especially not the families who live and work on their dairies. Local planners must do their part as well. Through balance, dairy farms and Tulare County residents will continue to happily coexist. Cows and jobs go together here. Our rural lifestyle, and the high quality of life to which we are accustomed, depends on it.