Program Aims To Help Sonoma Farmers Map Out Their Future

Here are the morning’s top stories on Wednesday, March 26, 2025…

• Sonoma County is of course famous for its vineyards but a lot more is produced there by small farmers.  From eggs to milk and all kinds of specialty greens, Sonoma County is the Bay Area’s bread basket. But making it as a small farmer in Sonoma – like the rest of the state — has gotten a lot harder in recent years. In part, because land has gotten so expensive. 
• Drivers for ride hailing apps are rallying Wednesday in San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego, ahead of mediation talks linked to charges that Uber and Lyft stole wages from drivers. 
• The elections clerk in Shasta County, where several debates over voting and election integrity have occurred,  is resigning at the end of April.

Sonoma County Tries Inventive Model To Keep Small Farms Afloat

Small farmers are a big part of Sonoma’s identity. In fact, it has the most farming acres of the nine Bay Area counties. But many of the small farmers in the area are having a difficult time making a living, in large part because buying land is becoming such a challenge. But, one new program hopes to make it easier for farmers to find a foothold in Sonoma.

Sonoma County’s Ag and Open Space District is launching a pilot program called Buy-Protect-Sell, and it’s meant to help farmers like Erin Roscoe and her partner Brennan Murphy. They run Fox Sparrow Farm west of Cotati, on about 13 acres, but they don’t own the land. “Right now it’s about a 5-year lease term,” Roscoe said. “So it’s not forever.”

Mary Chambers is with the Sonoma County Agriculture and Open Space District. She said the pilot program plans to buy one property in 2025. Once Ag & Open Space owns the property, the program plans to protect it with a conservation easement, and that puts all kinds of restrictions on land use. “The most typical restrictions would include things like the property can’t be subdivided into smaller pieces,” Chambers said. “It prevents that property from being converted from open land into like a parking lot or a big shopping center.”

Buy Protect Sell is being funded by Measure F, a sales tax that was renewed in 2006. Last year the measure raised about $32 million to conserve open space.

Ride-Hailing App Drivers Rally Over Wages

Drivers for Uber and Lyft are rallying across the state on Wednesday ahead of mediation talks. Those companies are accused of stealing wages from drivers.

In lawsuits filed in 2020, the state and three cities argue Uber and Lyft owe drivers minimum wage, overtime and other benefits. The lawsuits cover a period of time before voters passed Prop 22, which allowed the companies to classify drivers as independent contractors.

Uber and Lyft maintain the drivers were always independent contractors.

Shasta County Elections Clerk To Step Down 

Shasta County Clerk Thomas Toller wasn’t even in the seat for a year, but he’s already stepping down from the position. In a statement, Toller cited a serious illness that’s made it difficult to focus on work.

“Based on the advice of my doctors, it has become clear to me that I cannot both focus on my health and continue to serve the citizens of Shasta County with vigor and undivided attention,” he said.

Toller was appointed last June by county supervisors to replace the long-standing Clerk Cathy Darling Allen, who also resigned because of health issues, which she related to stress on the job.

County supervisors will again have to appoint a replacement. Supervisors had tried to change the way vacancies could be filled, including by calling a special election. Voters rejected that proposal last November.