Many grape growers in Sonoma and Mendocino Counties are upset with a proposed new set of rules designed to protect local waterways and fish habitats. The program, targeting about 15-hundred grape growers, is aimed at reducing the amount of sediment and pesticides that end up in waterways. Growers would be subject to more well and groundwater monitoring, ground cover requirements, restrictions on wintertime operations, and more. Vineyard operators and agricultural representatives call the new extra costs and mandates they’re facing excessive and overkill. Robin Bartholow of the Sonoma County Farm Bureau says small growers would feel the greatest impact because they have small margins and would be paying more significant costs.
