Slaughterhouse closure threatens ag industry

June 21, 2006

Another part of Petaluma's rich agricultural heritage will soon pass into history, the result of changes in agricultural production, dramatically increased property values and higher costs of doing business.

Rancho Veal, the last cattle slaughterhouse in the North Bay, is set to close within two years and its three-acre property on Petaluma Boulevard North is likely to be bought by a homebuilder as part of a planned 12-acre, 79-unit subdivision.

The closure of the slaughterhouse will negatively impact the local bovine livestock industry. Without a slaughterhouse in the area, ranchers will be forced to transport their cattle to Stockton or Sacramento for slaughter. The cost of transporting their cattle such a distance will undoubtedly force many ranchers to get out of the business.

No one can fault Robert Singleton, owner of Rancho Veal, and Babe Amaral, owner of Rancho Feed. Both men are in their late 60s and have no heirs interested in taking over the business. Moreover, Sonoma County's cattle industry has declined significantly over the last several years and Rancho Veal is slaughtering less than half the animals it was 20 years ago.

"Look around the county -- grapes and housing," Singleton said. "No cattle."

Indeed, planting wine grapes and building new homes have proven to be a more profitable use of land. But people who live in Sonoma County want to see land kept in open space and agricultural production -- and the closure of Rancho Veal will make it that much harder to do so.

There is hope. A group of North Bay ranchers wants the USDA to transfer Rancho Veal's license to them. They would then seek to build a new slaughterhouse somewhere in the North Bay. It will be an uphill battle, they admit, but it's worth the effort to keep agriculture viable in Sonoma and Marin counties.