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Yolo Constitution

In April of 2006, the Yolo AFA, adopted by consensus its Constitution. This was the culmination of 14 months of dialogue and trust-building.

The following is the preamble and guiding principles from the Yolo AFA Constitution. For a complete version please download the YAFA Constitution (pdf).

Preamble

Food and food production is a cornerstone of civilization. Civilizations that fail to create a sustainable food system ultimately and always fail. Yolo County is blessed with ideal conditions to provide healthy food in perpetuity if we are able to balance the needs of farms and ranches to be economically viable, ecologically sound, and socially just. The Yolo AFA is an association of individuals from agriculture, environmental groups, and the community who have come together to find a way to create this balance in Yolo County. We try to reduce political conflict by working through issues with our group’s broad perspective in order to come up with solutions that can bring the community to a strong consensus. This document is our expression of our core beliefs about how to make positive change and create a sustainable community.

Our Purpose

The purpose of the Yolo County Ag and Food Alliance is to maintain and enhance agriculture and the environment in Yolo County in perpetuity.

Principles of Organization

Recognizing that efforts to create meaningful coalitions often fail for lack of clarity around how to be successful as a group, we have established these principles of organization to guide how we work together.

  1. We will strive to include in our membership a broad spectrum of community interests.
  2. We work in concert with each other and other organizations to be sure our ideas are not created in a vacuum.
  3. We value and respect the experience, perspective and talent of each member, especially any unique hands-on experience, and recognize that this will provide great benefit to the group. We understand respect to be both a feeling of equality and an attitude that does not discount or devalue what members bring to the group.
  4. We recognize the importance of seeking and basing our work on factual and scientific data.
  5. We strive to learn from the experience of each member as well as from other available sources of information. We review our decisions and plans in light of new understanding of the issues.
  6. We strive to be clear and accurate in order to be effective.
  7. Different points of view are natural and desirable parts of our dialogues. How we address differences is critical; we talk and listen with respect, to gain understanding.
  8. We make decisions by consensus. Consensus means that the decision made is one to which everyone gives consent.
  9. We accurately record all viewpoints expressed. It is the responsibility of each member to assure that her/his viewpoint is accurately captured.
  10. A sense of humor and humility is essential to our success.

Principles of Practice

Recognizing that our success is based on understanding and incorporating our deepest beliefs about the issues facing agriculture and environment, our communities, and our world we have identified these principles of practice to guide our actions.

  1. We make our best effort to illuminate the root causes of the problems we are working to address.
  2. We recognize that agriculture, including farming, ranching, processing, and support services, is an economic engine in our community.
  3. The land and natural resources Yolo County depends on are unique and not portable.
  4. Sustainable agriculture requires sufficient scale to support all the ancillary businesses that make it possible. There is a tipping point, when the loss of processing facilities, repair shops, equipment vendors and similar businesses make agriculture no longer viable.
  5. Agriculture is not “just another business;” civilization depends on agriculture. Where agriculture is either not possible or is lost, civilization either does not take hold or is at risk.
  6. Agriculture is part of the ecosystem, both serving and being served by our local ecology. We recognize the importance of conserving natural resources, such as soil, air, water and natural habitat, to sustain the long-term viability of both agriculture and environment.
  7. We recognize the right to fair compensation for farmers, farm workers, and everyone involved in the agricultural industry.
  8. Agriculture is a unique industry that creates new wealth each year.
  9. Education of the public is a critical part of any plan to support sustainability.