I'm very much interested in buffer zones as a means of reducing our negative exports from our farms. Hudson has 140 acres of vineyards in California's Napa Valley, divided into 45 blocks of from 3 to 45 acres. I farm 10 percent less land and get 10 percent less revenue, but I do reduce some capital costs. Before, I was constantly having to put riprap in the creek, but now I let it go. I lose the resource of the land, but I felt strongly about decreasing siltation and streambank erosion, and because of that I've done these setbacks.
Napa County has one of the strongest agricultural zoning and protection laws in the country.
It requires setbacks or buffers for new and replanted vineyards in order to protect water quality and reduce soil loss. Blake says that Hudson installed setbacks on his existing vineyards before the county required them. They also are wider than the county requirements for setbacks, which increase in width of from 35 to 85 feet as the degree of slope rises. It has a particularly big impact on me because I have a lot of little blocks with creeks running through. To me the buffer zone technique involves a one-time initial cost, whether in dollars, human resources, or fuel.