Sheriff’s Ag Program Benefits Inmates

Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department / Inmate Programs Team

In 2022, the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office established an agricultural training program for its incarcerated population. The program provides entry level training and exposure to some of the estimated 29,000 agricultural jobs available in Stanislaus County. Participants are taught basic skills to work with livestock in an agricultural environment, with the overall intent to convey the enrichment of meaningful work and employment to the program participants.

The first phase of the program was the opening of our chicken coop. The coop was built in a preexisting barn on the Sheriff’s Public Safety Center Campus. The chickens are free-range and have access to an open-air environment as well as the safety of an enclosed barn. The chickens were donated by a local business, which also provided its expertise in setting up and maintaining the coop. The chickens produce approximately 120 eggs a day, which are used to supplement the breakfast meals served to our incarcerated population.

The second phase of the program was the addition of goats. Currently, the department has approximately 30 goats with the intent to expand our herd in the near future. The goats are used for a natural, sustainable, and environmentally friendly approach to weed abatement on county property in fire-prone areas. The goats are protected by an Anatolian Shepard named Kizi; a large breed, livestock guardian dog, accustomed to living yearround with her flock.

Kizi and the goats are trained to special fencing that keeps them safe and unwanted predatory animals away from the group while they live their lives consuming overgrown vegetation.

Future phases of the program will expand to medium and larger livestock, such as pigs, sheep, and various breeds of cattle. Additionally, we will introduce a breeding program for selected animals to increase the herd and build redundancies for sustainability.

Through their interactions, participants are exposed to the work required to care for livestock, and the equipment used to help meet the multitude of daily tasks. Participants can expect to learn about grooming needs for various animals, the safe handling of the animals, dietary requirements, vaccinations, as well as the importance of cleanliness of the animals and the products they produced for consumption. While a farmto-table concept is not the primary goal, it is a welcome byproduct of any livestock program.

Since the initial start of the program, approximately 40 Incarcerated Persons have participated in the Agriculture Program, some of whom have never interacted with livestock outside of a petting zoo. As the program continues to expand, the intent is to include more of the incarcerated population and increase their exposure to meaningful jobs available to them locally in Stanislaus County.