Giacomini Family (Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co.)
Lanatti Family (Lanatti Ranch)
Family (Stemple Creek Ranch)
SONOMA COUNTY
Farmland protected by Marin County
Unprotected farmland National Park Service farmland TomalesBay
MARIN COUNTY
PACIFIC OCEAN
DEAR FRIENDS,
For 45 years, the Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT) has safeguarded Marin County’s farmland in partnership with our agricultural community. Together, we have secured 98 agricultural conservation easements, permanently protected nearly 59,000 acres of working and natural lands, and invested over $3 million in land stewardship. The impact of this community effort resonates far beyond the county line.
MALT’s protected farmland acts as a living laboratory, where many of the Bay Area’s groundbreaking advances in agricultural technology and land management practices originate. Our network of protected properties serves as a sanctuary for nature and innovation, tended by one of America’s most celebrated agricultural communities.
At the heart of this work are Marin’s family farms, the driving force behind our collective progress. Their dedication stems from something deeper than just economic necessity—it’s born of family tradition and a profound connection to place. Through them we are advancing regional conservation and creating ripples of change throughout American agriculture.
In the following pages, we share the stories of five family farms—the “changemakers”—that represent a snapshot of the vibrant innovation taking place throughout our agricultural community today. Among our many farming families, these five have demonstrated the diverse ways agriculture is evolving to meet modern challenges while preserving time-honored traditions.
Your partnership makes this work possible. Every acre protected, every innovation supported, and every family farm strengthened bears the mark of your commitment. As we look ahead to MALT’s 50th anniversary in 2030, your continued support will help shape the next half-century of agricultural conservation and community resilience.
With gratitude, Lily Verdone, Executive Director
OUR LEGACY
In 1980, MALT was founded from an unprecedented alliance between environmental advocates and local ranching families. Little did our founders know that they had sparked a transformation in American farmland conservation—the nation’s first agricultural land trust. Since our beginnings, MALT has continued to strengthen the fabric of this community. Through funding from agricultural conservation easements and land stewardship grants, MALT empowers local farming families to think beyond day-to-day ranch operations and invest in long
term solutions to their land stewardship and economic well-being. When farms and ranches thrive, the whole community benefits.
Looking back at the past 45 years, Marin’s agricultural milestones reveal a pattern of groundbreaking achievements. The audacity of this agricultural community and of our family farms continues to inspire beyond our county lines. As we move forward, MALT will continue to demonstrate how community-based conservation can help drive lasting positive change, here and beyond.
1980
MALT founding, first agricultural land trust in the nation
1983
First conservation easement completed at the Pomi Ranch
1994
Straus Family Creamery, first certified organic dairy west of the Mississippi
2002
Early implementation of carbon farming practices with Marin Carbon Project
2002
Launch of MALT’s Stewardship Assistance Program (SAP)
1998 Cowgirl Creamery, first organic creamery in Northern California
2004
First grass-fed livestock certification in California created by Marin County Agricultural Commissioner’s office
2018
50% of Marin’s privately owned farmland protected (50,000 acres)
2024
$100 million invested in Marin’s farmland conservation
BRAZIL FAMILY
Shepherds of Land and Water
For the last three decades, the Brazil family has listened to the waters of Walker Creek. Their Marin Coast Ranch, protected by a MALT easement in 1992, encompasses a critical portion of the watershed, one of the few freshwater creeks in the Bay Area that sustains endangered coho salmon.
The family has prioritized water quality and wildlife habitat restoration, working closely with public agencies to revitalize the ecosystem. Their efforts have yielded remarkable results, with their section of Walker Creek recording a 20% increase in coho salmon smolts (young salmon) in 2023. This success story illustrates how ranching can enhance, rather than compete
with, wildlife conservation. Building on their commitment to sustainability, the Brazils are pioneering innovative waste management solutions. Through MALT’s small grants program, they’re trailblazing the use of wool pelletization technology, transforming belly wool, a byproduct of shearing, into valuable soil amendments. This new technology not only reduces waste but will provide the local community with new ways of building soils and capturing atmospheric carbon.
Their direct-to-consumer business model also reflects a deep understanding of sustainable agriculture. Adhering to USDA Certified Grassfed standards, they’ve built a business that
DELLINGER FAMILY
From 4H Dream to Mountain Legacy
Sometimes dreams become reality. Just ask Bill Dellinger, whose childhood 4H project has grown into a thriving pastureraised egg business. What started as a young boy’s vision has evolved into Hicks Mountain Hens, an honor-system farmstand that is now a destination for weekend travelers seeking fresh eggs, honey, and butter.
For over a century, the Dellingers, part of the larger Corda family, have stewarded Hicks Mountain Belvedere Ranch, home to one of Marin County’s highest peaks. In June of 2024, the family protected the ranch with a MALT agricultural conservation easement, forever safeguarding this iconic mountain.
The family’s innovative spirit now extends to their most recent venture—the newly acquired Ledger Ranch near Tomales. In the fall of 2024, they were awarded a $45,000 small grant from MALT to fund an ambitious water distribution project that showcases their commitment to regenerative agriculture. The new infrastructure will enable rotational grazing across ten paddocks, enhancing soil health, increasing carbon sequestration, and boosting the land’s productive capacity.
From pasture-raised chickens to brush-grazing goats, honey production to beef cattle, the Dellinger family demonstrates how modern ranching families can adapt and thrive
while protecting the landscapes they steward. Despite the challenges of rising costs and the necessity of off-farm jobs, they’re showing that economic viability and environmental stewardship can go hand in hand—preserving both agricultural heritage and precious biodiversity less than an hour’s drive from San Francisco.
“MALT has given a strong family the chance to protect and care for two great ranches. My late mother always believed that MALT was going to be the way we could protect our family’s ranches, and it turns out she was right.”
–ANGELA DELLINGER
KEY INNOVATIONS & ACCOMPLISHMENTS
• Transformed historic ranch into modern sustainable operation
• Secured MALT easement to protect land for future generations
• Implementing innovative water systems for rotational grazing
• Built successful honor-system direct marketing
• Scaled 4H project into thriving enterprise — local farmstand
• Proving environmental stewardship can drive profitability
GIACOMINI FAMILY
Sisters Transform a Dairy Legacy
Starting a business with family can be challenging—starting one with your siblings might seem impossible. Yet for the Giacomini sisters—Jill, Lynn, and Diana—their shared vision of transforming their family’s dairy into an artisanal cheese company has created one of Northern California’s most compelling success stories.
Their 720-acre farm overlooking Tomales Bay began as their grandfather Tobias Giacomini’s immigrant dream in 1901. By the late 1990s, as the artisanal cheese movement gained momentum in America, the sisters recognized an opportunity to reduce the family’s herd size while creating greater value
from their milk. Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co. was launched in August 2000 when the first batch of the now iconic Original Blue was produced.
Between juggling the responsibilities of raising young children and accepting cheese as payment, the sisters’ early days in business were a testament to raw determination. The 2006 sale of their agricultural conservation easement to MALT provided some of the crucial capital needed to continue to transform their traditional dairy into the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC)-certified business that has redefined their family’s legacy.
LANATTI FAMILY
Forging a Future in Conservation Grazing
Native grasses trace the ridgelines of the Lanatti Ranch, their deep roots quietly strengthening the soil beneath. Purple needlegrass and blue wild rye catch the morning light, harbingers of a bold transformation underway: the Lanatti family’s reimagined land management plan, one that places ecological restoration and climate resilience at the heart of their land stewardship.
In 2003, the Lanattis partnered with MALT to place their ranch under an agricultural conservation easement. More than just a landmark agreement and legal protections, this decision began an ongoing relationship with MALT, a new beginning.
Under the leadership of Kathie and Dave Lanatti, the family recently utilized MALT’s Stewardship Assistance Program (SAP)—available to all MALT easement holders looking to improve their soil and water quality—to create a new land management plan that has reimagined ranching as a tool for environmental stewardship.
In the spring of 2024, the family’s commitment to conservation gained further support through MALT’s small grants program, with $35,000 awarded for critical water infrastructure improvements. This funding supports the installation of a clay liner in an existing pond to reduce water losses, water that will enable
rotational grazing and greater soil health. The grant also supports strategic tree planting, creating habitat for a variety of local wildlife.
Looking ahead, the family has embraced another vital challenge: generational transition. Their thoughtful approach is proof that preserving both land and legacy requires bold innovation. It’s this dual commitment to agricultural heritage and environmental stewardship that places them at the forefront of Marin County’s evolving ranching community.
KEY INNOVATIONS & ACCOMPLISHMENTS
• Implemented innovative conservation grazing plan prioritizing ecological restoration
• Enhanced wildlife habitat through strategic pond restoration and tree planting
• Secured MALT grant funding for water resilience infrastructure
• Established perennial grass seeding program
• Pioneered transition to climate-resilient land management practices
• Developed proactive generational succession framework
“This family has a long and storied history with this ranch, we want to see our family keep writing that story, and it’s one that we’re proud to tell.”
–KATHIE LANATTI
PONCIA FAMILY
A Legacy Written in the Soil
Morning fog rolls thick across the Stemple Creek valley, blanketing the ancient grasslands in a pearl-white shroud. For five generations, the Poncia family has stewarded this ground, building upon each generation’s wisdom while navigating an ever-changing world. Today, the family’s enterprise—Stemple Creek Ranch—stretches across multiple Marin County ranches like a patchwork quilt, each piece protected by MALT.
In Loren and Lisa Poncia’s hands, this farmland is beginning to speak a new language. A careful choreography keeps their cattle and sheep on the move, breathing life back into tired soils. Carbon sinks deeper with each bite of grass,
each hoofprint a small act of resistance against our changing climate. Through their visionary leadership, Stemple Creek Ranch has emerged as one of America’s leading voices in the regenerative agriculture movement, and inspiration for agriculturalists nationwide.
Scientists, policy makers, farmers, and local community members trek to these hills, notebooks in hand, seeking wisdom in the soil cores and grass heights. The Poncias have embraced their role as educators and advocates, Loren regularly preaching his practical wisdom from the pulpit behind the barbeque. This collaboration with scientific
Post Office Box 809
Point Reyes Station, CA 94956
(415) 663-1158 | farmland@malt.org
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