PUBLISHED BI-MONTHLY BY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Grown in Marin COOPERATIVE EXTENSION, MARIN COUNTY FARM & CROP DIVERSIFICATION NEWSLETTER CALIFORNIA
AUGUST 2008 VOLUME SEVEN NUMBER THREE
EDITOR’S COLUMN “Celebrating its food-farm connec- tions, Hidden Bounty features the Marin community gastronomic players in their glory and drama. This visual representation of the emotions, economics, and ecology that drive local food success leaves the viewer hopeful and empowered. Hidden Bounty of Marin: Few foodsheds have been as pro- FARM FAMILIES IN T RANSITION gressive as Marin in connecting all Photo Video Captures by Dave Fix the dots - watch and learn.” - Joel Salatin, Polyface Farm Marin County is an extraordinary place with an extraordinary community of farm- ers and ranchers. Traditional cattle, dairy, and sheep ranchers blend with oyster Seven years ago we launched a little farmers, cheese makers, and vegetable producers. Marin dairies provide 20% of the effort called “Grown in Marin,” to Bay Area’s milk. Meat, shellfish, and organic row crops are produced for local and continue the efforts of many regional markets. farmers, ranchers, and sustainable An exciting transformation is taking place here. This documentary brings us agriculture advocates, in bringing close in to the lives and work of nine farm families in transition. High-definition together and supporting all farmers video captures the rich landscape and daily life on the farms and ranches in this half- in Marin County. It has been a team hour documentary. Under production for over a year, this video captures “farming effort, and everyone involved has on the edge” in Marin, revealing the depth of commitment and passion of the real contributed way beyond the call of “Hidden Bounty of Marin,” the farmers and ranchers who bring us high quality, duty, to ensure that our local agri- local, and organic food. culture and food system thrive. The following excerpts have This documentary is, in some been taken from the documentary: ways, the dessert of this work. We have tried to stay true to the heart Jensen Ranch, Tomales and spirit of our agricultural com- Bill Jensen is a fourth- munity in bringing these nine short generation sheep rancher. stories to you in this half-hour, “We like to think that this is a high-definition documentary. good product out here because The crew at Novato Public it's basically all raised in native Access Television has worked tire- grasses. It's not fed anything, lessly with us to film, edit, and pro- there is no hormones that go into duce this amazing piece of history. these animals whatsoever. It’s Our film is dedicated to all about as raw and basic a product as you could ever get. It has never changed. It has farmers and ranchers, past, present, ... we are not doing anything to these animals now … that wasn't done 100 years and future. ago.” - Bill Jensen “Bounty” continued on page 2 1 Grown in Marin August 2008 HIDDEN BOUNTY HIDDEN BOUNTY
Clark Summit Farm, later I'm still saying the same thing. The customers support Tomales us so that we can sell our product at a good price locally, Liz Cunninghame was and ... [it] is huge in terms of survivorship of agriculture, born and raised on the especially in this county.” - John Finger family farm. This is a small farm that maximizes its Gale Ranch, Chileno Valley natural resources and Mike and Sally Gale operates on the simplest inherited Chileno Valley principles of letting the Ranch in 1993 from livestock live natural lives. Sally's aunt, a member “We keep it really humane of the sprawling Dolcini for our animals so they are family. New and return- not getting in big scary ing farmers like the trucks and going long dis- Gales are essential to tances to be processed, and the agricultural diversi- it's worked out well. People fication happening in really, really like what they West Marin. see when they come, and “The culture that has they are really happy to purchase our products, and it's a lot grown up here is alive of fun. We learn a lot from our customers. People know a and well, but it won't lot about their food.” - Liz Cunninghame continue without the This is the kind of personal relationship that people support of consumers. used to have with their food and the farmers who grow it. We are very appreciative Knowing the farmer is perhaps the most authentic kind of of local customers who support us and support our family “certification” we can have as a community. farms. Without our customers we can't survive.” - Sally Gale
Hog Island Oyster Company Straus Family Dairy & Creamery Farming in Marin also happens on the tidelands of No other kind of Marin agriculture has been more successful Tomales Bay & Drakes Estero. Oysters have been farmed than our bountiful and productive dairy farms. Some of the in Tomales Bay since 1875. The industry ranks third in most productive dairies lie within the Tomales Bay water- Marin production value behind dairy and livestock, and shed. One of these is the Straus Family Creamery & Dairy. second in the state. John Finger and Terry Sawyer run Hog “MALT (Marin Agricultural Land Trust) enabled us to Island Oyster Company farming oysters on Tomales Bay. inherit the farm from my parents. It was kind of the seed “I've been at this for 24 years and there are always new money to enable me to transition to organic and start the challenges. There are different conditions out here and you creamery. It took three years to put the whole plan together are dealing with Mother Nature and it's never going to be and the business. We were able in February 1994 to become easy to grow oysters. I knew that getting into it and 24 years the first certified organic dairy and creamery west of the Mississippi.” - Albert Straus
2 Grown in Marin August 2008 HIDDEN BOUNTY HIDDEN BOUNTY
Robert Vallejo The Giacomini Dairy & Point Reyes Original Blue Cheese Marin’s farms and ranches could not succeed without the The Giacomini family has worked hard to keep the farm skill and dedication of on-farm employees. Robert Vallejo in the family. The dairy is typical of the smaller pasture- is the dairy manager at the Straus Dairy, and has worked based operations on the north coast, far from the factory alongside Albert from the beginning as a pioneer. farms in the central valley. The family has worked hard “When we started the first year I thought we were going together to keep the family farm healthy by diversifying kind of crazy because we were the first ones to try organic. into premium-quality farmstead cheese. We didn't have any help, and I could not ask someone how “My wife and I have always had in the back of our minds to treat them back then because nobody knew.” that some day, somehow we wanted not just to sell our milk Robert is now an expert organic dairy operator. He is also that we get from our cows, but to be able to take it to the enthusiastic about organic food. next level and produce a product ourselves that we could “So doing the right thing for people who eat organic meat or take to the consumers.” - Bob Giacomini drink organic milk or yogurt, whatever is organic, I know is gonna be good for them.” - Robert Vallejo “When he started to talk about his vision, cheese was a nat- ural, and so that was something of interest to my sisters and Cowgirl Creamery, Point Reyes Station I - we love to cook, we love cheese. So it was an opportunity Every other day trucks arrive at Cowgirl Creamery deliv- for us to get back into the family business.” ering fresh organic milk, the basic ingredient of Cowgirl's - Lynn Giacomini-Stray award-winning cheeses. Cowgirl Creamery’s Sue Conley and Peggy Smith made the leap from long careers in the Star Route Farms, Bolinas restaurant trade, to becoming successful producers and Located on 40 acres, Star Route Farms has survived the ups distributers of farmstead and artisan cheeses. and downs of small farming, much to the credit of Warren “One of the things that really inspired us to make cheese was Weber and his crew. They have managed to find a place in Ellen Straus. She said unless we have a marketing compo- the Bay Area food and farming culture, and their produce nent to our agricultural community we cannot survive, so I is prized in the best restaurants and farmers markets. thought we could do this store here and we could get people “Agriculture is really about the community. We are just the farmers….The truth is we are just stewards just serving the needs of the plants trying to grow to become food for the tables that people eat.” - Warren Weber
to see cheese is being made, that cows are on the hill, so it gets that marketing program started in a very simple way.” - Sue Conley
3 Grown in Marin August 2008 FARMING NEWS FROM AROUND MARIN “Bounty” continued from page 3 Hidden Bounty of Marin Viewing Schedule Premiering during the Slow Food Nation Event, Friday, August 29, 5:30-6:30 pm. Foreign Cinema Restaurant, 2534 Mission Street, San Francisco CA.