By Virginie Boone

Last month in Marin County near the town of Tomales, 177 acres of farmland were saved from future development by the Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT). The Parks family has farmed those acres known as Parks Home Ranch for a century and a half; its pastures are currently grazed by the cattle of Stemple Creek Ranch, a sustainable meat purveyor.

The agricultural conservation easement that preserved Parks Home Ranch for future generations was made possible through a Farmland Preservation Grants program funded by Measure A as well as via the Natural Resources Conservation Service Agricultural Land Easements.

Together, the money allows the family to continue farming. Sheep herds, farm stands, educational programs and leased plots for growing vegetables are among the visions for the years ahead.

Five generations of the Parks family has been ranching on this land since the 1880s, while the main house on the property dates all the way back to 1860 and is considered one of the oldest inhabited structures in Marin County. This was the era of Point Reyes’ dominance in California’s dairy industry, when it was known for producing the highest quality butter in the state.

As reported by the Marin Independent Journal, the ranch had been zoned for one house per 60 acres and was being targeted for residential development, within walking distance to the town of Tomales. The agricultural easement will prevent that development.

This is the 17th agricultural conservation easement secured by MALT, in concert with the Marin County Parks Department, who have invested $22.7 million in such easements, helping to protect more than 11,000 acres.

Sonoma County Land Trust does the same to preserve agricultural land in Sonoma County. It holds 47 conservation easements over 7,000 acres, agreements between landowners and the trust that keep the land in private ownership. Oak Hill Farm in Sonoma Valley has a conservation easement over its 677-acre farm. Once a dairy, it now grows vegetables, fruit, herbs and flowers.

Some 43 million acres in California, or 43% of its land, is used for agriculture, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). Of that, 27 million acres are cropland for fruits, vegetables, grains, hay, fiber and nuts. Livestock grazing takes place on 16 million acres of mostly non-irrigated land.

All told, California grows 68% of America’s fruits, tree nuts and berries; 41% of its vegetables; 18% of its nursery, greenhouse, horticulture and sod; and 12% of its hay. As of the 2022 Census of Agriculture, that added up to about $59 billion in agricultural sales, number one in the United States and fifth in the world. Milk accounted for $9 billion alone.

But that census also showed that California had lost 332,197 acres of agricultural land since the census of 2017, with the number of California farms falling 10.5% between 2017 and 2022, with most of those declines concentrated among small farms.

About 3.4 million acres in California’s agricultural counties is now urbanized, says the CDFA, with “development now consuming an average of about 40,000 acres of agricultural land per year.”

The good news? “…a few local governments in California have very comprehensive and effective farmland conservation programs that are considered national models,” according to the CDFA. “Most notable among them are Marin, Sonoma, Napa, Ventura and Yolo Counties.”

The recent acquisition of the Parks Home Ranch is a wonderful example of that, keeping 177 acres in agriculture in perpetuity.

Image by: Marin Agricultural Land Trust