Photo of the Month
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Star Route Farms, Bolinas
Do you have a favorite farmland photo of Marin you'd like to share? Send it to us and we'll select one photo to feature monthly. Be sure to include the name of the photographer and the location where it was taken.
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Summer Hikes & Tours
| Saturday, July 24
 Our next Farm Fresh Cooking Class at the Dolcinis' Red Hill features food and wine produced from crops grown on MALT-protected farms and ranches. Learn techniques for preparing and grilling grass-fed beef. Tour County Line Harvest Farm, located at the ranch, then turn freshly picked greens and strawberries into soups, salads, and desserts. Chef Susan Pridmore trained at Tante Marie Culinary School and teaches in San Francisco and Marin. Pre-registration required. $110 / $95 MALT members.
Register now
Friday, August 6
 Tour the McEvoy Olive Ranch, where 16,000 organic olive trees thrive in a spectacular valley near the Marin-Sonoma border. Walk among the orchards, learn about olive-growing, and tour the pressing facility to see how olives are transformed into oil. Afterwards, taste and purchase olive oil and a variety of related products. Pre-registration required. $35 / $30 MALT members.
Register now.
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 Celebrate 4th of July at the Marin County Fair!
Now through Monday, July 5
What better way to celebrate an All-American 4th of July than by going to the Marin County Fair? While you're there, snap a photo or two with the "Hole-y Cow" in MALT's photo exhibit at the entrance to the Barnyard. Email your best shots to us, and we'll post them in our August e-newsletter!
Our next door neighbors in the Barnyard, the Marin Master Gardeners, will be on hand to guide you through a Globalicious World
of sustainable gardening and will be available to answer questions
regarding vegetables, flowers, grasses, and conservation techniques for a
sustainable environment. Take a look at the full Fair program for more information and other agriculture-related events.
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MALT at Your Local Farmers Market
 Many of the farmers and
ranchers whose land is permanently protected with an agricultural conservation
easement from MALT sell what they produce at local farmers markets. For many of them the production of milk, assorted row
crops and beef, goat and lamb are just a few of the fruits of their
labor. Here is just a sampling of what you can find at the Marin, Ferry Plaza and other farmers markets around the Bay Area.
- Janet and Marty Brown's Allstar Organics: luscious tomatoes and herbal
scented aromatic sprays made from herbs harvested in Nicasio.
- David Little's 26 varieties of organic potatoes.
- Milk
produced by Straus Family Creamery in Marshall is the sole source for Cowgirl Creamery's
pungent and tasty cheeses handcrafted in Point Reyes Station and Petaluma.
- County Line Harvest grows organic row crops like lettuce,
radishes and carrots at the Red Hill Ranch, located in Hicks Valley, as well as the best organic
strawberries you have ever dipped into chocolate!
- Marin Roots' fresh produce.
- Sartori Farms strawberries.
- Nicasio Valley Cheese Company.
Explore the Bay Area's farmers markets and discover food fresh from farmland that is preserved
forever. Next month, we will let you know where you can buy directly from farmers and ranchers whose land is permanently protected by MALT.
Vote for your favorite farmers market here!
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Photo: Jesse Kuhn of Marin Roots by Paige
Green
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Community Conversation #5
Visions of Marin Agriculture in the Future
July 9, 7 P.M.
The West Marin Community Conversations Task Force invites you to its fifth event at the Dance Palace in Point Reyes Station. The latest in a series of community roundtables, this forum, moderated by MALT Executive Director Bob Berner, will focus on the challenges, possibilities, and future of agriculture in rural Marin.
Read more at MarinWatch.org.
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Congratulations!
Local FFA Team Wins Top Awards in Scotland
 MALT board member Dominic Grossi's Petaluma Future Farmers of America (FFA) Dairy Judging Team traveled to Scotland last week to compete in the Dairy Evaluation Competition at the Royal Highland Show. The team of four consists of Sam Cheda, Rocco Cunningham, Mandy Brazil
and Kelli Carstensen. Dominic has coached this team all throughout
their high school careers. Last year the team won the California State
FFA Championship for Dairy Evaluation at Cal Poly and then moved on to
compete nationally in Indianapolis where they came in second. As a
result of their national results, they were invited to compete at the
Royal Highland Show in Scotland. The two pairs of teammates came in First and Second! Read all about it in Nancy Grossi's blog The Wife of a Dairyman.
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And the Winner Is...
Mary Priest of Mill Valley is the lucky winner of our June raffle: a private lunch for eight at The Fork, the new Culinary Education Center at Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co., complete with a tour of the Giacomini Dairy. Thank you to Sue Conley of Cowgirl Creamery, Christian Caiazzo of Osteria Stellina, and Lynn Giacomini Stray of Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co. for donating the raffle prize, which raised almost $2,000 for MALT!
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Photo: Cows at the Giacomini Dairy by Hope Ratner
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Goal!
Thanks to you, our generous members and supporters, we are delighted to report that we have met our fundraising goal for the fiscal year ending June 30! Your ongoing support has helped us weather this challenging economic climate, and ensures that we can all enjoy farm-fresh food on our tables, scenic country vistas, and local farms contributing to local economies. We are grateful for your donations, and hope you will continue with us on our path forward to preserve more working farm and ranch land in Marin County.
Not a MALT member yet? We'd love to have you!
Join online today.
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Fan Mail From the Field
We just completed the biggest season yet for the Farm Field Studies Program: more than 1,700 students, teachers, and chaperones from schools all over the Bay Area learned about MALT and the importance of local farms and food. As our fan mail attests, these hands-on learning adventures made a huge impression on the kids:
"Thank you for sharing with us your beautiful farm. I felt so grateful to see your farm and you so much. And I love your work!"
"The part I loved was making butter and eating it! My mom says that we are going to MAKE butter from now on!"
"That field trip was the best field trip that I will ever go on in the
history of my life!!! I LOVED it!"
Thank you to farmers Mimi Lubermann of Windrush Farm, Karen and John Taylor of Bivalve Dairy, Kathy Tresch of Tresch Dairy, Mickey Murch of Gospel Flat Farm, Kevin and Nancy Lunny and Ginny Cummings of Drakes Bay Family Farms, and Sandy and Dennis Dierks of Paradise Valley Farms for sharing your lives, your farms and ranches, and your love for the land.
And, of course, thank you to all the MALT volunteers for the countless hours donated this year. This program simply would not happen without your continued commitment of time, energy, and enthusiasm.
Farm Field Studies trips will begin again in the fall.
Find out more here.
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Photo: Mimi Lubermann and friends by Caroline Kraus
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 Environmental Forum of Marin Sustainable Earth Forum 38
Rooted in the natural world and the local community, the Forum inspires awe of nature, imparts deep understanding of today's environmental challenges, and teaches the skills necessary to influence positive change. For 38 years the Forum has generated environmental leaders who have founded organizations, influenced public policy and created positive change in their homes, communities and businesses.
"The Environmental Forum's program has helped so many local residents better understand the community they live in, what the environmental issues are, and where to go for more information. 38 years of classes has also created a superb network that enriches the lives and effectiveness of many residents and community leaders. We all look forward to greeting each year's new class."
-- Phyllis Faber, EFM founding instructor and founder of MALT.
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Velo-ventures in West Marin
MALT joined forces in June with Allan Reeves, a local Marin cyclist and owner of France From Inside Tours, to offer the first ever MALT cycling event, which we called "Biking, Beef & Beer." Thanks to all involved, the event was a resounding success: 30 cyclists enjoyed a 50-mile supported bike ride through West Marin, followed by a tasty barbecue of grass-fed beef burgers at the Poncia family's Stemple Creek Ranch in Tomales, protected by a MALT easement since 1992.
"For all of us, this pleasant day and educational experience inspired a greater admiration and understanding for the area, the ranchers, and MALT's mission to support West Marin," said Allan, "I'd do it again in a heartbeat." Read more about the event on our blog.
In other West Marin cycling news, MALT is thrilled to be a volunteer sponsor of this year's Marin Century on August 7. If you're a rider, check your event map for locations of MALT-protected land along the route, and look for MALT staff and volunteers manning the Walker Creek rest stop during the ride.
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Photo by Deborah White
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