Point Reyes Light - December 5, 2002
State OKs Malt buy; finances clarified
By Dave Mitchell
Members of the California Coastal Conservancy on Wednesday unanimously voted to disburse $350,000 to MALT to help it buy a conservation easement over Mervyn and Mary Zimmerman’s 308-acre ranch in Marshall.
The Zimmermans and Marin Agricultural Land Trust declined to discuss the allocation last week before the conservancy board voted; however, Merv Zimmerman previously complained that MALT does not pay enough for conservation easements, which leaves the land in the ranchers’ ownership but takes away their ability to develop it for non-agricultural activities.
To buy agricultural easements, MALT typically pays about 50 percent of agricultural land’s market value.
An article in last week’s Light reported that the ranch had been in "financial trouble" and in 1999 had sold off its 344 Holstein cows. The article added that "the ranchers at the time blamed escalating feed costs, tighter animal-waste regulations, and flat milk prices."
County agricultural officials speaking in 1999 agreed that the current economics of the milk industry favor larger, corporate dairies.
Last week’s Light article did not intend to suggest the Zimmermans’ decision to sell development rights resulted from poor management.
Rather the "financial trouble" referred to were the rising feed prices and flat milk prices. These economics caused the Diamond Z to be the fourth West Marin dairy ranch in two months to sell its herd. Our apologies if any reader construed the "financial trouble" comment to refer to the Zimmermans’ management of their ranch.
Dick Wayman, spokesman for the Coastal Conservancy, said the full price for the conservation easement is $684,000.
He said MALT will seek a grant from the State Department of Conservation to come up with the other half of the money needed. If the grant is not given, MALT will use with its own funds to complete the purchase, he said.
Conservancy chairman Paul Morabito said, "Purchase of the easement will enable a long-established agricultural family to transfer ownership of the property to a younger generation that wants to continue the family’s farming tradition."
The conservancy’s $350,000 allocation to MALT comes from money it received through Proposition 40, the resources bond act that California voters approved in March.