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Al and Loren Poncia’s family has raised cattle in Tomales for over a century; their business, Stemple Creek Ranch, sells beef and lamb. This week they closed a deal with Marin Agricultural Land Trust that will preserve more than 400 acres as farmland in perpetuity.    David Briggs

Marin Agricultural Land Trust today announced the protection of 440 acres of farmland in Tomales, bringing the total number of acres under its protection to almost half of all privately owned farmland in Marin that can be preserved. For the Poncias, who raise cattle and lambs on the undulating acres just north of downtown, the easement not only ensures the land will remain in farming—it also allows them to pay a $1 million inheritance tax.