Four upcoming October events presented through the Bolinas Museum’s BOUNTY! program represent dynamic aspects of coastal Marin’s agricultural community: next generation producers diversifying, agriculture as our cultural heritage, newcomers creating a niche market and people marrying science and experience to inform the national dialogue around sustainable practices.
Our nation is losing family ranches and farms, often because the next generation sees no future in family agriculture. Yet in coastal Marin, an impressive number of ranches and farms are being carried on by the next generation. Clark Summit Farm in Tomales, most of the letter-named ranches in the Point Reyes National Seashore and Tacherra Ranch in Bolinas are examples of heritage ranches worked by families for a century. Gospel Flat Farm, Bivalve Dairy and Giacomini Ranch are examples of the next-generation sons and daughters who left home for education, careers and world experience, but returned to reinvigorate their family enterprises, bringing diversification for economic survival.
On Friday, Oct. 21, enjoy an opportunity to tour the Giacomini ranch and taste the artisanal Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese in a lovely event space, the Fork. The Giacomini family story represents an inspiring element of our local agriculture, and the tour will show how the family is succeeding and investing their energies back into their community. Pre-registration is required at pointreyescheese.com.
On Saturday, Oct. 22, don’t miss the opportunity to hear Dewey Livingston’s talk on the history of ranching on the Point Reyes Peninsula, at 10 a.m. at the Dance Palace. Dewey is a historian, author, curator of the Jack Mason Museum and consummate storyteller who wrote the history of the ranches for the National Park Service. His slideshow will include some rarely seen historic and contemporary photographs. Most of these dairy and beef ranches have continually produced high-quality food since the Shafter family established them in the 1850s. In the 1930s, there were hundreds of acres of peas and artichokes on the cliffs above Drakes Beach, but it was ranching that continued. Dewey will trace the peninsula’s history from Coast Miwoks to the Mexican ranchos to today’s ranches that produce milk and beef in one of the healthiest environments in the country.
On Sunday, Oct. 23, Heidrun Meadery will offer a tour, discussion and tasting. Owner Gordon Hull was a geologist when he fell in love with making mead—a light sparkling champagne-like drink made from honey. He and his family brought their meadery to Point Reyes Station in 2011. Finding a niche and a market is every grower’s challenge; Gordon prefers direct sales, so people can see the gardens, methods of stewardship and production process. Enjoy the nuanced flavors of meads paired with artisanal cheese from Cowgirl Creamery, and learn all about bees. Pre-registration is required by calling (415) 663.9122 or emailing [email protected].
We regularly hear about climate change, greenhouse gasses and carbon sequestration, the issues of our time. On Saturday, Oct. 29, the museum will offer a carbon farming tour and tasting with a remarkable group of specialists; come see why a combination of experienced agriculturalists, common sense and sophisticated science is prompting world leaders to look at carbon farming as a big part of a global solution. The tour will include leaders who are serving both local agriculture and national awareness: Nancy Scolari, director of the Marin Resource Conservation District; Rebecca Burgess, farmer and founder of Fibershed; Jeff Stump, director of conservation for Marin Agricultural Land Trust; University of California, Berkeley scientist Sintana E. Vergara; Kevin Lunny of West Marin Compost; and others. The tour will stop at Black Mountain Ranch and the LaFranchi Dairy, then head to Nicasio Valley Cheese Company to taste award-winning cheeses. Registration is required at bolinasmuseum.org or by calling (415) 868.8809.
The goal of BOUNTY! is to educate, intrigue and enrich all of our experiences of fine food and its production by coastal Marin growers. To learn about other educational programs and exhibitions, visit bolinasmuseum.org.
Elia Haworth works for the Bolinas Museum.