MALT Awards $400,000 in the Fifth Round of Its Small Grants Program

By Lily Verdone, Executive Director

April 15, 2026

Marin agriculture is in transition. The pressures are real and immediate: rising costs, limited land access, housing for workers, a next generation trying to find its footing — all against the backdrop of a changing climate that is reshaping what it means to farm and ranch here.

MALT’s small grants program is one part of how we’re responding. Now in its fifth round, the program provides direct funding to commercial agricultural producers across Marin for projects that improve infrastructure, build climate resilience, and support the long-term viability of working farms and ranches.

Today, we’re announcing $400,000 in grants to 12 farms and ranches across the county. Combined with cost-share contributions from recipients, this round represents $542,000 in total investment, the broadest geographic reach in the program’s history, from the Olema Valley and West Marin coast to Chileno Valley, Nicasio, Lucas Valley, Novato, and San Geronimo Valley.

Each project was selected through a competitive process led by an independent review committee, ensuring that awards reflect merit and impact on the ground. Five recipients qualify as beginning farmers or ranchers. Three operations are women-owned or women-led. Two are socially disadvantaged producers. Five of the 12 recipients farm land with no MALT conservation easement.

MALT has permanently protected nearly 59,000 acres, about half of Marin’s privately-owned, productive agricultural land. But protecting the land is only part of the work. Our new strategic framework reflects that reality, placing growing emphasis on ensuring that protected land stays in active, productive use. That means making targeted investments that help existing operations adapt and create openings for the next generation. That’s what this program is designed to do, and it’s what your support makes possible.

This round is part of MALT’s broader investment in agricultural land stewardship, where more than $4 million has been distributed since 2002 across grants and technical assistance programs to help Marin farmers and ranchers care for the land, adapt their operations, and build long-term viability.

2026 Small Grants Program Awards

Water Infrastructure

Olema Valley Water Distribution and Grazing Expansion – $50,000
Operating under a National Park Service (NPS) lease within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, this ranch will build a water distribution system co-designed with the NPS range manager, eliminating the need to pump directly from Olema Creek, which provides critical habitat for Coho salmon and steelhead trout. A model for private, nonprofit investment supporting conservation on public land.

Olema Valley Pasture and Riparian Fencing – $11,000
A small grants program award last year restored water infrastructure on land that had sat ungrazed for years. This year’s grant funds the fencing that makes rotational grazing possible, including a riparian fence protecting a tributary to Olema Creek. One project built the foundation; this one puts it to work.

Novato Water Distribution and Drought Resiliency – $40,000
Beginning ranchers now in their fourth year of operation will complete water infrastructure that gives them full control across all ranch acreage for the first time, enabling herd expansion and groundwater recharge experimentation that wasn’t previously possible.

San Antonio Water Infrastructure Restoration and Distribution – $40,000
A veteran-owned, women-led operation near the Marin-Sonoma border will restore an under-utilized water line, getting water to key areas of the ranch to improve rotational grazing, reducing erosion and sedimentation into San Antonio Creek, and opening a pathway toward future row crop diversification.

Grazing and Pasture

Lucas Valley Virtual Fencing – $30,000
GPS-enabled collars will replace physical barriers across four large pastures, including portions of MALT’s only public-access easement, enabling more precise rotational grazing and creating potential for field demonstrations and cooperative extension workshops.

Hicks Valley Virtual Fencing – $9,000
A new grazing operation applying virtual fencing to steep hillside terrain, advancing erosion control, fire risk reduction, and invasive species management. A demonstration of how accessible and adaptable the technology can be across different scales and terrain.

Nicasio Valley Shrub Abatement and Erosion Management – $40,000
Pasture restoration to increase grassland biodiversity and forage, supporting the operation’s organic certification,and repairs to an eroding spillway area to reduce sedimentation, maintain natural habitat, and  open additional acreage to rotational grazing.

Chileno Creek Riparian Fencing – $35,000
Creek fencing along Chileno Creek will extend and build on the area’s protected riparian habitat, improving water quality through one of West Marin’s most productive agricultural valleys.

Farm Diversification

Tomales Rainwater Harvesting and Pasture Irrigation – $50,000
A diversified goat dairy will install a rainwater harvesting and fertigation system building on previous Natural Resources Conservation Service investment, reducing creek dependence and improving nutrient management across the operation.

San Antonio Row Crop Diversification and Road Improvement – $30,000
A beef operation holding one of MALT’s earliest easements will improve road access and stability across the property, reducing sedimentation runoff, while also expanding into row crop production and establishing a new hedgerow buffer along field edges, planted with lavender, rosemary, alyssum, and sage.

San Antonio Greenhouse Modernization and Operational Resiliency – $40,000
A certified-organic row crop and herb operation on leased farmland will complete the interior buildout of a new greenhouse, adding irrigation, water treatment, and growing tables to extend the season and expand production.

San Geronimo Valley Spring Restoration and Water Distribution – $25,000
A spring water system and interior fencing will lay the groundwork for improved rotational management on land the family has farmed for years.

Where your support goes

Donors make this program possible. When you support MALT, you’re funding water lines, protected creek corridors, greenhouse buildouts, and the technology that is reshaping how ranchers can manage their land.

You’re investing in the people and the infrastructure that keep protected land in active, productive use, for the next generation of farmers and ranchers, and for everyone who depends on what healthy agricultural land provides.