With MALT Protection, Ranch Aims for Cheese

September 25, 2014

The 623-acre Thacher Ranch, a parcel near Marin’s border with Sonoma known to many as Rocky Canyon Ranch, is the latest ranch to be safe-guarded from the pressures of estate development after the Marin Agricultural Land Trust closed on a $1.8 million agricultural conservation easement, the nonprofit’s 73rd easement in its over 30-decade history. 

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Marissa Silva carries a bale of hay to feed black Angus cattle on a foggy morning at Marshall Home Ranch in West Marin, with green pastures visible in the background.

Marshall Home Ranch: Transforming a Historic California Dairy

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The morning sun catches the gleam of solar panels mounted on the barn roof at Marshall Home Ranch. Standing in the yard of her family’s ranch—the same view her great-grandparents once held—Marissa Silva carries a quiet confidence, someone grounded in place, in a tradition of self-reliance, and in herself. Her family has been ranching this…

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a few cows stand at Parks Home Ranch

Winter Events in Marin County

January 26, 2026

Enjoy our winter roundup of farm visits, walks, markets, nature talks, and volunteer opportunities.

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Reviving the Truttman Ranch, Protecting Public Grasslands

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When Levi McIsaac shakes your hand, you feel it—the confidence that comes from knowing exactly who you are and where you fit. Fifth-generation Marin County rancher. National Park Service (NPS) road crew worker. Someone who understands that his family’s future is inseparable from the health of the landscape they steward. That confidence matters now more…

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