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Giacomini Ranch, Point Reyes Station The Giacomini family has owned and operated a dairy on the ranch since 1959, turning it into one of the largest and most productive operations in Marin County. At one time they milked up to 500 cows a day. However, Bob Giacomini listened carefully when his daughters proposed doing something very different five years ago. “I was 60 years old and at a crossroads in my life,” Bob remembers. He had thought about getting someone else to run the ranch, had even considered selling. Instead, he and his wife Dean teamed up experienced cheesemaker Monte McIntyre and three of their four daughters to make blue cheese. Using milk from their own herd to create the specialty cheese at a time when artisanal products were gaining recognition, they quickly found an eager market for the product. “But it’s not just a cheese on the table,” notes daughter Lynn. “It’s a lifestyle for us.” She and her sisters Jill and Karen had successful careers in sales and marketing that had taken them far from the farm where they grew up. The new business enables them to spend part of each week back on the ranch working, while their own children play in the grassy yard with its view of Black Mountain or learn the word for “cow” from the comfort of their grandparents’ laps. Though Bob credits luck for some of their success,
their timing was very good. As concern about the dangers of some
mass-produced food has increased, “people want to know they’re
getting something fresh from the farm,” Jill says. The fledgling
operation has clearly benefited from the sisters’ hard work
and breadth of experience. The only classic-style blue cheese made
in California, Pt. Reyes Original Blue Cheese is also the only nationally
distributed farmstead blue cheese in the United States. A West Marin rancher for more than 40 years and
a former national Dairyman He also served for 11 years on MALT’s Board of Directors. “I believe in MALT,” he says. He and Dean decided to sell an easement because they are committed to preserving the ranch for future generations. They’re happy to have their daughters so involved in the business and thrilled that it’s brought the family closer together. “We have a great deal of respect for each other and for what they’ve contributed,” says Dean. “And we’ve got eight little cheesemakers coming up,” Bob adds, as one of them, granddaughter Corinna, bounces happily on his knee.
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Agricultural Land Trust has purchased a conservation easement on
the 714-acre Robert Giacomini Dairy, located just north of Point
Reyes Station. Clearly visible from State Highway One, Inverness,
and Point Reyes National Seashore, the property is an important
part of West Marin’s pastoral landscape. With its panoramic
views and dramatic location, it might easily have been targeted
by a developer for estate homes. MALT’s easement purchase
will protect the property permanently for agriculture.