THE MARIN COUNTY Board of Supervisors is set to approve nearly $1 million in federal aid this week to three organic dairies as they relocate from ranches within Point Reyes National Seashore.
The funds will go to support sustainable conservation practices in the Marin and Sonoma County milkshed, the economic region that furnishes milk to local communities.
The one-time reimbursement-based payments were part of a 2024 federal appropriations package secured by Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael. About $316,663 each will go to the Robert McClelland Dairy, a supplier to the Straus Family Creamery, and the Spaletta Ranch and Kehoe Family Farm, which supply the Clover Sonoma dairy.
The funding follows a January 2025 legal settlement that concluded a long-running conflict between environmental advocates and ranching families in West Marin. Twelve ranches were required to cease operations within the national seashore. Participation in the 2025 settlement agreement was required for grant eligibility, and the three recipients were only applicants to the program.
The Board of Supervisors will administer the grant through the San Francisco North Bay Dairy Community Transition Assistance Program. The funding comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. The money will not be used to buy or lease land, but to fund the development of conservation practices such as waste management and recycling, methane capture technologies and improving structures.
The operators will be reimbursed after submitting proof of payment invoices, and the county will then be reimbursed through the NRCS fund.
“They’ll have more than $330,000 worth of improvements to make to a property,” said Talia Smith, Marin’s deputy county executive. “We’ll have to work with NRCS to make sure it’s part of their conservation plan, but it could be a wide range of activities.”
The Robert McClelland Dairy has been in Petaluma for quite some time, said Smith, and they’re expanding an existing site by bringing the cows and dairies from the seashore, including a manure separator, a compost barn and an animal housing structure. The Spaletta Ranch will move to a new address in Valley Ford, which borders Marin and Sonoma counties, where they will also use the grant to upgrade buildings. The Kehoe Family Farm is also relocating to an address in Petaluma with plans to develop a Comprehensive Nutrition Management Plan, a type of waste management plan that would qualify them for additional NRCS funding.
Supervisor Dennis Rodoni said the funding is critical to helping the dairies stay in active operation after leaving the national seashore.
“This support keeps these operations in our regional milkshed, protects local jobs, and helps sustain the multi-generational ranching families who are such an important part of West Marin’s identity and agricultural heritage,” Rodoni said.
County officials said 5% of the federal allocation will be withheld for administrative costs, as required under federal rules.
The Board of Supervisors could finalize the agreements Tuesday.
