Straus Talks About The Importance Of Agriculture And Her Parents Legacy That Lives On Thanks To Their Involvement & Passion
Driving over the Golden Gate Bridge and north into the rolling countryside dotted with dairy farms, oyster shacks and produce stands, the mountains part to reveal a part of Marin County in California that looks like a European countryside. But it almost wasn’t. Initially it was going to be full of with homes and condominiums.
Fortunately, Ellen Straus, along with her friend Phyllis Faber, a biologist, saw the need for protecting the land in West Marin back in the 1980 and started the Marin Agricultural Land Trust, or MALT by writing letters and speaking at Marin County Board of Supervisors meetings. They also worked with other nonprofits to make stances, talked with the community and other ranchers and environmentalists and their organizations.
“They researched how to start an agricultural land trust and talked to people who could advise on the process,” says Ellen’s daughter Vivien Straus. “It was the first land trust in the nation dedicated to protecting agricultural land. There were others that protected open space, but none that was solely about agriculture. There were many who protested development and fought to get a national park in Point Reyes as individuals, so they also had a place in the story.”
Today, a group of volunteers and employees are keeping up the tradition of saving the land, all with the blessing of Vivien and her siblings who have helped raise money, served on the MALT boards, supported their marketing and community outreach and hosted events and to protect the valley.
“I left for a few years and became an actress but my father kept telling me that I needed to come back where I belonged,” continues Vivien. “I eventually came back to stay for a month and it eventually turned into years.”
Vivien grew up on the family farm in Marin, which she now owns with two of her siblings, Michael and Miriam Straus. The other brother, Albert Straus, owns another farm a mile away.
Their parents, Bill and Ellen Straus, immigrated to America, fleeing from Nazi Europe. Bill was from Hamburg, Germany and Ellen was from Amsterdam in The Netherlands. They were both city kids, and through twist of fate, found themselves in the stunning, beautiful, rural-but-close-to-San-Francisco community of west Marin. They fell in love with the area and when, in the 1960s, it became clear that the entire region was at risk of being paved over by urban sprawl and housing developments, they began to fight to protect their adopted home.
“Our parents had a unique perspective and approach, and over the course of many years of community organizing, they helped develop solutions which not only helped protect farms and ranches, but in so doing, demonstrated that diverse, often antagonistic, members of the community could work together towards mutual goals. MALT was born out of this vision, and its continued success has become a model for how people can make a huge, substantive impact on their local communities.”
When Vivien was growing up, there was a plan to put a freeway up Highway 1. The local town Point Reyes - currently population around 900 - was to become a town of 125,000. Farming in the area would have been something of the past.
“My mother said at the time: ‘I was kicked out of one home I love. I’m not going to be kicked out of another!” relates Vivien. “She fought as many did. Many didn’t think it was possible. The saying was ‘You can’t stop progress.’”
Her brother Michael adds: “Mom served on dozens of boards and committees of environmental organizations. In my memory -which could easily be wrong - many 'meetings' we're held in our kitchen, with homemade cheesecake (with mom's famous crust) and instant coffee, with various folks – ranchers… environmentalists - creating and building dialogue. Activism, to mom, meant communicating, listening, trying to understand perspectives, concerns and issues [as well as] grassroots coalition building, one on one. It wasn't magic. It was patience, openness, and a deep belief in the power of listening.”
But together, many individuals from the area fought, Including Vivien's parents. Her mother created MALT (with Faber), and others helped to stop Marincello, a planned city of 50,000, and others helped to create PointReyes National Seashore and the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGN).
“Productive farmland is not a commodity; it’s a precious, fragile environmental and community resource constantly at risk of being destroyed forever. Protecting the land is something most people want, but a nearly impossible task to accomplish alone,” continues Vivien. “It’s often difficult for farmers, environmentalists and members of the community to find common ground but it’s in the process of discovering mutual concerns that coalitions are formed. And it’s these alliances – crafted and nurtured with decades of dedication – that have produced unique, innovative, and forward thinking solutions that have helped save not only our own community, but served as an inspiration and model for dozens, if not scores, of communities around the country.”
The San Francisco Bay Area is lucky for having this area nearby, but most tourists don’t see the other side of the bridge where this active agricultural landscape flourishes within an hour of a huge population. This is part of the reason that the urban centers have a market, farmers have ample land to grow and consumers have fresh food so close is because of these kinds of land trusts.
“Unfortunately, most people have either never been on a farm or don’t know a farmer,” explains Michael Straus. “[Because of this] we’re disconnected from where our food comes from. The double beauty of having farming so close is that it keeps the land out of development. It’s a natural landscape. Farmers truly care about their land. They help protect waterways. Grazing has been shown to encourage growth of native plant species. We’re [also] experimenting with carbon farming, which has been shown to help sequester carbon and could have a major positive impact – and perhaps a reversal - on climate change if implemented throughout the world.”
Bill and Ellen owned two ranches – the 166-acre Home Ranch and a 500-acre dairy farm [Straus Family Creamery]. The Home Ranch is owned by Vivien, her sister Miriam and brother Michael. Albert, separately, owns the dairy.
Back in the early 1990s, the family converted both ranches to certified organic, which, at the time, made them the first organic dairy west of the Mississippi. “Organic", in practical terms, refers to dairying (and beef as well), where there are no pesticides on the land or the feed the cows are fed. The animals are given no antibiotics or hormones, and they must have access to pasture with a percentage of their feed coming from pasture. There is also a USDA certification for organic.
A few years ago, at Straus Home Ranch, they expanded their operation to include, in addition to cattle grazing, a vacation rental (in the family’s 150-plus- year- old home) and an events venue. (Miriam lives on the east coast.)
The farm is located on Highway, across from the glassy Tomales Bay surrounded by rolling hills filled with eucalyptus and cypress trees. The closest “town” of Marshall (with a population less than 50) is three miles away. The Strauses rent their pastures to a local dairy farmer who grows silage and grazes heifers (young cows) plus they have a community organic vegetable garden rented out of the house they grew up in which is also a vacation rental.
“I am hoping that agriculture continues here [and] that it thrives,” Vivien said. “[And] that each [new] generation comes up with new ideas. Already a new generation learned to diversify their farms. They have eggs with mobile pasture-based chicken housing, pasture-raised beef and organic milk with 80 percent of dairies in Marin County now certified organic [including] fertilizer sales, cheese making, agritourism, crops, olives and olive oil and so much more.
Vivien says though that there are financial pressures that can cause the land to be unprotected:
“We have pressures from those who would like to see the Point Reyes National Seashore farm-free. 20 percent of Marin agriculture is in the park. If we lose them, our local agricultural community will most likely not be able to survive. We appreciate, as did our mom, that the protection of this beautiful area begins with protecting the land, but we also need to connect farmers with the broader community, to help develop markets.”
“Over the decades, Marin County has become a pioneer and leader in movements including organic farming, the buy-local movement, farm-to-school, artisan production, development of farmers markets, food justice and related policy development at local, regional and national levels. Our ability, as a community, to create and foster positive change is limited only by our imaginations and willingness to collaborate.”
And Vivien will continue to lead the charge.
Candice Reed
A graduate of Kelsey-Jenny College in Communications as well as a certified grant writer, Candice has written for The Los Angeles Times & The New York Times. She loves entertaining and all things French
Make Sure To Stay At:
Olema Campground, located next to the Point Reyes National Seashore, just north of San Francisco. Offering the ideal place to enjoy different outdoor activities like bird watching, hiking, kayaking or just relaxing on the beach.