6. Historic Operation of the Dairy Ranches 

 a. Grazing and Livestock 



Since the arrival of Francis Drake in 1579, visitors have noted the rich 

 grasses of Point Reyes and their potential for exploitation. Spanish explorer 

 Felipe DeGoycoechea described the "very good pasture and springs" during his 

 visit in 1793. Joseph Warren Revere wrote, after his visit hi 1846, of "the 

 superior quality of the pasture~the land lying so near the sea, that the dews 

 are heavy and constant, adding great luxuriance to the wild oats and other 

 grains and grasses." The cover of green grass led Isaac Steele to proclaim Point 

 Reyes "Cow Heaven," and can be considered to be the prime factor in the 

 success of the dairy industry here. 87 



A correspondent writing in 1875 noted "the fine natural pasture clear 

 from evil growths, and, where the tenants have been true to their contracts, it 

 is covered with a perfect carpet of rich grasses." On the eastern side of the 

 peninsula at the Olema Valley, clearing of brush and forests was painstakingly 

 producing additional grazing land. Ranch managers also introduced non-native 

 grasses: "In places where improper cultivation has admitted a growth of sorrel," 

 the correspondent wrote, "the land is being put in with Australian rye grass, 

 seeding being thirty pounds to the acre." Eventually, aided by overgrazing, 

 these non-native annual grasses literally took over the peninsula, shortening 

 the feeding season and encouraging growth of brush and invasive plants like 

 thistle and broom. 88 



The natural perennial bunch grasses extended the grazing season by 

 months, but dairy cows still went dry during the winter. Dairymen 

 experimented with feed, at times providing combinations of hay and cultivated 

 ground feeds like corn, barley, wheat, oats and grasses. Experiments with sugar 

 beets, mangel-wurzels, carrots, potatoes, and squash failed. Most dairy ranches 

 in the area until the 1940s kept hayfields which provided the needed 

 supplementary feed. Around the turn of the century scientists found that cows 

 fed alfalfa produced more than double the butterfat than those fed entirely 



87 Revere, Naval Duty, p. 68. 



88 Jules G. Evens, The Natural History of the Point Reves Peninsula (Point Reyes: Point Reyes 

 National Seashore Association, 1988), pp. 55-59; Marin County Journal. December 16, 1875, p. 3. 



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