The revolution in the dairy industry involved this grading system, in 

 which a dairy could become certified to ship fresh liquid milk, or "market milk," 

 for home consumption after processing at a pasteurization and packaging 

 facility. Grade A dairies required a milking barn with a concrete floor and walls 

 with adequate drainage and ventilation. In the Olema Valley these 

 improvements began to appear in the mid-1980s, and by 1950 practically every 

 dairy was Grade A. Grade B dairies operated under less strict sanitary 

 standards and produced only cream for processing into butter. During World 

 War II, Grade B dairymen who could pass a sanitary inspection could sell liquid 

 milk, called emergency milk, as a contribution to the war effort. 101 



The establishment of Grade A dairies changed the face of the Olema 

 Valley dairies. The large wooden milking barns came into a new use as feed 

 storage, and the old dairy houses or creameries were often remodeled into 

 residences or torn down. The Grade A, or sanitary, barn became the center of 

 activity at the ranch, and the cleaning of the barn and disposal of dairy wastes 

 became more carefully practiced. Local dairies ceased to truck their own milk 

 out, as larger creameries provided pickup service to the farthest dairies at Point 

 Reyes. The days of ten-gallon cans of milk or cream gave way to the stainless 

 steel storage tank and tanker truck. The early 1970s brought strict 

 environmental laws to west Marin dairies, requiring large capital outlays for 

 manure handling. Many of the small Olema Valley dairies did not even have 

 room for these improvements, and most had been purchased by the federal 

 government as parkland. As a result of these factors, by 1975, all of the Olema 

 Valley dairies had gone out of business. 107 



H. Olema Valley Becomes Public Land 



1. County and State Acquisition, 1935-62 



A growing conservation movement in the San Francisco Bay area 

 provided a boost for recreational lands in proximity to the urban areas. In 

 Marin County, Muir Woods National Monument was created in 1908 as the first 



'^Interviews with Ron McClure, Joe Mendoza. 

 107 Abbott, North Bay Dairvlands. pp. 82-83. 



63 



