We host, manage, or co-manage a wide range of agricultural enterprises
Stemple Creek's Angus cattle roam the fields of Black Mountain Ranch. The ranch raises grass-fed and grass-finished beef, lamb, and pastured pork, which are available at Bay Area restaurants, supermarkets, and farmers’ markets, and also at stemplecreek.com. We love Hog Island burgers, which are made with Stemple Creek beef.
Little Wing Farm grows vegetables and flowers which are available at our roadside farm stand next to the Buddha Barn near the ranch along Point Reyes-Petaluma Road. Their quail eggs go to a number of gourmet restaurants including State Bird Provisions in San Francisco.
Fibershed develops regional fiber systems that build soil and protects the health of our biosphere. It is a global nonprofit leading the "farm to closet" movement. Fibershed producer members sell their wool to local artisans as well as to major brands like North Face and Mara Hoffman. They also grow indigo and other plant-based pigments and offer workshops and classes.
Three Bags Full
Shepherds Allison Reilly and Paige Chitenden raise Jacob and Churro sheep as well as alpacas. Our primary goals are to produce wool and improve soil quality, but we also sell some lambs. A fashion designer, Allison has her studio on site. The herd is jointly owned by Allison, Fibershed, and the ranch.
Point Reyes Lavender
This startup operation by DeAnna Schaefer, Danny Vitali, and the ranch grows lavender on a south-facing hillside that used to be the site of the Joplin Quarry. DeAnna plans touse the lavender in cosmetics and fragrances, as well as in culinary products such as lavender infused beverages.
We Also Work with the Following Not for Profits
University of California – Davis and University of California – Berkeley
The UC Davis College of Agriculture and Environmental Science isbringing its soil science class to the ranch in 2025 and 2026. As the longest running class in their curriculum it takes place in a series of locations off campus. Davis requires that all of its students in the program earn internship credits in agricultural settings – the ranch will be one of those settings. Students and faculty active at the ranch will be housed at the UC Berkeley Field Station in Point Reyes.
The Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT) has an agricultural conservation easement on our ranch. MALT is an outstanding agricultural and environmental partner, having funded numerous water and fencing related projects at the ranch. We are very active participants in MALT’s land stewardship and small grants program.
The Marin Resource Conservation District (MRCD) has partnered with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife on several road and water systems projects at our ranch, and has recently helped us improve access to a portion of the ranch where we think we can increase carbon capture by speeding up our rotational grazing program.
As part of the Turtle Island Restoration Network, SPAWN has managed several creek restoration projects at the ranch, including the removal of a substantial amount of concrete at the former site of the Rich Readimix plant and around the Little Wing farmstand, and replanting the site. The latter project was co-funded by the California State Water Resources Control Board.