Lynn Giacomini Stray

Stewards of the land, people, and animals. Those three “North Stars” are what drive Lynn Giacomini Stray and her sisters, Karen, Diana, and Jill, co-owners of Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese, Point Reyes, California.

Stray’s family has been in the dairy business for more than 100 years. Her grandfather owned a fluid milk dairy in downtown Point Reyes. In 1959, her parents, Bob and Dean, started a dairy farm. “My dad was a hard-working farmer who believed in supporting the industry,” says Stray, 56. “His work ethic and desire to learn from his peers inspired us.”

Back to the Farm

Stray did not stay on the farm. After college, she sold wine, then insurance which was “more lucrative than wine.” In the late 1990s, her father Bob was considering selling the farm due to economic conditions adversely affecting the dairy industry. Stray and her sisters decided to come home and make cheese.

“Peggy Smith and Sue Conley of Cowgirl Creamery encouraged us to make cheese,” Stray says. In 2000, the first vat of Original Blue was produced, with the first order coming from Tomales Bay Foods.

And the company grew. Stray observes, “We were fortunate to be in Marin County and near San Francisco, where people appreciated good food and had the money to buy it. And we also had some amazing distributors who were willing to take a chance on domestic cheese.”

Toma, Bay Blue, and Gouda cheeses were introduced in 2010. In 2016, Stray and her sisters found a building in Petaluma that would become a state-of-the-art creamery and distribution center. Today, the Original Blue is made in Point Reyes and the other cheeses in Petaluma.

Stray is the COO, Diana CFO, and Jill CMO. (Karen is retired.) The three sisters are Co-CEOs, dedicated to continuing the family dairy and cheese tradition. The company is proud to be a certified woman-owned business.

Lynn has followed her father’s commitment to volunteer service. She has been very active in the American Cheese Society, serving as a co-chair of its 2014 conference in Sacramento, and has been on the Board for six years, serving as president from July 2021 – July 2022. She has also served as president of the Marin Agriculture Land Trust, including the position of president.

Preserving land for agriculture has been her passion. Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese currently has 100+ employees, 450 cows, and buys milk from local dairies, following the three “North Stars.”