Nestled along the Merced River in Merced County, Danbom River Ranch is more than just farmland. It’s the living thread of a family story woven across generations. Since 1962, the 150-acre property has quietly served as the backbone for the Danbom dairy operation, growing corn, oats, and alfalfa to feed roughly 1,800–1,900 milking cows located about five miles away.
But the farm’s journey isn’t just about crops and cattle; it’s about stewardship, partnership, and a deep respect for the land.
The Story Begins
The story of the Danbom Family Farm dates back to the late 19th century. Like many at the time, Andre Danbom and his brothers made their way west in 1893 in search of prosperity, opportunity, and new beginnings. Their determination and entrepreneurial spirit guided them to California’s Great San Joaquin Valley, where they jumped into farming with zeal. The brothers established a diversified operation from the beginning, raising livestock including cattle and hogs, while growing wheat and corn for feed. They also took advantage of the opportunities that presented themselves and began a construction enterprise simultaneously, building barns and other farm structures for operations across their community.
The farm continued to pass down to Andre and his brothers’ descendants until, eventually, James Brindeiro and Paul Danbom came together. In 2003, Paul – a recent college graduate – stepped into his grandfather’s shoes and formed a partnership with his great uncle James. The two formed Brindeiro & Danbom Dairy Farms, and while they were an unlikely pairing (the 68-year-old hardened dairyman and the 23-year-old full of ideas), they worked tirelessly to transform the operation to better reflect the world around them. They began integrating sustainable farming practices and developed plans to incorporate technological advances that ensured the health of the farm from all perspectives – environmental, financial, and community-connected. James and Paul also further diversified the operation to include almonds, alfalfa, and oats, in addition to historical crops like corn and of course, the dairy.
“It was quite an unusual partnership,” Paul recalls with a laugh. “When we started, he was 68 years old, and I was 23. But we fed off of each other’s energy. My great uncle liked my youth and ingenuity. And he brought a lot of wisdom to the table.”
“We were not your typical farm family. He was a 68-year-old bachelor who loved farming and seeing the results of hard work in the fields. I was a 23-year-old kid fresh out of college, but we worked hard and were always ready to make progressive changes and were ready to embrace smart, new practices.”
Their synergy highlights something rare in today’s agriculture – genuine generational collaboration. With the average age of California farmers nearing 60, per the 2022 U.S. Ag Census, that passing of knowledge is more precious — and rarer — than ever.
Farming as a Family Affair: The Next Chapter
James passed away in 2017, and his departure marked the next chapter in the family’s farming story. Paul and his wife, Taryn, became business partners, and Danbom Family Farms was born. Their vision includes further enhancements to the operation that allow for robust, sustainable, and regenerative practices.
Paul calls Taryn, “the backbone of the farm.” Between caring for their three children, the farm office, and managing relationships with 85 different vendors, Taryn keeps the operation organized — from office to orchard to dairy.
As Paul and his great uncle focused on progressive change and efficient practices, Taryn and Paul continue that same philosophy with a commitment to sustainable agriculture and climate smart technology. On the farming side, one major advantage is they grow their own feed. This helps them control crop quality and they aren’t beholden to external feed suppliers helping in years when feed prices surge.
“There’s always risk in farming,” Paul says, “but owning our feed base gives us a measure of control other operations may not have.”
Paul and Taryn also have integrated the most current technology to ensure there is little to no farm waste. They mitigate methane emissions from their dairy cattle manure, further separate those solids and composting them into their orchards and fields. This mulching effort reduces their reliance on synthetic pesticides, which in turn minimizes potential groundwater contamination.
Paul creates his own organic fertilizer from the nitrogen-rich manure from the dairy and then mixes it with almond shells and shredded almond tree prunings. He lets this blend compost down over several months before applying it to his fields.
“We no longer spray herbicides along the access roads,” Paul remarks. “We just mow to keep vegetation down.” This strategy helps prevent dust, fights erosion, and encourages beneficial plants, and bee habitat — not to mention saving money. “In truth,” Paul admits, “It’s also cheaper. We aren’t buying chemicals, just using the mower.”
These practices provide for soil carbon sequestration, improve soil health, and reduce overall input costs to the farm. Paul and Taryn are demonstrating that farming practices that benefit the environment can be mutually beneficial to the financial success and viability of the operation as a whole. Their goal is that by making these strategic and intentional decisions, there will be a farm ready and waiting for their three children to one day take over and continue this endearing Danbom family legacy.
“The modern farmer is a little bit of everything: a steward of land, a businessman, an accountant,” Paul shared. “The farmer should be right at the center of the California ‘green’ ideal because you couldn’t ask for a group of people who want to be more sustainable or more environmentally conscious than the California farmer.”
“The modern farmer is a little bit of everything: a steward of land, a businessman, an accountant,” Paul shared. “The farmer should be right at the center of the California ‘green’ ideal because you couldn’t ask for a group of people who want to be more sustainable or more environmentally conscious than the California farmer.”
A River Runs Through It — And Wildlife Follows
Danbom River Ranch is more than field crops. The land borders the Merced River, making it a sanctuary for nature. Paul grew up hearing his grandfather and great uncle share stories about the beavers, fish, birds, even deer that used to roam its banks.
“It became a key reason why I wanted to protect this farm with a conservation easement,” he says. “I wanted it to stay native land … there is nothing here that two years of floods wouldn’t return back to the way it was before.”
In wetter years, deer wander near riverbanks, pollinators dance among blossoms, and the whole place feels closer to wilderness than commercial agriculture.
To protect this delicate balance, Paul minimizes tillage, reduces herbicide use and protects the riparian (streamside) vegetation from disturbance. The River provides a corridor from which the wildlife benefit from the forage that the farm provides.
Additionally, the location of the River Ranch offers a flood buffer and beneficial groundwater recharge for the community of Hilmar. With its ‘excellent’ rating for groundwater recharge by UC Davis Soil Agricultural Groundwater Banking Index, this farm is important to the greater region’s water conservation efforts.
Locking in the Future: The Conservation Easement
The decision to place the farm under a conservation easement in 2025 didn’t come overnight. It was the natural conclusion of years of stewardship and forward thinking.
“I feel pressure,” Paul says. “I don’t want to be the generation that loses this land. This easement allows me to be a long-term steward of my family’s land. I feel better knowing it will stay in farming.” “The easement is basically a formal agreement to keep doing what we’ve done all along.” Paul added.
He’s also candid about the practical side: an easement can free up capital. By tapping equity, he was able to repay past debts.
An agricultural conservation easement (ACE) is a voluntary, legal agreement between a landowner and a qualified entity or land trust, such as California Farmland Trust (CFT). CFT works with willing landowners who wish to see their land protected from non-agricultural uses and
to be farmed, forever. The ACE permanently limits some activities and uses, such as urban development and subdivision, while ensuring that a farming operation can continue perpetually, unthreatened by conversion to other non-agricultural uses.
His top advice for others? Choose your partners wisely. Paul expressed his appreciation for the partnership with CFT in helping him with the conservation easement on the land.
“Number one, dealing with the California Farmland Trust staff was absolutely fantastic, whenever we ran into hiccups, they were right there to help.”
Danbom River Ranch isn’t just a plot of land or a feed producer — it’s the spirit of continuity, family, and land ethics writ large. Here’s to many more decades of caring for the fields, the river, and the generations who’ll follow.
Easement Funding
Funds for River Ranch were made available through the California Strategic Growth Council’s Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program (SALC) in collaboration with the Department of Conservation. SALC is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide initiative that puts billions of Cap- and-Trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy and improving public health and the environment, particularly in disadvantaged communities.
Additional funding was provided by the Henry Mayo Newhall Foundation. This family foundation helps to improve the quality of life within the geographical areas associated with the career and legacy of the California pioneer Henry Mayo Newhall.
Newhall was a New England Yankee who landed in San Francisco during the Gold Rush. He never found gold, but he did build a highly successful auction business. In the 1860s, he established the first railroad from San Francisco to San Jose and in the 1870s used the proceeds to buy Spanish land grants in central and southern California.
Along the way, Newhall became a founder and benefactor of many charitable, social and educational institutions in 19th-century California. In 1963, his fourth-generation descendants established the Henry Mayo Newhall Foundation as a tribute to their patriarch. Among the grants awarded in 2025 is funding towards the conservation of agricultural land in Merced County.