Located among the picturesque redwoods of Sonoma County in Northern California, Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery has been producing award-winning goat milk yogurt, kefir, and cheese for almost 50 years. Created in 2010, the company’s sister brand, Green Valley Organics, makes lactose-free yogurt, kefir, sour cream, and other specialty dairy products. Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery’s vision is to be a “different kind of creamery,” reflecting the values and sustainability of a family farm while creating delicious dairy products of the highest quality for everyone to enjoy.
Beginnings
In 1968, the Bice family moved from Los Angeles to Sebastopol, a quiet town about 60 miles north of San Francisco. Inspired by the Back to the Land movement, the Bices started a farm and goat dairy that would nourish not only their own family, but many others for generations to come. Although this new rural lifestyle took some getting used to, the Bice children quickly fell in love with the farm and animals, raising and showing goats through 4-H. Soon the family had accumulated about 80 goats—enough for an entire herd—and began selling goat milk to local health food stores under the Redwood Hill Farm label.
Growing the Business
In 1978 Jennifer Bice, the oldest of the 10 Bice children, assumed ownership of the farm along with her late husband, Steven Schack. Guided by the same values as her parents—producing delicious and nourishing 
food, treating animals humanely, and giving back to the land—she and Steven expanded the business to produce a greater variety of goat milk products and diversified the dairy goat-breeding program. In 2010, Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery created Green Valley Organics so that people with lactose intolerance could bring real dairy back into their lives, enjoying its health benefits and great taste without digestive troubles.
A master cheesemaker and expert goat breeder, founder Jennifer Bice runs Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery to this day. Her passionate dedication to goats, as well as her commitment to serving a community of people who could otherwise not enjoy real dairy, was foundational in creating widespread consumption of artisan goat milk products and lactose-free cow milk dairy. Green Valley Organics is the only line of cultured lactose-free dairy in the country.
First Certified Humane® Goat Dairy
Always on the cutting edge of taking care of people, animals and the 
planet, Jennifer Bice’s herd of Saanen, Alpine, Nubian and La Mancha
dairy goats was the first to become Certified Humane® in the U.S. in 2005. Although her farm had been using humane practices consistent with the Certified Humane® standard for decades, she wanted to give consumers the additional confidence of a third-party certification and the assurance that high standards of animal care were being met.
As the business grew, Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery brought on additional dairies to ensure a steady milk supply. In 2012, the company took their commitment to animal welfare one step further, helping each of their supplying dairies achieve independent certification from Humane Farm Animal Care (HFAC). Being Certified Humane® is now a requirement for all of the family farms that supply milk to Redwood Hill Farm and Green Valley Organics.
Sustainable Values
Sustainability has remained a guiding principle for Jennifer Bice throughout the years. The company’s certified organic creamery, just three miles away from the original Redwood Hill Farm, runs 100% on renewable energy. Two acres of rooftop solar panels provide 85% of its energy needs and the remainder comes from sources like geothermal and wind, via Sonoma Clean Power. Extensive water-saving measures are in place, including a system that pumps graywater to neighboring fields for irrigation. And the company is continually taking steps to make its creamery more sustainable through recycling, insulation, eco-sanitizers, LED and sensor lighting, and electric vehicle charging stations.
Sustainability means investing in the community as well. For over 30 years, Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery has supported youth and agricultural organizations, local health needs and environmental causes, including Community Child Care Council of Sonoma County (4Cs), Center for Climate Protection, Ceres Community Project, Daily Acts, Food for Thought, Land Paths, Marine Mammal Center, Rotary Club Sunrise, Sonoma Humane Society, and Sonoma Land Trust.
To learn more, visit Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery’s website at: Redwood Hill Farm
For information on where to find other Certified Humane® products in your area, visit the “Shop” page of HFAC’s website.
Redwood Hill Farm
Posted: February 4, 2014 by Certified Humane®
Located among the picturesque redwoods of Sonoma County in Northern California, Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery has been producing award-winning goat milk yogurt, kefir, and cheese for almost 50 years. Created in 2010, the company’s sister brand, Green Valley Organics, makes lactose-free yogurt, kefir, sour cream, and other specialty dairy products. Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery’s vision is to be a “different kind of creamery,” reflecting the values and sustainability of a family farm while creating delicious dairy products of the highest quality for everyone to enjoy.
Beginnings
In 1968, the Bice family moved from Los Angeles to Sebastopol, a quiet town about 60 miles north of San Francisco. Inspired by the Back to the Land movement, the Bices started a farm and goat dairy that would nourish not only their own family, but many others for generations to come. Although this new rural lifestyle took some getting used to, the Bice children quickly fell in love with the farm and animals, raising and showing goats through 4-H. Soon the family had accumulated about 80 goats—enough for an entire herd—and began selling goat milk to local health food stores under the Redwood Hill Farm label.
Growing the Business
In 1978 Jennifer Bice, the oldest of the 10 Bice children, assumed ownership of the farm along with her late husband, Steven Schack. Guided by the same values as her parents—producing delicious and nourishing
food, treating animals humanely, and giving back to the land—she and Steven expanded the business to produce a greater variety of goat milk products and diversified the dairy goat-breeding program. In 2010, Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery created Green Valley Organics so that people with lactose intolerance could bring real dairy back into their lives, enjoying its health benefits and great taste without digestive troubles.
A master cheesemaker and expert goat breeder, founder Jennifer Bice runs Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery to this day. Her passionate dedication to goats, as well as her commitment to serving a community of people who could otherwise not enjoy real dairy, was foundational in creating widespread consumption of artisan goat milk products and lactose-free cow milk dairy. Green Valley Organics is the only line of cultured lactose-free dairy in the country.
First Certified Humane® Goat Dairy
Always on the cutting edge of taking care of people, animals and the
planet, Jennifer Bice’s herd of Saanen, Alpine, Nubian and La Mancha
dairy goats was the first to become Certified Humane® in the U.S. in 2005. Although her farm had been using humane practices consistent with the Certified Humane® standard for decades, she wanted to give consumers the additional confidence of a third-party certification and the assurance that high standards of animal care were being met.
As the business grew, Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery brought on additional dairies to ensure a steady milk supply. In 2012, the company took their commitment to animal welfare one step further, helping each of their supplying dairies achieve independent certification from Humane Farm Animal Care (HFAC). Being Certified Humane® is now a requirement for all of the family farms that supply milk to Redwood Hill Farm and Green Valley Organics.
Sustainable Values
Sustainability has remained a guiding principle for Jennifer Bice throughout the years. The company’s certified organic creamery, just three miles away from the original Redwood Hill Farm, runs 100% on renewable energy. Two acres of rooftop solar panels provide 85% of its energy needs and the remainder comes from sources like geothermal and wind, via Sonoma Clean Power. Extensive water-saving measures are in place, including a system that pumps graywater to neighboring fields for irrigation. And the company is continually taking steps to make its creamery more sustainable through recycling, insulation, eco-sanitizers, LED and sensor lighting, and electric vehicle charging stations.
Sustainability means investing in the community as well. For over 30 years, Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery has supported youth and agricultural organizations, local health needs and environmental causes, including Community Child Care Council of Sonoma County (4Cs), Center for Climate Protection, Ceres Community Project, Daily Acts, Food for Thought, Land Paths, Marine Mammal Center, Rotary Club Sunrise, Sonoma Humane Society, and Sonoma Land Trust.
To learn more, visit Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery’s website at: Redwood Hill Farm
For information on where to find other Certified Humane® products in your area, visit the “Shop” page of HFAC’s website.
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