DeBernardi Dairy

Left to right, back row: Bonnie and Don Front row: Christopher, Nicholas, Marissa, Matt, Courtney, Nichole, Amanda, Monique, Mike and Danny

Don and Bonnie DeBernardi have over 800 cows on their 475-acre DeBarnardi Dairy in the Two Rock Valley of western Sonoma County, CA. They also lease 1500 acres in Sonoma and Marin Counties. The dairy has been in operation for over 100 years and was a popular place for dairy tours back in 1897.

In 1976, Don and Bonnie bought the dairy from the Bianchini brothers, along with the original farmhouse built in the early 1900’s. Don grew up on a dairy in Petaluma and always enjoyed working with cows. Don’s parents sold their dairy when he was a teenager. He then got a job in town and used the money he earned to buy calves at the local auction. Over time, he saved up enough to buy his own small dairy in Petaluma. Bonnie did not have any roots in the dairy business as a child, but was willing to learn after her marriage to Don. They worked at that dairy for a few years before buying their current property in Two Rock.

Don and Bonnie’s two daughters are also very involved in the dairy. Monique assists with the veterinarian checks and creates all of the vet reports and Nicole takes care of all of the bookkeeping, herd reports and payroll. Monique and her husband Mike Moretti are also Clover producers with a dairy a few miles from the DeBernardis.

The DeBernardi’s have a long history with the Clover family, they sold their milk to the California Cooperative Creamery when Clover Stornetta’s founder, Gene Benedetti, was the general manager, and subsequently became Clover producers.

“The dairy provides us a way to work together and be a family. I get to stay home and help my husband and my children. It’s a good life.”

– Bonnie DeBernardi

”If you have good quality milk it means you are taking good care of your animals. We go the extra mile. It’s the way we are. We have no trouble meeting the quality level that Clover demands from its dairy producers through the North Coast Excellence program because we take pride in everything we do. It’s probably one of the reasons we’ve survived.”

– Don DeBernardi