Sebastopol’s Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery sold to Swiss company

Owner Jennifer Bice, who took over the dairy from her parents in 1978 and turned it into a national brand, will retain ownership of the farm, where she lives, and its 300 goats.

The company also produces fresh and aged goat cheese, goat milk and kefir products; its products have been labeled Certified Humane since 2005, the first U.S. goat dairy with that certification.

“Because of the family background, I really was so attached, and I really wanted to continue on with the values we have and the people we have and staying on in Sonoma County,” said Bice, who wrote a long letter explaining her decision that accompanied a press release on the sale.

Called Emmi Holding (USA) in the United States, Emmi is a cooperative of dairy farmers — each with an average of around 20 cows, the company says — founded in 1907.

Redwood Hill Farm is part of the thriving Marin-Sonoma cheese community that came to national prominence with Laura Chenel Chevre, which was founded in the 1970s, also in Sebastopol.