In 1996 Tim Pedrozo, a third generation dairy farmer, and his wife Jill, bought a small herd of Holstein and Jersey Cows. Their hope was to allow their animals to graze outdoors on the variety of grasses that grew in their pastures. Over the next two years it became clear that sustaining a farm on fluid milk production was too great a burden. Packing up their family and herd of 50 cows, the Pedrozos bought a farm in the Sacramento Valley town of Orland and opened Pedrozo Dairy & Cheese Company.