New Documentary Tells Story of San Bernardino Dairy Preserve

If you or your family dairied in the Chino-Ontario area — or if you simply care about California dairy history — the short documentary The Rise & Fall of Ontario’s Dairy Farms is well worth your time.

At its peak, the San Bernardino Dairy Preserve encompassed roughly 17,000 acres and more than 300,000 dairy cows. In the 1980s, The

Preserve was the most concentrated dairy region in the nation, home to about 18 cows per acre. For perspective, today’s Tulare County valley floor is home to roughly 0.6 cows per acre. That’s a lot of cows squeezed into a small footprint!

The film blends new interviews with archival footage, including perspectives from longtime MPC leaders. Bob Feenstra, who served as MPC’s general manager for 39 years, offers firsthand insight from someone who lived every major policy, land-use, and economic battle facing southern California dairies. His perspective is as informed as it is hard-earned.

Also featured is archival PBS footage of Geoff Vanden Heuvel, reflecting on his decision to remain in the Chino dairy industry amid rapid urbanization and profound change — a moment that captures the uncertainty many producers faced at the time.

And still there are more dairy family names included in the documentary – Briano, Borba-Parente, Bos, Ferreira, Musser, Parra, Stanley, and Van Leeuwan just to name a few.

This documentary captures an important chapter of dairy history — one that has largely been paved over by development. Still, as the film shows, there are those working to preserve pieces of what was once The Preserve, and the legacy of the families who built it.

You can watch the entire documentary here.