About Us


WHO WE ARE

Established in 1917, LJB Farms is a family business that started out as farmers and has grown into a small local business that provides for the community.

While you may find everything you could possibly desire at a large superstore, LJB Farms provides a family atmosphere for everyone to enjoy the best taste and flavor that the area around them provides.

LJB Farms has remained virtually untouched from the day Luigi Bonino first set foot on the fertile San Martin soil over a century ago.

Nothing at LJB gets stored in a freezer in order to slow or stop the ripening process nor is our produce sprayed with gas to force-ripen off the vine. LJB Farms only grows conventionally farmed, vine-ripened produce that ensure the best quality our soil has to offer.

MISSION AND ASPIRATIONS

From locally grown, vine-ripened produce to community events, LJB Farms continues to grow with a mission to provide for their community as well as their family.

At LJB Farms, it's all about harvesting when Mother Nature says so; which is why the fruits and vegetables that come from our barn are picked at a vine-ripe state to ensure absolutes quality and taste.

Each and every year, LJB Farms aspires to become a staple to their community where friends and family can be a part of the farming lifestyle and get a taste of what the Bonino Family has built.

OUR HISTORY

Back in 1917, Luigi Bonino bought his family's first ranch in San Martin, CA.

He had originally emigrated from Italy to Illinois, then Utah, until he came to

San Martin, CA to work in a tannery in Redwood City and then bought land

in an area that was similar to his homeland, North of Torino, Italy. Starting out

by growing grapes, the Bonino had to switch to plums, walnuts, pears, and

cherry trees once prohibition started. Eventually the family began to shift to

produce that better fit climate of San Martin. That's when they began growing

peppers, tomatoes, onions, apples, corn, garlic, and various crops. Luigi Bonino's

son, Tony Bonino, started farming right out of grammar school. He then continued

the family business up until his son Louie Bonino took over along with his wife Judy Bonino. The fruit stand didn't open until the couple's two sons, Russ and Brent Bonino, began selling pears from their father's orchard to their neighbors and passersby. As people would start to ask for other produce, such as corn or tomatoes, Louie Bonino would plant some and sell them to the customers. As time went on, their off-road business grew to a fruit stand, then to the barn that is known today as LJB, named after the boys' parents Louie and Judy Bonino. Now the farm is still run by the boys and their parents as they hope to grow to be an even larger part of the community and the farming industry.

For a century and now entering into their fourth generation of farmers, the Bonino family is still harvesting some of the most delicious tree and vine ripened fruits and vegetables that California's Santa Clara Valley is most famous for. Just 20 minutes south of the high-tech hustle and bustle of San Jose, LJB farms is a constant reminder of what yesteryear was like in America. LJB Farms takes you back to a time when the customer came first and friendships were often forged at the check-out stand.

It's that personal service and hometown feel, combined with the brilliant array of the finest produce at exceptional prices that has made the small farm a cornerstone in the community for so many years. LJB Farms personifies traditional farming the way it was intended to be. Where fruits and vegetables are picked naturally, where they are ripened naturally on the vine, and where they achieve to best quality taste.