The story of Ratto Bros. began in 1905 when Antone L. Ratto, son of Italian immigrants, started a vegetable business on Bay Farm Island near Oakland, California where he delivered produce to customers from a horse-drawn cart. Antone was blessed with five sons who followed in their father's footsteps to become farmers themselves. It has been said that Antone and his sons were so skilled at farming that they could magically make the water run uphill to irrigate their crops.