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2007 IDFA Innovative Dairy Farmer of the Year:
Joseph Gallo Farms, Atwater, Calif.
(Orlando, Fla. – January 16, 2007) Joseph Gallo Farms of Atwater, Calif., was named IDFA's 2007 Innovative Dairy Farmer of the Year during a ceremony yesterday at the 2007 Dairy Forum. Michael Gallo, CEO of Joseph Gallo Farms, received the award from International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) Chairman Mike Reidy, who is senior vice president of procurement, logistics and business development at Leprino Foods.
Now in its ninth year, this award recognizes U.S. dairy producers that apply creativity, excellence and forward thinking to achieve greater on-farm productivity and improved milk marketing. The award is co-sponsored by IDFA and Dairy Today magazine.
According to the judges, Joseph Gallo Farms' ongoing commitment to environmental responsibility, coupled with innovative operations and effective public outreach, helped the company to garner the award this year.
Joseph Gallo Farms is comprised of five dairies near Atwater, California – all within 10 miles of each other. Together they manage 15,000 cows. Joseph Gallo Farms also runs a large cheese plant, providing a ready market for the 300 million pounds of milk that the dairies produce each year. The company is one of the nation's largest dairy farm operations, with more than 450 employees.
Covering nearly 15,000 acres, Joseph Gallo Farms is located next to the largest concentration of wetlands left in California, the San Joaquin Valley Grasslands. These wetlands are home to a wide variety of migrating wildlife, including geese, ducks, cranes, egret, hawks and bald eagles.
Accepting the award, Gallo praised comments made during the Dairy Forum calling for government incentives to help dairy farmers adopt sustainable production practices. Gallo noted that most dairy farmers would not be able to make these improvements without incentives.
"Guided by Mike Gallo and his love of local wildlife, Joseph Gallo Farms has worked hard to integrate the farm's operations with the landscape," Reidy explained. "The farm has converted thousands of acres back to their natural habitat."
Starting in the early 1990's, Joseph Gallo Farms sold several thousand acres to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This land became part of the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge Complex. The company partnered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service again in 1995, placing more than 2,000 acres into an agricultural conservation easement program. It was the first California farm to do so.
Ten years ago, Gallo created a Department of Environmental Affairs at Joseph Gallo Farms, formally making conservation management a key business function. By taking a proactive approach, Gallo has helped Joseph Gallo Farms to avoid regulatory problems, improve the public's perception of California dairies and enhance brand recognition of the company's premier product, Joseph Farms cheese.
The farm's environmental commitment extends beyond the local wildlife. In 2004, the farm adopted a comprehensive nutrient management plan for all five dairies. It also added a methane digester at one dairy to convert manure into electricity.
The goals for the digester were two-fold: to improve air quality and to generate biogas from manure in order to power the company's own cheese plant. In fact, Joseph Gallo Farms was one of the first California dairies to build a viable digester. The $2 million project receives one million gallons of manure flushwater each day from the 5,000 cows at Cottonwood Dairy. The biogas generated by the digester now meets nearly 50% of the cheese plant's electrical needs. It saves $500,000 in annual electrical costs and another $250,000 in propane.
The digester has worked so well that Joseph Gallo Farms plans to add another, hopefully later this year, in partnership with Microgy, a company that develops and operates renewable gas facilities. This digester – working with five others scheduled to be added in the valley – will provide electricity to thousands of homes through an agreement with Pacific Gas & Electric Company, California's main energy utility.
"Mike knows the value of public outreach, especially in a state that has pushed the benefits of green technology far longer than most," Reidy said. Speaking to agricultural groups, civic organizations and the media, Gallo emphasizes how the company's goals – producing quality products and ensuring environmental responsibility – complement each other.
"Mike's commitment over the years to this core business philosophy has positioned Joseph Gallo Farms for continued success," Reidy said. "We expect the company will continue to produce top-quality products, provide renewable sources of energy, and preserve and protect the area's wildlife for generations to come."
Joseph Gallo Farms was nominated by Randy Riviere of Riviere & Associates. The judges for this year's award were Ken Bailey of Pennsylvania State University; Joe Outlaw of Texas A&M University; Jim Dickrell, Dairy Today editor; Bob Yonkers, IDFA chief economist; and two previous winners of this award: Heidi Kuhn of KF Dairy and Don Bennink of North Florida Holsteins.
Previous winners of the Innovative Dairy Farmer title include Mason Dixon Farms, Gettysburg, Pa. (1999); Clauss Dairy Farms, Hilmar, Calif. (2000); Baldwin Dairy/Emerald Dairy, in Emerald, Wis. (2001); Si-Ellen Farms in Jerome, Idaho (2002); Pagel's Ponderosa Dairy of Kewaunee, Wis. (2003); C Bar M Dairy, Jerome, Idaho (2004); North Florida Holsteins, Bell, Fla. (2005) and KF Dairy, El Centro, Calif. (2006). A call for nominations for the 2008 Innovative Dairy Farmer award will be released this summer.
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The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), Washington, D.C., represents the nation's dairy manufacturing and marketing industries and their suppliers, with a membership of 530 companies representing a $90-billion a year industry. IDFA is composed of three constituent organizations: the Milk Industry Foundation (MIF), the National Cheese Institute (NCI) and the International Ice Cream Association (IICA). IDFA's 220 dairy processing members run more than 600 plant operations, and range from large multi-national organizations to single-plant companies. Together they represent more than 85% of the milk, cultured products, cheese and frozen desserts produced and marketed in the United States. IDFA can be found online at www.idfa.org
