People

When Victor Palato arrived in the U.S. at the age of 18, he was very much a city boy who had little experience with agriculture. More than 22 years later he’s now an experienced herdsman and manager of 11 employees at Circle H Dairy, a 1,700-cow herd in Turlock, California.

“I had never worked with cows, horses or animals back in Mexico,” Palato says.

Graduate of Northcentral Technical College in Wausau, Wisconsin
Sales and Service Intern with Accelerated Genetics
Based in south central Wisconsin

Background
Q. In what area are you pursuing a degree?
I graduated with an associate's degree in dairy science.

Senior, Penn State University
Intern with AgChoice Farm Credit
Based in the Seven Mountains Office in Yeagertown, Pennsylvania

Barbara Martin, aka Dairy Goddess, is a dairy producer in Lemoore, California. She has been promoting the dairy industry’s culture through her blog, http://dairygoddess.wordpress.com, and through Facebook and Twitter.

We asked her what five things make her most effective when she is trying to spread the word through social media.

The road to better marketing continues for Dave Geiser and Deb Reinhart of Gold Star Farms. After choosing a marketing consultant in November 2009, Dave and Deb began their journey. The destination: Better control of their business through better marketing.

Travel log entry: April 2010

“We’re really celebrating here. Our March contracts were worth $6,000 more than what we would have gotten from the milk plant without a contract. That is a biweekly payroll. Or a load of protein. Or a week at our favorite all-inclusive resort in Playa del Carmen.”

This article was #25 in PDmag's Top 25 most-well read articles in 2010.

Because this article was so popular, we asked David Martosko a follow-up question:
Q. Is animal agriculture gaining ground in the fight against HSUS?
The sad truth is that animal agriculture is losing ground with each passing year. HSUS seems to understand what livestock farmers don’t: that the public tends to believe “white hat” activists over anyone with a profit motive. But it doesn’t have to be that way. HSUS is possibly America’s single most deceptive charity, and its history is rife with scandal. The more consumers understand this, the less believable people like Wayne Pacelle and Paul Shapiro will be.