Member of Western United Dairymen (WUD), industry leader and forward-thinking farmer Tom Barcellos received national attention last week after being selected for an honorable mention in the Outstanding Achievement in Resource Stewardship category of the U.S. Dairy Sustainability Awards.
Barcellos, who owns both T-Bar Dairy and White Gold Dairy in Porterville, was chosen for the national recognition from a pool of other candidates from across the country. A pioneer in his field, Barcellos was the first dairy farmer in the Central Valley to successfully implement conservation tillage, helping him manage drought conditions, reduce chemical use, fuel use and the amount of dust particles in the air.
"It started out of necessity," Barcellos says of his quest to use conservation tillage. "Water - that's the lifeblood of everything. You don't have water, you don't have anything."
Barcellos worked collaboratively with the University of California, Davis, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service to alter machinery and implement new techniques and methods. After trial and error, he found a combination of no-till and strip-till methods that worked. Not only was he able to manage for water scarcity, the new method also allowed him to dramatically reduce the operation's use of chemicals and fuel while experiencing fewer dust particles in the air.
The stewardship award was created by the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy® to recognize dairy farms, businesses and collaborative partnerships for practices that deliver outstanding economic, environmental and/or social benefit, all helping to advance sustainability of the dairy industry.
To learn more about the award and the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy visit www.usdairy.com.
WUD is a voluntary membership organization representing the majority of the milk produced in California. Membership benefits include resources in labor law, environmental regulations and pricing issues. Members decide the direction of state and federal legislative efforts affecting the dairy industry. 5.18.2015