Fourth-generation California dairy producer Dino Giacomazzi is proud of many things about his family's dairy, but it's the history and the strides his family has taken to continue to make the farm more sustainable that top the list.

Started by Louis Giacomazzi in 1893, Giacomazzi Dairy in Hanford, California, is one of many family-operated and multi-generational dairy farms in the state.  Louis' great grandson, Dino Giacomazzi, grew up helping his father, and after attending college and spending several years in the music industry, Dino returned home and has become a proponent of sustainable practices in California dairying.

While the current buildings on the Giacomazzi's farm were built in 1937, the same year the Golden Gate Bridge was completed, the equipment inside has been modernized.  This year, Dino was named Conservation Tillage Innovator of the Year by the University of California's Cooperative Extension and the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service. Recognized for his work and research in trying to develop ways to grow feed for cows that require less input in the field, Dino now uses only three tractor passes for two annual crops versus the 14 passes it used to take.  This reduces both the amount of diesel and emissions, and Dino no longer imports synthetic fertilizer because he's using cow manure, which he says is just as important as the milk his cows produce.

"Being a California dairy farmer means that I'm someone who has an inseparable tie to the land and the animals," says Giacomazzi.  "It isn't a job or career, but a lifestyle.  This lifestyle carries a lot of responsibility, and I was fortunate enough that my family took care of the land and sustained it for more than 100 years.  I have a responsibility to do the same."