“Meet the Board” is a series highlighting the people behind the California Cattle Council. Our series continues with our board member, Darlene Hanlon, a fourth-generation dairy farmer in Hanford, California.

I am Darlene Hanlon. I live in Visalia, California. I am involved in my dad’s dairy, Bill Idsinga Dairy, in Hanford, CA. I have recently stepped back from day-to-day operations and now focus more of my time on office work. Until recently, I worked closely with our vet and herdsman while also handling all fresh cow records and the day-to-day office operations. Outside of that, I am a board member of Western United Dairies and also an alternate board member for California Milk Advisory Board.

The California Cattle Council is important because it takes the wide variety of farmers in our industry and brings them together, sharing common concerns that reflect California’s cattle – from beef cattle to grazing cattle, to dairy cattle and even calf ranches. Although our businesses have many differences, including the type of threats we face, it’s important that we’ve come together to defend California’s Cattle as a whole.

The Dairy industry is everything to me. There’s no other way I would’ve liked to grow up seeing firsthand the hard work and sacrifices that go into running a dairy. It takes a special kind of person to raise and care for cattle, and I’m proud to be a part of that. The community and family values are incredible, and at the end of the day, we have the satisfaction of knowing that we are feeding the world. It’s important to me to advocate for this industry because it’s sad to see the fight against cattle and milk in our state when it seems the big picture is being forgotten. This industry produces one of the most wholesome, nutritious, and organic products in the world while also teaching life-long values and the importance of being our world’s original stewards of this land and cattle.

The California Cattle Council Board is made up of eleven members and eleven alternates, with each group consisting of three range cattle producers, three cattle feeders, three dairy producers, one processor, and one public member (open). The appointees were selected from nominations made by the cattle industry over a six-week nomination period and represent the diversity of cattle producers around the state, as required by the California Cattle Council Law. Learn more