The late Dr. Marshall Kim Brinton was honored at the Minnesota Turkey Growers Association (MTGA) annual Summer Conference, which was held in Breezy Point, Minnesota, June 21-23. The 2017 MTGA Allied Lifetime Achievement Award was awarded to Brinton in honor of his contributions and service to the poultry industry throughout his lifetime.
MTGA Allied Committee member Doug Dorn of AgCountry Farm Credit Services presented the award to Brinton’s father, Gene, Thursday, June 22, at the annual reception.
Brinton was born February 26, 1954 in Story City, Iowa to Gene and Nola Brinton. He attended school in Ellsworth and South Hamilton, Iowa, and graduated from Willmar High School in 1972 after the family moved to Eagle Lake in 1968. He later attended the University of Minnesota and earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Degree in 1983.
Brinton worked at a veterinary clinic in Roswell, New Mexico for a short time after receiving his degree. He later returned to St. Paul and the University of Minnesota in 1985 to pursue his PhD in Avian Microbiology. Brinton joined his family at Brinton Veterinary Solutions as staff veterinarian in 1987.
His first major success in the poultry industry was developing a vaccine for Pasteurella anatipestifer, an economically devastating turkey disease at that time. In the ensuing years, he developed and patented several vaccines and toxoids to improve flock and herd health and reduce the need for antibiotic use in poultry and swine. He founded the Poultry Veterinary Center in 1994 and retired in 2010 due to health issues.
Brinton, 62, died Friday, December 2, 2016, at his home in Miami Beach, Florida.