Agricultural operators throughout the San Joaquin Valley can now apply for grants to purchase low-dust harvesters. 

The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District recently launched the Low-Dust Nut Harvester Replacement Program, an effort to significantly reduce particular matter 10 microns and smaller emissions that result from nut harvesting activities. The program will pay for 50 percent of the cost, or as much as $150,000 per unit toward replacing old harvesting units.

For complete guidelines on the Low-Dust Nut Harvester Replacement Program or to apply, click here.

Western Growers is committed to meeting the needs of our members, providing valuable benefits and programs designed to assist members with their operations. In January, a survey was emailed to all WG members, encouraging them to share their most-valued benefits and programs; reasons why they continue to be members of WG; and their overall concerns with the industry.

Here are the top highlights revealed by the survey:

Top 5 Benefits and Programs members are engaged in:

• Food Safety Updates and Training
• Health Insurance (Western Growers Assurance Trust)
• Informative Webinars
• AgSalary/Compensation Survey
• State and Federal Advocacy

Top 5 Reason why members join Western Growers

• State and Federal Advocacy
• Food Safety Updates and Training
• Networking
• Health Insurance
• Innovation efforts

Members continue to be most concerned about:

• Labor costs, regulations, and availability
• California regulatory burdens
• Water issues
• Food safety
• COVID19 compliance and resources
• Innovation and technology
• Insurance
• Immigration
• Crop Protection

WG will continue the fight to influence change and provide our members with services and programs such as health benefits, government advocacy, employee training, industry compensation data and more. We are dedicated to making sure our members have what they need to continue to provide fresh produce for the world.

In addition to the valuable information received through this survey, WG is also proud to announce the winner of the survey drawing: Christopher Casado of Cal West Packing. Each participant of the 2021 Western Growers Voice of the Member Survey was placed in a raffle where one lucky winner would receive complimentary registration to the 2021 Western Growers Annual Meeting in San Diego. Congratulations Christopher, and thank you to all who participated in this year’s member survey.

On Wednesday, February 10, the Coachella City Council unanimously passed a mandate that farmers and other agricultural employers provide an additional $4 per hour to their employees for at least four months, effective immediately. Grocery, restaurant and retail pharmacy workers are also covered under the ordinance, which applies to businesses that employ 300 or more workers nationally and more than five employees in the city of Coachella.

Prior to the city council meeting, WG President & CEO Dave Puglia submitted a letter to the members of the council stating that the proposed mandate “would harm many long-standing family farms, field workers and other employees whose livelihoods are invested in those farms, and the post-pandemic economic recovery of the region.”

In the letter, Puglia noted that labor is by far the highest cost for California family farms, and that farmers are price takers, not price setters, unable to simply pass the cost of higher wages on to grocery stores and restaurants.

Puglia concluded: “There will be unintended consequences, the most likely being a dramatic decline in production by local farmers this season and possibly longer as grocery stores and restaurants turn elsewhere in the supply chain… All of this translates into lower earning opportunities for local farm employees and reduced economic activity in the region.”

Click here to view Dave Puglia’s letter to the Coachella City Council.

In a Los Angeles Times report, Juan Manuel Moran, a United Farm Workers internal organizing coordinator, echoed Puglia’s sentiments, stating that farms are already struggling with higher worker pay and may not be able to operate with further wage hikes. Moran noted that the additional pay mandate sounds good in theory, but in practice “the worker ends up losing.”

The Santa Barbara County Food and Agriculture Clinic Consortium (the Consortium) recently sent California Government Operations Agency Secretary Yolanda Richardson a letter urging the State to increase its vaccine allocation for farm employees in Santa Barbara County.

According to the letter, the State has estimated that there are less than 9,000 agricultural workers in Santa Barbara County and is using that number for vaccine allocation planning purposes. However, the California Employment Development Division (EDD) has listed peak total farm employment at between 28,000 and 29,000 over the past two years.

Considering these figures, the Consortium calls on the State to “use the current figures from the EDD to reflect an actual Agriculture Sector employment in Santa Barbara County of at least 28,000 to 33,000 individuals—not 8,830.”

In the letter, the Consortium also affirms that local healthcare partners will play an important role in vaccine acceptance and administration among food and agriculture workers in the county and requests “the opportunity for the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department to continue to receive direct vaccine allocations for Food and Agriculture Workers for distribution to our partners in health.”

Click here to read the full letter.

Western Growers Assurance Trust (WGAT) is a member of the Santa Barbara County Food and Agriculture Clinic Consortium, which was convened to advance the common goal of promoting public health by administering the COVID-19 vaccine to food and agriculture workers.

FDA has published a new web page to help agricultural employers communicate about COVID-19 vaccinations to their workforce. The resources are from FDA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other trusted partners.

Click here to access the COVID-19 vaccination resources for agriculture page.

As the COVID-19 vaccine supply increases, FDA hopes these resources will help leadership and management of agriculture operations support worker vaccination.

Among other resources, the page includes the following links:

• CDC’s Communication Toolkit for Essential Workers
• FAQs about COVID-19 Vaccination in the Workplace: For Employers
• Frequently Asked Questions about COVID-19 Vaccination
• Benefits of Getting a COVID-19 Vaccine
• Getting Ready for Your COVID-19 Vaccine/How Do I Get a Vaccine?

Training sessions are rapidly approaching, but there is still time to register and secure your spot with our experts. Whether you are a Western Growers member or non-member, we encourage you to explore our customized educational offerings to catapult your business to the next level.

Registration is open for a VARIETY of courses, both English and Spanish, and are offered in the following formats:

• Public Webinars: Join your fellow WGU participants in a live training.
• E-Learning: Complete your training at your own pace.
• Private Webinars: Schedule specific time with our subject matter experts to train alongside your colleagues.

Click here to learn more about Western Growers University’s course catalog. To reserve your spot for future training sessions, please contact [email protected], or simply call/text inquires directly to (949) 439-9740.

 Upcoming Courses

More Guidance

Unsure about which courses you should take in order to comply with industry standards? Contact Anna Bilderbach, Western Growers Learning and Development Manager, to analyze your training needs and provide you with expert guidance and develop an effective learning program.