IRVINE, CALIF. (November 16, 2021) – Steve Mangapit has been named the first Chief Operating Officer in Western Growers history, and in the new role he will be focused on operational efficiencies, improvements and innovations at the company. Mangapit will start in January 2022.

He joins Western Growers from AP | Keenan, where he served as Vice President of the health plan administration company. At Keenan he was responsible for three business units: Employee Benefits TPA, Healthcare Analytics and Large Group Agency Operations (Benefits).

Mangapit previously worked at WG for four years with Western Growers Assurance Trust/Pinnacle Claims Management, Inc. In 2010 he served as Director of Administration and was promoted in 2013 to Assistant Vice President, Operations.

“By virtue of his past service with us, only Steve brings the expertise and the all-important depth of knowledge about our own business structure, objectives, processes and opportunities, and his most recent professional experience has propelled him to now take on this great responsibility,” said Western Growers President & CEO Dave Puglia.

Mangapit holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and a MBA (Finance) from the Lee Business School at UNLV. Mangapit is married with two young children.

Click here for Mangapit’s headshot.

About Western Growers:
Founded in 1926, Western Growers represents local and regional family farmers growing fresh produce in Arizona, California, Colorado and New Mexico. Our members and their workers provide over half the nation’s fresh fruits, vegetables and tree nuts, including half of America’s fresh organic produce.

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In this week’s episode of Voices of the Valley, Organic Produce Network Co-founder and Executive Vice President Tonya Antle previews the upcoming Organic Grower Summit 

IRVINE, CALIF. (November 17, 2021) – The Organic Grower Summit, which is presented by Western Growers and the Organic Produce Network, will take place Dec. 1-2 in Monterey Calif., with the goal of showing that “organic does mean good business,” according to OPN Co-founder and Executive Vice President Tonya Antle.

In the most recent episode of Voices of the Valley, the podcast hosted by Dennis Donohue, the Director of Western Growers Center for Innovation & Technology, and Candace Wilson, VP of Business Development at GreenVenus, Antle discussed the fourth edition of OGS, and how the event has responded to grower feedback in developing its educational offerings.

“[Learning more about] soil health and plant health are always the biggest feedback we get from our show,” Antle said. “These are things that are immediate need that our farmers can take back and work on the ground.”

OGS will honor Vic Smith, CEO of JV Smith Cos., as Grower of the Year, and the keynote presentation is entitled “Net Gen: A Conversation with the Next Generation of Organic Leaders,” and will be moderated by Western Growers President and CEO Dave Puglia and feature Keith Barnard, SVP of Sales and Sourcing at Mission Produce; Bianca Kaprielian, CEO and Co-owner of Fruit World and Mike Valpredo, President and Co-founder of Country Sweet Produce. Click here to register for OGS.

“We have never pitted organic against conventional farmers,” Antle said. “I am a granddaughter and daughter and wife of a farmer, and let me tell you, there is no better, honest, hardworking folks than those on the farm. And the tools they are given is what they were taught, and so I think it’s an educational process to get to organic.”

Voices of the Valley is produced by Western Growers and its Center for Innovation & Technology. The embed code for this week’s episode is below:

About Western Growers:
Founded in 1926, Western Growers represents local and regional family farmers growing fresh produce in California, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico. Western Growers’ members and their workers provide over half the nation’s fresh fruits, vegetables and tree nuts, including half of America’s fresh organic produce. Connect and learn more about Western Growers on Twitter and Facebook.

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IRVINE, Calif. (November 15, 2021) – With President Joe Biden’s signature on the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act today, a national coalition representing thousands of Western farmers, ranchers, businesses and rural and urban water providers declared a victory for Western water users and called on the Administration to immediately clear the path for projects that will address critical Western water supply needs.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act includes more than $8 billion for projects that will enhance water supply reliability across the West, including repairing aging dams and canals, building new surface and groundwater storage and conveyance facilities, funding water conservation and recycling projects, and improving watershed and ecosystem management.

“This is a great victory for Western water users. The Western water provisions included in this legislation represent a once-in-a-generation federal investment that will bolster our aging water infrastructure and keep water flowing to our nation’s farms and ranches. It will also improve our ability to provide water supply reliability for cities and the environment in future droughts,” Family Farm Alliance Executive Director Dan Keppen said.

“Water is the cornerstone of our economic and ecological wellbeing. We are grateful to Congress and the Administration for their efforts to enact of this historic bipartisan legislation. It will benefit every American as well as future generations by making critical investments in our nation’s water infrastructure,” National Water Resources Association President Christine Arbogast said.

“The Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) applauds this bipartisan commitment to invest in water infrastructure on a historic scale which will provide western water managers with valuable resources for storage, conveyance, recycling, ecosystem and dam safety projects. Today represents a milestone in our nation’s collective ability to achieve water infrastructure resilience and ensure a safe, reliable and high-quality supply of water now and for future generations,” ACWA Executive Director David Eggerton said.

“Amid the searing drought across the West and another catastrophic wildfire season, the $8 billion investment included for water infrastructure investments comes at a critical time. We are appreciative of the bipartisan investment that has been made in new and aging infrastructure as well as water conveyance facilities. Farmers can now look forward to long-needed infrastructure enhancements necessary to produce a safe and reliable food supply,” California Farm Bureau President Jamie Johansson said.

“We urge the Administration to quickly drive implementation of the Western water provisions. Time, like water, is in short supply. We cannot let red tape and activist litigation stall or block the many long overdue projects necessary to repair and enhance our aging water infrastructure and develop reliable new sources of water supply,” Western Growers President and CEO Dave Puglia said.

The coalition includes more than 220 organizations from 15 states that collectively represent $120 billion in agricultural production—nearly one-third of all agricultural production in the country—and many of the local and regional public water agencies that supply water to more than 75 million urban, suburban and rural residents.

About Association of California Water Agencies:
The Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) is a statewide association of public agencies whose more than 450 members are responsible for about 90% of the water delivered in California. For more than a century, our mission has been clear: To provide comprehensive leadership, advocacy and resources for California public water agencies to ensure a high quality and reliable water supply in an environmentally sustainable and fiscally responsible manner.

About California Farm Bureau:
The California Farm Bureau works to protect family farms and ranches on behalf of nearly 32,000 members statewide and as part of a nationwide network of more than 5.5 million Farm Bureau members.

About Family Farm Alliance:
The Family Farm Alliance is a powerful advocate for family farmers, ranchers, irrigation districts, and allied industries in seventeen Western states. The Alliance is focused on one mission – To ensure the availability of reliable, affordable irrigation water supplies to Western farmers and ranchers.

About National Water Resources Association:
National Water Resources Association advocates federal policies, legislation, and regulations promoting protection, management, development, and beneficial use of water resources. The association is dedicated to achieving sustainable water supply for all beneficial uses in an economical and environmentally responsible manner.

About Western Growers:
Founded in 1926, Western Growers represents local and regional family farmers growing fresh produce in Arizona, California, Colorado and New Mexico. Our members and their workers provide over half the nation’s fresh fruits, vegetables and tree nuts, including half of America’s fresh organic produce.

For further information, contact:
Cory Lunde, Western Growers
(949) 885-2264
[email protected] 

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IRVINE, Calif. (November 9, 2021) – 3Bar Biologics walked away from Western Growers/S2G Ventures’ AgSharks^® Competition with a $250,000 equity investment offer to take its microbe technology from development to market. The seed funding was awarded by S2G Ventures after 3Bar Biologics competed against four other companies inventing new technology solutions to solve agriculture’s most pressing issues.

In addition to investment capital, 3Bar Biologics will receive international recognition, mentoring from WG and S2G, potential access to farm acreage to pilot their technologies and exposure to WG’s expansive network of leading fresh produce companies.

3Bar Biologics is the global leader in customized technologies and bio-manufacturing solutions for living agricultural microbe products.

“In an industry forced to shoulder the crushing weight of poorly designed regulations, perpetual labor shortages and water supply insecurity, innovation is essential,” said Western Growers President and CEO Dave Puglia. “3Bar Biologics embodies the entrepreneurial spirit that will help our farmers overcome these challenges and continue to feed the world.”

“The AgSharks Competition continues to bring together leading growers and entrepreneurs in the space,” said Aaron Rudberg, Managing Director and COO, S2G Ventures. “We’re thrilled to have selected 3Bar Biologics at this year’s competition. The biologics market is rapidly growing, but struggles with issues of efficacy and stability and 3Bar’s innovative solution is poised to solve many of these challenges. We are excited about investing in Bruce and his team and being their partner in their growth.”

“We are so excited to win this year’s AgSharks among such an outstanding group of agtech startups,” said 3Bar Biologics CEO Bruce Caldwell. “The access at this conference to industry leaders, venture capitalists, and western produce growers has been exceptional. Our business is all about partnerships, and this event is helping us to expand our network and increase our impact on agriculture and the world. I would like to thank Western Growers and S2G Ventures for putting on such a high impact event.”

During the competition, the agtech startups pitched to six expert judges and a live audience where they were evaluated on the strength of their solution and potential to scale, among other assessment categories. The panel of judges, which was comprised of venture capitalists and leaders in the agricultural industry, provided feedback to each startup and advanced 3Bar Biologics to earn the investment offer.

The judges’ panel was:

• Alexandra Allen, Compliance Counsel, Main Street Produce, Inc.
• Audre Kapacinskas, Vice President, S2G Ventures
• Frank Maconachy, President and CEO, Ramsay Highlander, Inc.
• Dominic Muzzi Jr., CEO/COO, Muzzi Family Farms, LLC
• Cristina Rohr, Principal, S2G Ventures
• Aaron Rudberg, Managing Director and COO, S2G Ventures

The AgSharks competition was hosted by Stuart Woolf, President and CEO of Woolf Farming & Processing, and held during the Western Growers 2021 Annual Meeting at the Fairmont Grand Del Mar in San Diego. The audience members were encouraged to try to sway the judges’ decision by asking questions and voting via mobile app Slido to “buy, try or deny” each of the finalists’ technologies after their presentation; Naïo Technologies was the audience winner.

AgSharks premiered in 2017 with the goal of supporting game-changing startups and technologies, and since its inception, three agtech starts ups – Hazel Technologies, AgVoice and Burro – have received a total of $2.5 million in investment offers from S2G Ventures. More than 100 applicants applied for the AgSharks event in 2021.

The pitch competition is the latest WG effort to identify key innovations in the fresh produce industry and support agtech startups in bringing their technology to market. Previous efforts include opening an agtech incubator — the WG Center for Innovation & Technology — in December 2015, and earlier this year launching the AgTechX Ed initiative, which provides middle school to post-graduate educational opportunities in agtech.

Click here to download an image of the 2021 AgSharks winner and judges. 

About Western Growers:
Founded in 1926, Western Growers represents local and regional family farmers growing fresh produce in Arizona, California, Colorado and New Mexico. Our members and their workers provide over half the nation’s fresh fruits, vegetables and tree nuts, including nearly half of America’s fresh organic produce. Some members also farm throughout the U.S. and in other countries so people have year-round access to nutritious food. For generations, we have provided variety and healthy choices to consumers. Connect with and learn more about Western Growers on our Twitter and Facebook.

About S2G Ventures:
S2G Ventures is a multi-stage venture fund investing across the food, agriculture, oceans and seafood markets. The fund’s mission is to catalyze innovation to meet consumer demands for healthy and sustainable food systems. S2G has identified sectors across the food system that are ripe for change, and is building a multi-stage portfolio including seed, venture and growth stage investments. Core areas of interest for S2G are agriculture, oceans, ingredients, infrastructure and logistics, IT and hardware, food safety and technology, retail and restaurants, and consumer brands. S2G Ventures is a part of Builders Private Capital, the direct investment arm of Builders Vision, an impact platform dedicated to building a humane and healthy planet. For more information about S2G, visit s2gventures.com, tune-in to our podcast, or connect with us on LinkedIn.