WG Women Ambassador: Heather Mulholland, Chief Operating Officer, Mulholland Citrus

May 13th, 2022

Heather Mulholland is a fourth-generation citrus grower in Orange Cove, Calif., where she works alongside her family as COO at Mulholland Citrus.

Farming is something she has been drawn to since she was a child—her sixth grade science project was on beneficial insects—and after attaining a bachelor’s degree at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and a master’s at Cal State University, Fresno, Heather put her years of training into action.

“The WG Women’s program has been amazing,” Heather said. “It’s a fabulous opportunity to connect with other women. My favorite portion was the mentoring aspect—I participated as a mentor and as a mentee and found them both to be equally rewarding.”

Heather is among the first women to complete WG Women, a leadership program that provides pathways for women to achieve the highest levels of leadership within the agriculture industry.

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How to Get the Most Out of a WG Membership

May 13th, 2022

Western Growers has long been known as the major voice of the western fruit, vegetable and nut industries. Since its inception almost a century ago, the association has represented the best interests of its members as they go about the business of growing, harvesting, packing, selling and shipping the best medicine in the world.

Western Growers began its life in the Roaring 20s of the last Century representing grower-shippers as they battled with the railroads to secure reasonable rates and schedules for shipping their production across the country. The association has been there for decades making sure its members get the crops harvested and to market and, most importantly, get paid in a timely manner.

Over the decades, the needs of the average producer have greatly expanded beyond the operations directly affiliated with the crop in the ground. Today, WG offers many services that help growers run their businesses as they focus on producing the best products. For example, Western Growers has a Legal Department to help with all types of disputes and also to secure labor. The association’s Assurance Trust and Insurance Services departments offer a myriad of insurance options that are as necessary to keep a vegetable operation thriving as water. The Western Growers Financial Services team is equally important to help keep companies afloat and allow businesses to thrive and employees to prosper as they dedicate their careers to the noble profession of feeding a planet. WG University was established to offer training programs to business owners and their employees—both the mandatory training requirements as well as the business-enhancing programs that can help a company’s employees do their jobs better and grow personally and professionally.

These are just a few of the business services available to members of Western Growers.

Joseph “Sonny” Rodriguez, who is the President and CEO of The Growers Company, an Arizona-based labor service provider, has been an enthusiastic user of Western Growers business services for more than a quarter of a century.

“We use Western Growers for our medical insurance, workers’ comp, liability insurance…any insurance we have we get through Western Growers,” he said.

Rodriguez notes that when he is choosing a provider for his business needs, the service is very important as are the rates. He also factors in that Western Growers does so much more for the industry with the revenues it earns from its business services. “It’s a puzzle,” he said. “We look at a lot of different factors when we make our decisions.”

The company has had its medical insurance with Western Growers Insurance Services for more than 25 years; workers’ comp was added more than a decade ago and the liability insurance it obtained through WGIS became part of the company’s stable of WG products about a half a dozen years ago. “We have been doing our H-2A in collaboration with Jason (Senior Vice President & General Counsel Jason Resnick) for a long time. Now about 60 percent of our workers are H-2A.”

He noted that the entire Western Growers staff “is great to work with. They handle all our needs and make sure we have options.”

He reiterated that the bottom line of an insurance bid is an important aspect of getting the business, but it’s not the sole decider. “Western Growers usually meets the bid, but sometimes we have a lower bid, and we have to take a look. Building relationships is very important to us. And it is important to factor in all the work Western Growers does for the industry. We are very happy with the services we get from Western Growers.”

The Growers Company was established in 1950 by Sonny’s father, Joe L Rodriguez, to serve the needs of growers in the Glendale, Ariz. region. Sonny joined the operation fulltime after graduating from Arizona State University in 1975. Today the company has operations in multiple states, including California, Arizona and Colorado and it is a three-generation family-owned business, like many of the farming companies it serves.

David Zanze is the Executive Vice President of Western Growers Assurance Trust, and the President of Pinnacle Claims Management, Inc., WG’s third-party administrator of self-funded insurance plans. He has been with Western Growers for 37 years and said the individual service Western Growers insurance teams offer to its members is what sets it apart. “We provide services that no one else offers,” Zanze said. “Of course, we are price competitive but it’s not about price, it’s about our quality of service.”

Zanze said The Growers Company’s insurance plans are representative of what WGAT offers to members. “Other outfits offer similar plans but no similar service,” he said. “We go out to the field and explain our plans to the workers in their language. And if you have an issue, you can call me or any of our other executives. Try doing that with one of our competitors. You’ll never even get close to talking to a top officer. We give direct access at every level.”

The fact that Western Growers is an ag-based association that is offering these services can’t be overstated, according to Zanze. “We are member-driven and member-focused. Our customers and clients are in effect, our shareholders. We answer to them, and we report to them. It is not about profits; it is about service and offering the products they need.”

Tim Baloian is CEO/President of Baloian Farms in Fresno and is the third generation to farm under the family name since 1917. His grandfather, Charles Baloian, began the family’s farming tradition on Staten Island in New York Harbor. But he soon followed the trail blazed by others of Armenian descent and moved to California’s San Joaquin Valley. “My grandfather had a vision for a vertically integrated company,” Tim says.

He did not quite reach the full extent of the vision, but he did grow crops, had a wholesale business and evolved into marketing over time. Tim’s father, Ed Baloian, and uncle, Jim Baloian, carried the tradition forward and passed it on to the next generation. Tim joined the company full time in 1971 at the age of 19. It was the second and third generations that expanded the vertical integration further and also honed in on vegetables as their fresh sector of choice.

Tim said the next generation is stepping up to the plate as he has two daughters and two nephews that are working for the operation in key spots. And there are other potential fourth generation leaders still working through the education system. “We do have a transition plan in place,” he said.

It is with this background and 50 years of farming under his belt that the current CEO decided to expand his employee training program this year through the WG University. In the past, Baloian said the company utilized Western Growers for the mandatory trainings required by law, but it had not gone further than that.

“This year we decided to do five different trainings,” Baloian said, noting that trainings are taking place at the rate of about one a month over four to five months. They cover several topics including workplace behavior and regulations, management 101, navigating change, building trust and developing leadership skills.

He added that because of their busy harvesting schedule, which tends to get underway in earnest in May, the company wanted the formal education program concluded before the workload started to escalate.  “We’ve done four of the five classes and it’s been great,” Baloian said. “I can’t say enough about Anna (Bilderbach), Learning and Development Manager, who conducted the classes. She has done a great job. She is very knowledgeable and built a rapport with the participants. That was the key.”

Baloian took each of the classes along with about 20 employees each time. “I learned a lot,” he said. “I think I got as much out of it as anybody else.”

The company went down this path because employee evaluations identified a need for more training sessions. Baloian said employees wanted to learn about improving their own business and interpersonal skills. “It’s not cheap but it’s well worth it,” he said. “I highly recommend it. I believe over the years the trainings will produce a significant ROI. It’s hard to put a value on giving your employees the opportunity to learn but I’ve already seen changes. I know the classes have made me a better manager.”

Bilderbach has been with Western Growers for a handful of years but has been in the employee training industry for two decades. “We basically offer a learning and consultancy service to our members,” she said of WG University. “We offer our programs in English and Spanish—on-site, online and on-demand for an affordable price. We have an extensive list of opportunities.”

When working with a member, Bilderbach said she starts the conversation with “What do you need and what are you trying to achieve? We have competitive pricing, and we give a 20 percent discount to members.”

She noted that among the more popular offerings are classes on Leadership Development, Supervisory Skills and HR & Employment Law. “We also customize programs to fit the member’s exact needs.”

Bliderbach believes on-site courses are the most effective, but she said the live online webinars, and the e-learning sessions on-demand are credible alternatives. She did say that the programs are very popular, and members should plan ahead. “Right now, I am pretty booked until at least June,” she said in mid-April.

Mitch Ardantz is one of the managing partners of Santa Maria, Calif.-based Bonipak Produce Company and Betteravia Farms. The company’s roots date back more than 85 years and it has long been a Central Coast leading grower-shipper of a host of vegetables, specializing in commodity business. Ardantz is in the third generation of executives to lead the family farming operation. He has spent most of his career in sales and marketing and is now serving in more of an oversight role.

“We have had the RSP (Retirement Security Plan) plan with Western Growers for many, many years,” he said. “Currently we still have significant funds in the program for the ownership group It’s been a great program.”

Ardantz has served on the RSP Board for many years and said the interaction with investment community experts and prognosticators has been invaluable as he has helped Betteravia pick the right investments for their company while also helping guide the plan from the board perspective.

From Betteravia’s perspective, and for his own personal portfolio, he has been most appreciative of the one-to-one relationship he has developed with his WG Financial Services advisor, which is WGFS President Matt Lewis. “Recently, I have started to share our investments with my three daughters. Matt came up here and personally walked us through it.”

Ardantz said that is the same service any WG member utilizing WGFS can expect. “I also like that Western Growers knows the farming industry. They know our business and how it works,” he said. “The people in ag are a different breed and they know it. In fact, the RSP team are folks just like us. They are steering us down the right road.”

He also repeated the refrain mentioned by many that he appreciates the other fine work that Western Growers does on behalf of the ag industry and fresh produce. To the extent that these ancillary services help fund those activities, Ardantz said that certainly factors into the company’s decision when using a Western Growers business service.

Lewis said his department offers a full suite of financial services. He notes that he spends a significant amount of his time managing the retirement investments of members through RSP and 401(k) plans and managing WG’s in-house accounts. WGFS also manages about 300 privately-held accounts for members, with that book of business now having grown to about $400 million in assets.

While Lewis is hesitant to toot his own horn, he said the performance figures speak for themselves and WGFS continues to get good returns for the many different accounts it manages. He indicated the proof is in the continued growth of the assets.

Lewis also said that the individual service that Ardantz touted is a hallmark of Western Growers Financial Services. In fact, it is the calling card of all WG business services. As Zanze mentioned, it is members that drive these services, not profits.

 

 

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A Homeland Under Siege

May 13th, 2022

For Wish Farms, a donation to World Central Kitchen for the non-profit’s work in Ukraine was about more than wanting to help a country in turmoil. It was personal.

Media coverage of war zones has always been a harrowing affair—for centuries, journalists put their lives on the line alongside soldiers in order to give readers, listeners and viewers back home a sense of the visceral reality around them in an attempt to clarify the fog of war.

The recent invasion of Ukraine by Russia has added a modern twist to that kind of comprehensive news coverage. It is a war unfolding in real time, and not just filtered for edited consumption on 24-hour cable news channels. It is also being documented thanks to besieged citizens and aid workers detailing the humanitarian crisis on social media.

One of those is Chef José Andrés, whose World Central Kitchen is now providing up to 300,000 meals daily to survivors of the atrocities in the country and refugees in seven countries who were forced to flee the war zone. Working with local partners on the ground to rebuild food systems in the wake of the invasion, WCK reached Bucha—the site of documented war crimes committed against civilians by Russian soldiers—mere hours after Ukranian forces liberated the city. The organization provided hot meals and 13,000 pounds of fresh food to the community, and were the first outsiders citizens encountered since the siege began.

While setting up a supply chain for the meals, Andrés and WCK CEO Nate Mook regularly posted to Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, as well as conducting media interviews with traditional outlets, to detail the work chefs are doing in the country. The numbers are irrefutable to the organization’s efficacy; from the start of the invasion to the first week of April, WCK has served more than six million meals to those suffering during the Ukraine crisis and those following on social media can see the evidence first-hand.

Walt Dasher, Vice President of G&R Farms in Georgia, made a $2,500 donation to World Central Kitchen and issued a call to action for other produce companies to step up. “I have watched in disbelief the crisis unfolding in Ukraine, and I am moved by the perseverance the Ukrainian people are showing to protect their families and get them to safety, while also staying behind to defend their country,” Dasher said. “They are an example to the world, and they are the line in the sand that represents freedom. As a food industry, we grow nourishing foods, and together let’s help Chef Andrés nourish a nation in need. I challenge each produce company to join me and make a donation to World Central Kitchen.”

For Wish Farms, the response to Dasher’s plea was immediate, and it came on the heels of Nick Wishnatzki, the Public Relations Manager at Wish Farms, seeing Andrés on Anderson Cooper’s show on CNN.

“My great-grandfather immigrated from Ukraine in 1904,” Wishnatzki said. “He was a pushcart peddler in Kyiv. Basically, all the pushcart peddlers were Jewish, and there were laws against Jewish people owning standing businesses. So, they got creative and had pushcarts instead. He wanted to escape the oppression that was happening, so he and his sister left and came to America.”

Once he was processed through Ellis Island, Wishnatzki’s great-grandfather started selling fruits, vegetables and fish from his pushcart on the streets of New York. Soon, he had a fleet of pushcarts—and eventually he and another peddler joined together to start a wholesale business. Thus Wish Farms was born in 1922, and the milestone combined with the horror unfolding on his television screen spurred the Wishnatzki family to act.

“I mean, gosh, it’s our hundredth anniversary,” Wishnatzki said. “We just felt a really strong connection.”

Wish Farms donated $5,000 to World Central Kitchen via The Wish Farms Family Foundation. “It aligned perfectly, not only because we feel so horribly about what’s going on in Ukraine, but also because it aligns perfectly with our foundation and its mission,” he said.

The Wish Farms Family Foundation was established in 2019 to better focus the family’s philanthropic and community efforts, Wishnatzki said. To that point, giving had been heartfelt but piecemeal—they had put on some charity events and giving scholarships, but “it wasn’t very focused. It didn’t have a defined mission. There wasn’t a specific amount of money set aside. We would do things as they came along.”

Defining the mission statement served to codify the family’s giving priorities, which perhaps counterintuitively allows them to pivot when a matter of urgent response comes up—such as a philanthropic response to the atrocities in Ukraine.

“Our three pillars that we follow are food insecurity, child and youth education, and community,” he said. “It gives us a little bit more room to select different charities.”

The Wish Farms Family Foundation food insecurity pillar directly ties it to the work WCK is doing. As Andrés tells it, the idea for WCK came from a conversation he had with his wife, Patricia, about how to provide aid in a humanitarian crisis. The crux of that conversation? “When people are hungry, send in cooks. Not tomorrow, today.”

Wishnatzki said that selecting recipients like WCK is a family effort, where the group gather quarterly to talk about the budget and what charities, organizations and causes we want to support. One of the main sources of fundraising is Pixie Rock, the Foundation’s annual charity event. In April 2021, they used the occasion to celebrate their new headquarters and raised $450,000. This year, they hope to do the event in November to celebrate the company’s 100th anniversary.

To make sure that the “family” part of the Foundation includes the Wish Farms employee family, the team asks each month for employees to nominate their favorite charities and causes that are important to them. They then do a progressive spin on an employee match—the executive team selects one employee-nominated organization every month to donate $1,000. “We feature the organization in an email and on our video boards,” he said. “It gives everyone a sense that we’re in this together and it’s a group effort.”

Wishnatzki hoped that this kind of communal feeling of giving to Ukraine can embed in the agriculture industry as a whole, and that as much as he was inspired by Dasher’s donation, that there now will be others in ag who are inspired by Wish Farms to donate to organizations like World Central Kitchen who are on the ground in the country. So far, several other ag entities have donated to WCK, including The Fresh Market, which committed to donate 100 percent of the proceeds from purchases of a five-stem pack of sunflowers and a special bouquet with blue and yellow flowers as a nod to the Ukrainian flag.

“The power of our industry is an amazing thing,” Wishnatzki said. “We already have a history of giving—literally donating the product that we grow directly to food banks—and I just see so much more involvement now, because to a certain extent social media and digital news helps with the immediacy. Seeing the work that WCK is doing on the ground, immediately, is wonderful and you see how impactful that is. When people step up, they really step up.”

Editor’s Note: In April, a restaurant working in partnership with WCK in Kharkiv was hit by a Russian missile; four staff members were hospitalized.

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Director Profile: Mike Way Forges Own Path to Produce

May 13th, 2022

 

Like many of his colleagues on the Western Growers Board of Directors, Mike Way grew up in Salinas, graduated from Salinas High School and went to college to major in ag business.

But he was not born with agriculture in his blood.

“I was born and raised in downtown Salinas,” he recalls. “My dad was City Attorney of Salinas, and my mom was a homemaker.”

Neither were born in Salinas as they moved there in 1965 specifically for his father to take that position. Three years later, Mike was born and, unfortunately, three years after that his father died. “I was raised by a single mom with the help of a lot of good friends,” Way said.

The agricultural community and lifestyle did appeal to the Salinas native and when he graduated from high school in 1983, he matriculated to California State University at Fresno to get ready for an ag career. Soon after graduation, Way was hired by Sun World in December of 1988; it is one of only two jobs he has held in his career.

“From Fresno, I moved to Riverside with Sun World and stayed there for two and a half years before they moved me to the desert in 1991,” he remembers.

About a year later, Chuck Hodges, Mark Nickerson and Carl Sam Maggio put together the group that eventually called itself Prime Time International. Way joined that team as a salesman. “We initially had a different company name (C.H. Sales),” he said, noting that the Prime Time moniker was hatched a few years later as the leadership determined it would hang its hat on peppers. “Initially we shipped an assortment of vegetables from the desert,” he said. “The plan was to be in the vegetable business for seven to eight months of the year and take four months off. That idea lasted about two weeks.”

Instead, the partnership began expanding its footprint and soon focused on green and colored peppers with deals in Mexico as well as California. Today and for the past 28 years, peppers have been Prime Time’s signature crop.

“We have peppers every day of the year,” Way said. “We grow peppers in the desert, Oxnard and Bakersfield in California and we have 13 locations in Mexico. We are the largest pepper shipper in North America.”

About five years ago, the shipper started an asparagus program that has grown to be about a quarter of the company’s total volume and also features year-round production sourcing from Mexico and Peru. But peppers still make up the lion’s share of business with about 60 percent of sales. Prime Time also has seasonal production of sweet corn, tomatoes and green beans.

In the 2000s, Way and Jeff Taylor became minority partners of the operation and in 2017, they became the managing partners. Just recently, the two partners completed the ownership shift and became co-owners with a majority stake in Prime Time.

Though Way said the co-owners do have a couple of oars in the water concerning new projects, their main emphasis is on keeping their core business going and profitable. “California agriculture is currently swimming upstream,” Way said. “The increasing cost of everything is making it very difficult to produce a profit. We have to figure out how to get freight rates back down so we can survive.”

But with that said, Way also noted that “I’m a full believer in cycles. Things will turn around.”

He added that there has to be a solution for California because there are no other alternatives. The company is heavily involved in Mexico when and where it can be, but he said that is not the solution for everything. “Mexico is not an easy place to do business and it’s not cheap. The biggest problem is lack of infrastructure and that is very expensive,” he said.

Way also added that the company has great growing partners in California—most notably the Bianco family—which makes continuing to make California work an integral part of the company’s strategy. “They are a big part of what we do.”

When Mike Way took his position on the WG Board, he joined a long list of directors that have had previous family members serve on the board. The WG Board is full of second and third generation families to serve the association. But Mike and Ellen Way are the first husband/wife team to be on the board. Ellen Way is an active participant in agriculture in her own right. She is the owner of Sanders/Way Ranch, an almond operation on land bought by her grandfather in the 1930s. She is also very active in politics including with the California Women for Agriculture. She served on the WG Board a few years ago for a two-year term. “Ellen is the busiest stay-at-home Mom that there is,” Way quipped.

The couple have two daughters: Julia, who graduated from the University of Kentucky on May 6 and is starting a nursing career in Dallas this month; and Elizabeth, a high school senior, who was in the midst of picking her college choice as her father was being interviewed in April.

When he has some spare time, Way enjoys golfing and is an active owner of racehorses.

He said his claim to horse racing fame is Hot Rod Charlie, who was the runner-up in the 2021 Kentucky Derby. Way and a group of friends started a race horse partnership about five years ago with Hot Rod Charlie being one of their foals. The partnership dissolved about three years ago with a few of the members retaining ownership to that very successful horse.

Of his current stable of horses, he said: “We’ve won a few stakes races and I have a few two-year-olds that look very promising.”

 

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Western Growers Touts Board Elections Amid Changes

May 13th, 2022

As it does every two years, the Western Growers membership is approaching election season for its Board of Directors. Western Growers is one of the very few produce industry associations that elects the lion’s share of its Board in competitive races with a plurality vote picking the winner.

In practice, each Western Growers Regular Member dedicates a member of its ownership and/or senior management team to be its official voting representative. Every other year, there is an election for the members to choose their representative or the multiple representatives from each of the 13 districts as defined by the map accompanying this story. (At one point there were 14 districts but two were combined many years ago, eliminating District #3.)

WG Assistant Vice President of Membership Kim Sherman said each of those company representatives are eligible to be nominated for the Board, and in fact each will appear on the ballot unless they specifically ask to be left off.

“We have 36 Members from the roles of Regular Members elected to the Board by the membership and another six At-Large Members elected by the Executive Committee and the Board itself,” she said. “In addition, two members from the Affiliate Member category are elected to represent that class of membership.”

Sherman said that the “At-Large Board Member” slots have been historically used to bring added diversity to the Board with regard to geographic and commodity balance.

“Over the years, our Board roster has read like a who’s who in the western produce industry,” Sherman said. “The most prominent members of the industry have served on our Board.”

The Board also is well known for its multi-generational continuity. No member can literally pass on their seat to the next generation in the family, but over the decades there are many examples of two and three generations of the same family serving on the Western Growers Board.

As mentioned above a unique aspect of the WG Board, compared to other industry associations is that members are elected by their peers. While the election does not rival the sparring that takes place in a political race, many potential Board members do solicit votes from their fellow district members and “run” for the position. In fact, Sherman said the Western Growers Board encourages members to actively get involved in the association, including potentially serving on the Board. Of course, it requires a time commitment and the ability to leave your company hat at home and put the needs of the industry as a whole front and center. “No member remains on the ballot without their approval,” said Sherman, “but we always strive to have multiple choices for each position, and we encourage members to run as their district representative.”

There is also always an option for a Write-In candidate, making the Western Growers Board of Directors election as fair as it gets in running a democratic election.

John Manfre, Partner/Manager of Frank Capurro & Son LLC, Moss Landing, CA, is stepping down from the Board and is choosing not to run for re-election after 16 years of service. His perspective as a retiring long-serving Board member is an interesting one. “I made the decision to step down as I have had my turn,” he said. “There are a lot of well-qualified people in my district, and I have told Western Growers [staff] that I do not want to be on the ballot this year.”

Manfre said that while re-election every year was not guaranteed there were several very capable members in his district that chose not to run because he was on the ballot. “The first thing I did after making my decision was to contact several people in my district and tell them that I am not running this year and to be sure they put their names on the ballot, if they are interested.”

The Capurro executive said he was first approached to run for a Board position in the 1990s “but it wasn’t the right time for me. I had younger kids and didn’t want to make the time commitment.”

In the early 2000s, he noted that Western Growers made important changes and was taking a very progressive and active position on many issues important to Manfre. “That was a tipping point for me…and my kids were college age, so I decided to run,” he said. “I was surprised that I won but I was very happy to have been elected and I am very happy that I have been able to win re-election ever since.”

Manfre noted that in earlier times, there was a perception that the Board Members were part of an “old boys club” but that was not the situation he found upon joining the group. And it has not been true ever since. “I was on the Executive Committee for several terms during my tenure and I was on the Audit Committee almost every year,” he said. “I saw the inner workings of the board and audited the elections. There is a lot of work that goes into being a Board Member and it is truly a dedicated group of individuals who do leave their company hat at the door. Obviously, you have a lot of heavy hitters on the Board, but when we are debating issues everyone is talking about the betterment of the industry and the association not their own companies.”

He added that many different viewpoints are typically aired for every debate. For example, he said when discussing the concept of a two-year Chair, the argument that an incoming Chair is just getting a lay of the land when their term expires is a powerful viewpoint that Manfre said makes perfect sense. “I know during my first term, I mostly listened. It takes time to get up to speed.”

On the other hand, he said it was also noted that asking the Chair to make a two-year term necessarily eliminates some people from consideration who just can’t make that commitment because of their own company situation. Manfre said this debate was typical of Board discussions that tried to examine every issue and pick the decision that was best for the industry and the association.

He noted that it has been a great experience personally to serve on the board. “The people that I have met that I never would have known and the relationships that I have formed are priceless,” he said. “I’ve learned a lot about the industry and have been exposed to many different opinions. I definitely got more out of Western Growers than I have ever given. I leave hoping I made a good contribution.”

He also leaves excited about the new ideas that are surfacing from some of the young leaders and knows that his district will be represented well by whoever wins the next election.

Over the long history of Western Growers, the board members have always been elected for two-year terms and for the first time ever, the officers’ terms are following suit as Manfre noted. WG President and CEO Dave Puglia said the unprecedented situation that occurred because of coronavirus restrictions soon after Ryan Talley of Talley Farms became Chairman of the Board in 2020 led the board to elect him for consecutive terms in 2021.

“Given the wide scope of work the association performs on behalf of the industry and the breadth and diversity of the WG Family of Companies, for many of us—both staff and our board leaders—just as a new Chair is fully acclimated, a new Chair takes over,” Puglia said. “While the pandemic compelled us to extend Ryan’s term for another year, our experiences in his two years as chair confirmed what we had been thinking for a long time: A two-year term offers the Chair a greater opportunity to bring the full measure of his or her leadership to this organization and our industry.”

WG Senior Vice President and General Counsel Jason Resnick, who also serves as the Board Secretary, said along with the addition of the two-year term for members of the Executive Committee (EC), the Board also eliminated two positions on EC—Past-Past Chair and one of the two Vice Chairs—and replaced those slots with two at-large Executive Committee Members.

Resnick said that the change was made for a very practical reason: to limit the Chair’s commitment to a leadership post to six years rather than expanding it to 10 years. He explained that under the previous system, a Board member moving into a leadership post was asked to make a five-year commitment to the Executive Committee as the member moved through the officer positions in order: Vice Chair, Senior Vice Chair, Chair, Past Chair and Past-past Chair. Two-year terms would have doubled that commitment. Under the new procedure, the members will be asked to make a six-year commitment: two years each as Vice Chair, Chair and Past chair.

The two at-large Executive Committee members will join the Treasurer and Executive Secretary positions as slots that do not require extensive commitments to the EC. Resnick said the Board wanted to keep an eight-member Executive Committee to give the full Board the advantage of having an EC that is large enough to represent a wide variety of views and fully vet issues that come before it.

 

Western Growers Governance Update

At the March 24, 2022, Western Growers Board of Directors meeting in Phoenix, the Board voted to amend the Western Growers Bylaws. Here are some of the notable changes that were approved by the Board:

 

Reconstitution of the Executive Committee

Previously, the Western Growers Executive Committee was comprised of eight positions: Chairman of the Board, Senior Vice Chairman, Vice Chairman, Treasurer, Executive Secretary, Past Chairman, Past-Past Chairman, and President/CEO.

Effective March 24, 2022, the Executive Committee is made up of the following eight positions: Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer, Executive Secretary, Past Chair, President, and two Members-At-Large.

 

Two-Year Terms

Previously, except for the President and CEO who serves at the pleasure of the Board, the officers were elected for a one-year term and annually elected by the Board. Accordingly, the Board approved the reconstituted Executive Committee to serve for two-year terms as follows:

Chair – Albert Keck

Vice Chair – Stuart Woolf (formerly Senior Vice Chairman)

Treasurer – Neill Callis

Executive Secretary – Don Cameron

President – Dave Puglia

Past Chair – Ryan Talley

Member At-Large – Rob Yraceburu (formerly Vice Chairman)

Member At-Large – Ron Ratto (formerly Past-Past Chairman)

 

Affiliated State Representation

The Board also voted to require that one of the two Affiliate Directors come from the Affiliated State class of membership (e.g., a Colorado or New Mexico representative) beginning with the upcoming 2022 election.

For a copy of the amended Western Growers Bylaws please contact the Board Secretary, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Jason Resnick at [email protected].

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Posted in WG&S Magazine, May / June 2022 Issue | No Comments »

President’s Notes: Dewatering California’s Central Valley… Don’t Laugh; They’re Serious

May 13th, 2022

In a recent blog post, the respected Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) suggests a startling future for the Central Valley.

Noting that “a significant amount of irrigated farmland… will need to come out of production over the next two decades” due to drought and implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), the writer suggests converting formerly irrigated farmland into livestock rangeland would keep the land economically productive and “might bring other benefits—including avoiding some of the negative consequences of fallowing.”

It might be tempting to wave this off as unrealistic and impossible. But this is exactly how public policy is often made: Credible experts elevate an idea, advocates step in to widen public awareness and build acceptance within the confines of their own narrative, and pretty soon legislators aligned with those advocates hold “informational hearings,” introduce a bill or a bond measure, and before you know it we have a law, or a program or something that pours cement around what we waved off as a silly idea.

Nothing against our friends in the livestock business, but let’s not concede the obvious: large scale food production belongs in the Central Valley. Our farmers are the best in the world, growing healthy foods with great efficiency and care for the land, water, air and people. Indeed, California is one of only five regions on the planet that can support the diversity, quality and volume of food production that can be achieved in Mediterranean climates, the Central Valley among them.

Those are some of the reasons one-fourth of America’s food comes from the Central Valley, including 40 percent of its fruits, vegetables and tree nuts. All of this is accomplished on less than 1 percent of U.S. farmland. The Central Valley is a strategic resource for the U.S.—a safe and reliable powerhouse of food production that should be of increasing concern given current global conflicts, predictions of food shortages and rising inflation.

We are in the middle of our second extended drought in the last 10 years, and we know that changing climate patterns require adaptation.

But we should apply the same determination to adapt that gave rise to California in the first place. Our political leaders boast about the greatness of California all the time. “Fifth largest economy in the world,” and all that. Great! I agree! But did they forget what California was before the early settlers and their sons and daughters reimagined the landscape they found?

They built. Roads, bridges, dams, aqueducts, freeways, airports, energy generation (including a lot of zero-greenhouse gas hydropower). These and so much more were envisioned and created to adapt to the limitations they found, and the result is the most populous, economically vibrant and diverse state in the country.

However, the state long ago stopped investing in large-scale water infrastructure and its regulatory agencies have done their best to thwart the voters’ clear directive to build more with Prop. 1 in 2014. Still, it’s not too late to get smart.

Adaptation for the San Joaquin Valley (and for California) can and should include a federal and state commitment to using floodwater to recharge our groundwater basins, along with major increases to the state’s surface storage and conveyance capacities to hold floodwaters for later distribution to cities, farms and the environment.

The alternative is to mandate, through both the action and inaction of our policymakers, the destruction of the primary economic driver for 6.5 million people in the Central Valley. Beyond the production of food, our farms form the economic foundation for rural communities in the region.

Every dollar of the $30 billion generated by Central Valley agriculture creates an additional two dollars of economic activity in the region. Agriculture generates one quarter of all private sector jobs in the Central Valley, and every job in agriculture creates 2.2 additional jobs in other parts of the economy.

Would non-irrigated rangeland support these people? No way. The economics simply don’t work, which is why it is suggested that massive expenditures of taxpayer dollars would be needed. In other words, we should accept a regional recession and depression as a foreseeable consequence of public policy.

To suggest the forced conversion of highly productive farmland to unfarmed rangeland is to consign millions of our fellow Californians to either vicious poverty (if they try to stay) or mass abandonment of homes and businesses as they choose more politically, socially and economically welcoming regions of the U.S. Either outcome is indefensible.

 

 

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Inside Western Growers: A Look at WG Employee Champions

May 13th, 2022

Founded in 1926, Western Growers represents local and regional family farmers growing fresh produce in Arizona, California, Colorado and New Mexico. Western Growers provides a lobbying voice in state and federal government, affordable health benefits, technology and innovation development, transportation solutions, legal and human resources guidance and more.

Behind the association are more than 400 employees who are dedicated to serving America’s food heroes; here is an inside look at two of Western Growers’ champions.

Diane Mendez, Senior Production Artist, Western Growers

Diane is a 21-year-veteran of Western Growers, having joined the company in November 2000. She currently works with the Marketing team by doing graphic design—including laying out the very magazine you are reading right now for every single issue!

Her favorite WG memory? It’s hard to choose. “Since I’ve been here for so long, I have so many favorite WG memories. One is from when we were in the Fitch building and I worked in the Print Shop/Mail Room. I met so many people from other departments as they would stop by for their mail or print jobs. I made a lot of friends that way.”

 

Learn more about Diane’s favorites:

•   Favorite hobbies: Travel—this photo is from a beach on the island of Hvar, Croatia—gardening, going to movies and concerts, listening to podcasts.

•   Favorite movies: The Princess Bride, Star Wars, Duck Soup, Love Actually, Deadpool and anything by Pixar.

•   Favorite sports team: The Los Angeles Dodgers. “We bleed Dodger blue. My favorite Dodger is Vin Scully.”

 

Lili Pascual

Human Resources Coordinator, Human Resources

Lili started at Western Growers in January 2020 and has thrived in her role of supporting the HR team despite the rigors of working remotely during the pandemic. In her typical day she runs reports and helps with company initiatives, including anniversary programs and WG Women.

“My favorite Western Growers memory was when we had a breakfast that was hosted by the executives,” Lili said. “It was in the first-floor break room, and there was a line of employees out the door and Dave Puglia and the management team were the ones serving the food. That’s cool for your CEO to be doing that.”

 

More of Lili’s highlights:

•   Favorite movie: White Chicks. “No matter how many times I see it, it makes me laugh.”

•   Biggest accomplishment: “I graduated college the same day as my brother, who is two years older than me.”

•   Proudest moment: “Last year in October I got to be there for the birth of my twin nephews. I cut the umbilical cord!”

Editor’s Note: Diane and Lili were recently honored as recipients of the Employees’ Choice Award, a WG program where employees select and honor fellow team members for their exemplary work and remarkable outward mindset.

 

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Update from the Center

May 13th, 2022

aerialPlot

aerialPLOT joined WGCIT at the beginning of March, and immediately kicked off its membership by hosting a two-day training session with a key multi-national client. aerialPLOT is a research company that integrates aerial sensors with other data sources to monitor real-time crop dynamics. In addition to operations covering row crops throughout the Midwest, aerialPLOT is expanding its California branch with the recent hire of digital agronomist David Fernandez. The company is supporting grower-scale analytical R&D trials in the Central Valley and Salinas on such crops as almonds, pistachios, tomatoes and lettuce. The company is currently working in 25 states on everything from new cultivars and varieties to emerging biological products in many crop systems. Its goal is to make agricultural research more efficient through better data and reliable technology. For more information, reach out to California lead Gary Nijak Jr. at [email protected].

 

AgNote

Spray applications are a significant part of growing a crop and producing an outstanding yield. That is why farmers need to have a good visibility of what, when and at what cost spray products were applied. AgNote provides users with a simple form to enter, edit or copy spray applications for each field—and it just got even easier. Now farmers can simply forward the Product Use Recommendation to AgNote and AgNote will record that. Of course, it is not all magic, there are a few prerequisites: 1) AgNote will read emails only from currently active users. 2) Farms in the account need to have a Permit Number. Permit Number is how AgNote will find the farm fields to which the spray Product Use Recommendation belongs. 3) Field names on Product Use Recommendation need to closely match field names in AgNote. 4) Spray Product Recommendation must be generated by Agrian.

 

Agtools

Agtools was always developed under the premises of supply chain efficiencies. Few understood the concept before Covid-19 and how the market behavior impacts the ag and food industry starting from research to consumer. Agtools was invited to discuss the topic in venues, such as Agtech Innovation Summit at University of Illinois Champaign and United States Hispanic Chambers of Commerce in Washington D.C., to discuss how Hispanics are part of the solution. Recently, several customers utilized Agtools to visualize production data from Mexico and the Americas to Russia to understand how will it impact the U.S. market.

 

Boost Biomes

Boost Biomes delivers resilient microbial solutions that offer more robust performance, last longer and prevent the spread of pathogens. Based on a proprietary technology to understand and leverage the interactions between soil microbes, Boost develops high performance microbiome products sourced from the native biodiversity of relevant natural environments. The company’s first product is a biofungicide that prevents diseases like powdery mildew, downy mildew and botrytis in grapes, and is expected to come to market late in 2022. To learn about grower trials for the 2022 season, contact [email protected]. For more information, or if your crops suffer from Pierce’s Disease or Leaf Scorch in almonds, contact [email protected].

 

Burro

In 2021, 90 Burros supported table grape crews, autonomously moving fruit from field to pack tables, six days a week. Instead of seeing farmworkers walk several miles a day with a 200 lb. wheelbarrow full of grapes in the heat, Burro allows workers to remain in the field, under shade of canopy, and to pick and pack with a continuous flow of fruit out of the field. Through this use, growers saw 15 to 48 percent gains per Burro, enabling a single season ROI. Burro is a plug-and-play autonomous people-scale robot available to growers that increases productivity in conventional production environments. Burros feature a novel and patent-pending approach called Pop Up Autonomy, which enables the harvesting aid to work immediately out of the box by enabling everyone in a working environment to become an operator. From May until December, Burros run primarily in table grapes and blueberries.

 

Carbon Robotics

Carbon Robotics is expanding its southwestern regional sales and operations staff with a new LaserWeeder support hub in Salinas, with additional facilities expected to open soon in Bakersfield and Yuma. Carbon offers regularly scheduled laser weeding field demos at partner farms across the west. The company recently joined the WG Center for Innovation and Technology and is actively hiring field service engineers in Salinas, Bakersfield and Yuma. The company, based in Seattle, publicly launched its 20-ft. wide LaserWeeder implement at the World Ag Expo in February 2022. It is sold out of 2022 models and are accepting pre-orders for 2023 delivery.

 

Ganaz

Ganaz has announced the launch of Ganaz MasterCard Payroll Card, which it touts as significantly reducing payroll expenses for agriculture and food processing industries.

 

IntelliCulture

Ontario-based software startup, IntelliCulture, has secured $1.7 million CAD in seed financing to fuel the growth of its farm management platform. The round consisted of a group of strategic investors and industry experts, led by Emmertech (an agtech focused VC fund managed and operated by Conexus Venture Capital) and supported by 519 Growth Fund. Founded in 2018, IntelliCulture provides equipment management software for farms to provide insights into spray coverage, operational health and labor management. The platform helps growers realize savings through digitizing and automating the management process. With the closing of the seed round, the company plans to grow its the team by doubling the headcount within the next year. IntelliCulture primarily serves growers in the high-value crop space, but is lately extending its reach into other crop types through their plug-and-play platform. They offer IOT devices that are backwards compatible with all makes, models and years of machinery on the farm that feed data into their reporting and software. To learn more about IntelliCulture, visit: www.intelliculture.com

 

LahakX (previously SkyX Solutions)

LahakX recently announced its new fundraising and rebranding. The new capital from both existing and new investors is being used to strengthen the company’s technology, business and regulatory development. LahakX expects to be fully commercially active later this year when it delivers its agricultural spraying to its comprehensive pipeline of customers. “We thank our investors, and are excited to have stronger resources so we can move faster to market,” said Eylon Sorek, LahakX Co-Founder and CEO. “We are committed to working out all of the technological, commercial, and regulatory barriers, to provide to our customers cutting-edge spraying solutions which will enable them to save time, chemical and labor costs.” Simultaneous to the latest bridge round, LahakX has rebranded from its former name of SkyX. LahakX offers growers and applicators a self-flying fleet of spraying drones.

 

Verdant Robotics

To meet farmers’ demands for more sustainable and profitable growing practices, Verdant Robotics has expanded its robot-as-a-service (RaaS) model to ensure access for more specialty crop farmers. Founded in late 2018 by a leading roboticist, a software engineer, and a California farmer, Verdant has raised $21.5 million to develop a multi-action, autonomous farm robot capable of millimeter-accurate spraying, laser weeding and AI-based digital crop modeling. Verdant uses these tools in an attempt to deliver better outcomes: larger produce, greater yields and significant savings. The company claims to have contracted to service approximately 40 percent of the U.S. carrot market. Verdant logged thousands of hours in 2021 and claims to already have been proven on multiple crops. Combining multiple technologies, the company’s advises that its 6-row and 12-row commercial implements can treat up to 4.2 acres per hour, achieving a higher weed-removal rate per acre than other technology or human ability, and reducing chemical usage by up to 95 percent. Simultaneously, its autonomous software system collects data and uses machine learning capabilities to optimize yield and growing outcomes.

 

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Western Growers University: Everything DiSC: Productive Conflict

May 18th, 2022

Harness the power of conflict by transforming destructive behavior into productive responses. Everything DiSC® Productive Conflict is a training and personalized learning experience that increases self-awareness around conflict behaviors and helps participants effectively respond to the uncomfortable and unavoidable challenges of workplace conflict. Rather than focus on a step-by-step process for conflict resolution, it offers personalized techniques to curb destructive behaviors so that conflict can become more productive, ultimately improving workplace relationships and results.

Discover how the Everything DiSC® Productive Conflict transforms uncomfortable encounters into stronger relationships and results. The result is improved workplace relationships that drive results.

About This Onsite Training:

This in-person course, taking place in Salinas, California, is intended for all employees. If you are interested in a private presentation for your staff, please contact Anna Bilderbach, at [email protected] or (949) 379-3889.

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AgTechX Ed | Developing the Next Generation of Tech-Savvy Ag Workers

May 18th, 2022

The Western Growers Center for Innovation & Technology, California Department of Food and Agriculture and Woodland Community College have partnered to host AgTechX Ed – a half-day event dedicated to developing the next generation of tech-savvy agricultural workers.

The AgTechX Ed Summit at Woodland Community College will be comprised of 3 panels, with several keynote addresses, covering topics including: industry issues and skill identification; education and workforce development strategies; and current and future workforce needs on the farm.

This event is part of the AgTechX Ed Initiative – a statewide effort, led by Western Growers and California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross, to cultivate a future workforce with the skills and knowledge needed to navigate emerging on-farm technology.

Register for the event to help us develop the skills of tomorrow TODAY!

Register Now!

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Western Growers University: Building Trust in the Workplace

May 18th, 2022

This virtual course discusses the foundation for all relationships – trust. It is the basis for effective employee motivation, teamwork, decision making, accountability, and so much more. Relationships without trust have extremely limited value. You will learn how to develop skills for building, maintaining, and extending trust. Learn how to manage more effectively by cultivating healthy, trusting relationships between managers, peers, direct reports, and others in your life.

About This Virtual Training:

This virtual course is intended for business owners, HR professionals, frontline managers/supervisors, and individuals wanting to grow their knowledge and impact their workplace. If you are interested in a private presentation for your staff, please contact Anna Bilderbach, at [email protected] or (949) 379-3889.

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Western Growers University: Preventing Discrimination & Harassment: SUPERVISOR (English)

May 18th, 2022

Join Western Growers as we present the managers version of Preventing Discrimination and Harassment, which covers AB-1825, AB-2053, SB-396, SB-400, SB-1343, and SB-188.

This anti-harassment virtual course is essential for educating managers on what is acceptable and unacceptable workplace behavior. Every employee’s responsibility is to speak up and report incidents of harassment and retaliation, and the manager’s duty is to investigate and document all incidents promptly and discretely. All California employers have a duty to prevent discrimination and harassment in the workplace and comply with federal and state mandates. Learn how to recognize and respond to situations that can lead to sexual harassment – from the obvious to the subtle – is one of the most effective ways to foster a positive, respectful workplace. You can help your organization avoid costly harassment complaints that can damage reputation, recruiting, retention and bottom line.

About This Virtual Training:

This virtual course is intended for business owners, vice presidents/general managers, human resources, general counsel, a manager/supervisor, or lead with direct reports or who can control or influence the work of another employee. If you are interested in a private presentation for your staff, please contact Anna Bilderbach, at [email protected] or (949) 379-3889.

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Western Growers University: Stop Workplace Bullying Today

May 18th, 2022

Workplace bullying is prevalent and has a costly impact on the entire organization. Employers, managers, and employees all have important roles and responsibilities in preventing and addressing workplace bullying. In this virtual course you will learn what each role should do to prevent and deal with abusive conduct and minimize emotional and physical costs to the employees and your workplace. Learn how to stop persistent patterns of mistreatment in the workplace that causes either physical or emotional harm, limits inclusion, and stunts creative contribution.

About This Virtual Training:

This virtual course is intended for Business Owners, HR Professionals, and or front line Managers/Supervisors. If you are interested in a private presentation for your staff, please contact Anna Bilderbach, at [email protected] or (949) 379-3889.

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Western Growers University: Preventing Discrimination & Harassment: SUPERVISOR (Spanish)

May 18th, 2022

Join Western Growers as we present the managers version of Preventing Discrimination and Harassment, which covers AB-1825, AB-2053, SB-396, SB-400, SB-1343, and SB-188.

This Spanish version anti-harassment course is essential for educating managers on what is acceptable and unacceptable workplace behavior. Every employee’s responsibility is to speak up and report incidents of harassment and retaliation, and the manager’s duty is to investigate and document all incidents promptly and discretely. All California employers have a duty to prevent discrimination and harassment in the workplace and comply with federal and state mandates. Learn how to recognize and respond to situations that can lead to sexual harassment – from the obvious to the subtle – is one of the most effective ways to foster a positive, respectful workplace. You can help your organization avoid costly harassment complaints that can damage reputation, recruiting, retention and bottom line.​​

About This Virtual Training:

This virtual course is intended for Spanish-speaking business owners, vice presidents, general managers, human resources professionals, general counsel, managers, supervisors, leads with direct reports or other individuals who can control or influence the work of another employee. If you are interested in a private presentation for your staff, please contact Anna Bilderbach, at [email protected] or (949) 379-3889.

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Western Growers University: Preventing Discrimination & Harassment: EMPLOYEE (English)

May 18th, 2022

This anti-harassment virtual course is essential for educating employees on what is acceptable and unacceptable workplace behavior. Every employee’s responsibility is to speak up and report incidents of harassment and retaliation. This course defines the laws and rules with a fresh approach that emphasizes what matters most – ensuring individuals know how to make the right decisions and take the right actions if they experience or witness sexual harassment or other misconduct. Learn how to recognize and respond to situations that can lead to sexual harassment – from the obvious to the subtle – is one of the most effective ways to foster a positive, respectful workplace. You can help your organization avoid costly harassment complaints that can damage reputation, recruiting, retention and bottom line. The employee course complies with all the requirements in SB-1343.

About This Virtual Training:

This virtual course is intended for non-supervisory personnel. If you are interested in a private presentation for your staff, please contact Anna Bilderbach, at [email protected] or (949) 379-3889.

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Western Growers University: Preventing Discrimination & Harassment: EMPLOYEE (Spanish)

May 18th, 2022

This Spanish version anti-harassment course is essential for educating employees on what is acceptable and unacceptable workplace behavior. Every employee’s responsibility is to speak up and report incidents of harassment and retaliation. This virtual course defines the laws and rules with a fresh approach that emphasizes what matters most – ensuring individuals know how to make the right decisions and take the right actions if they experience or witness sexual harassment or other misconduct. Learn how to recognize and respond to situations that can lead to sexual harassment – from the obvious to the subtle – is one of the most effective ways to foster a positive, respectful workplace. You can help your organization avoid costly harassment complaints that can damage reputation, recruiting, retention and bottom line. The employee course complies with all the requirements in SB-1343.

About This Virtual Training:

This virtual course is intended for non-supervisory spanish-speaking personnel. If you are interested in a private presentation for your staff, please contact Anna Bilderbach, at [email protected] or (949) 379-3889.

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VofV Epsiode: Don Cameron on How Innovation and Automation Can Boost California Agriculture

May 5th, 2022

Don Cameron, Vice President and General Manager of Terranova Ranch, joins the Voices of the Valley podcast to share his experiences with agtech start-ups looking to gain traction in California agriculture.

“The ones that tend to come early and listen and hear what we’re saying are the ones that tend to be successful,” he says.

Currently Terranova is using cutting-edge technology for automated irrigation, laser weeding and nitrogen capture, and Don says that the perpetual difficulties the industry faces with water, labor and regulation create an urgency to technology adoption in the state.

“This is one of the answers for the future – alternatives that work well and are economical,” he says.

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Western Growers Leads Innovative Discussions at the Western Food Safety Conference

May 10th, 2022

The Western Food Safety Conference was held May 4-5, 2022 at Hartnell College in Salinas, Calif. This year’s edition of the conference had the theme “The Culture of Food Safety,” and WG members and executives shared their first-hand learnings based on their years of experience in the industry.

Sonia Salas, AVP of Science at Western Growers, moderated a panel entitled: “How Do We Build a Food Safety Culture From Lessons Learned From Past Experience?” With panelists Samuel Duda of Duda Farm Fresh Foods, Joe Pezzini of Taylor Farms and Tim York with the LGMA, Salas discussed the experience of having a leadership role in building a food safety culture at their companies. “Food safety leaders were encouraged to promote a positive food safety culture and speak out when something doesn’t support that culture,” Salas said. “After all, a culture is created from thoughts, behaviors and actions over time.”

Walt Duflock, VP of Innovation at WG, conducted a panel with food safety consultant Tom Sidebottom that was called “Getting Candid: Framing the Conversation About Doing Things Differently.” The key takeaway was that innovation remains key to food safety success, and that helping consumers better understand the improvements the industry has made and continues to make around food safety can increase their confidence and consumption of fresh produce – which is still the world’s best medicine.

Afreen Malik, Science Programs Director at WG, participated in a panel entitled “On Farm Water Quality & Ag Order 4.0 – What Really Matters?” The panel focused on the complexity of Ag Order requirements, and how smaller operations, in particular, are struggling to comply the complex data collection and reporting requirements. It was stated that in order to assist these smaller operations and help protect the natural resources on which agriculture depends the best approach is to share knowledge, experience and data to present an evidence-based case to regulatory bodies.

In order to see photos from the event, please click to like and follow the Western Growers Center for Innovation & Technology Facebook page.

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Cal/OSHA Releases Updated ETS Fact Sheets and FAQs

May 12th, 2022

Cal/OSHA has provided fact sheets and updated its FAQs on COVID-19 Prevention Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) to reflect revisions adopted by the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board on April 21, 2022. In effect now through December 31, 2022, the latest ETS revisions include provisions that make it easily adaptable to updated guidance from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). The ETS applies to most workers in California not covered by the Aerosol Transmissible Diseases Standard.

Additional resources include:

Members with questions about the latest ETS revisions should contact Western Growers.

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New VofV Episode: Verdant Robotics and the Secret to Making Farmers Superhuman

May 12th, 2022

Verdant Robotics Co-Founders CEO Gabe Sibley and COO Curtis Garner join Voices of the Valley to discuss the power that digitized precision farming gives to the industry.

Verdant Robotics wasn’t “a solution looking for a problem,” Gabe says; instead, the multi-action robot that provides both data analytics and crop applications is the result of a six-month road trip that was spent talking to farmers and refining the technology that is now used on everything from carrots to onions to garlic.

“It’s MBA business school 101,” he says in this first part of a two-part episode. “Do what the client or the customer wants.”

Listen to the latest episode of Voices of the Valley by clicking here.

 

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