Posts By: Western Growers

“Joint Employer” Decision – Major Victory for H-2A Employers

On October 15, 2021, the U.S. District Court for Los Angeles, issued a substantial (79-page decision) case brought by the CRLA Foundation against two Santa Maria based Growers and Marketer Defendants who sold their strawberry products on a non-exclusive basis.  By way of historical background, the CRLA Foundation filed a class action civil lawsuit against ...

California’s Mandatory Employment Arbitration Ban Headed for the Full 9th Circuit Court of Appeals

On December 30, 2019 an Eastern District of California federal court granted a temporary restraining order preventing the state of California from enforcing AB51. The lawsuit filed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the California Chamber of Commerce sought an injunction stopping enforcement of AB 51; a bill that would have outlawed employment arbitration ...

MEET YOUR FUTURE VOLUNTEER LEADERS: Grant Talley

Grant Talley Production Manager, Talley Farms Grant started spending summers working at his family farm at 12 years old. After high school, he attended Regent University in Virginia where he received his Bachelor of Science in business. After spending some time in Los Angeles, Grant moved home to join the family business. Grant is currently ...

The Farmworkers Behind the Greens

By Stephanie Metzinger Carefully hauling ladders from tree to tree, ninja-like workers skillfully scale up and down the tallest of palm trees to cut down bagged bundles with a machete-sized curved knife. These laddermen, called Palmeros, are the magic behind the harvest of the illustrious honey-flavored Medjool and Deglet Noor dates. “A lot of people ...

Inside Western Growers

For 95 years, Western Growers (WG) has voraciously advocated on behalf the fresh produce industry and created a suite of resources to support specialty crop farmers. This includes offering health benefits for the agricultural industry, creating tailored risk management solutions, guiding farmers through the tangled web of H-2A, being a trusted resource during foodborne outbreaks ...

Western Growers Names Steve Mangapit Chief Operating Officer

Mangapit becomes the first person to hold the newly-created executive position at WG.

How to Cultivate the Next Generation of Organic Farmers

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 

3Bar Biologics Wins AgSharks Competition, Earns $250,000

Western Growers, S2G Ventures offers seed funding to 3Bar Biologics for development of new agriculture microbe products.