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PRECISION AGRICULTURE Duncan Farms, Metrics and Useful Data
WG&S recently sat down with Will Feliz, president of /Duncan Family Farms of Arizona to discuss precision farming and the use of data. By Yvete Minor Duncan Family Farms has been farming for decades. Tell us a little about your history. Arnott Duncan grew up in a fourth-generation farming family. Arnott ventured out on his ...
Water Board Declares Water War on Merced and Stanislaus Counties
On September 15, 2016, the California State Water Resources Control Board staff released a draft proposal to update the Bay-Delta Plan’s water quality requirements for salinity in the southern Delta and water flows in major tributaries to the San Joaquin River (the Stanislaus, Tuolumne, and Merced Rivers) which drain into the southern Delta. The draft ...
What You Need to Know About ACA Marketplace Compliance, Notices, and Appeals
By Rich Hines As 2016 draws to an end, it’s important to prepare for upcoming changes to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). To remain in compliance with the law and avoid tax penalties, there are several details about ACA marketplace notices, appeals, forms, and new ACA reporting deadlines of which you’ll need to ...
TRANSPORTATION OUTLOOK: No Pain, No Gain
By John Stenderup Director of Business Management, Sourcing, C.H. Robinson. It’s about that time of the year again…time to gear up for peak season on the West Coast. Despite some recent rain delays, let’s assume that most of your crops are planted and you are in the stages of finalizing pricing with your customers. What ...
GET TO KNOW: KIM SHERMAN Western Growers’ New Director of Membership
Following the retirement of Randy Hause on January 3, 2017, Western Growers brought in Kim Sherman to head up the Membership Department. Kim comes to Western Growers with a rich and varied background that will make her an immediate asset to the association and its members. We recently sat down with Kim and asked her ...
And on the Seventh Day…There Continue to Be Questions
By Jonathan Siegel, Jackson Lewis P.C. Agriculture employers continue to be challenged by Assembly Bill 1066, the groundbreaking new California law that, among other things, extends the state’s daily and weekly overtime requirements to agricultural workers over a period of time. However, the new legislation also has created many questions regarding its interpretation and impact ...
An Eye on Dividend Growth
By Richard Alpert, Raub Brock Capital Management In achieving better stock market returns without taking unnecessary risk (the Holy Grail for stock investors), dividends matter. Over the past nine decades for which there is data, the majority of real returns from stocks have come from dividends. To pay a dividend, a company must deliver cold, ...
Getting the Most Out of Your Western Growers Membership
By Kim Sherman Western Growers Director of Membership Western Growers has one mission: to enhance the competitiveness and profitability of our members. Over the past 91 years, we’ve lived up to this vision through committed advocacy in public policy and political action, and by offering diverse educational opportunities and affordable business services designed from ...
Business Strategies: Ownership Transitions in the Produce Industry
By Brandt Brereton and Jared Hanley Brereton, Hanley & Company The western U.S. produce industry appears to be experiencing an accelerating rate of mergers and acquisitions. Brandt Brereton and Jared Hanley are experts on this topic, having spent the last 22 years advising owners of agricultural assets on various types of corporate finance transactions. ...
PACKAGING THE BRAND
By Chris Passarelli One cannot overstate the importance of packaging to your overall brand. The most successful agriculture companies leverage their packaging brands as premium consumer value-adds to differentiate their commodities and gain a competitive advantage in the market. Marketers use creative elements and innovative packaging to set their products apart from the pack, build ...
Wellness Benefits: Don’t Underestimate Their Value to Employees
By David Zanze If you don’t offer them already, could it be that you consider wellness a lightweight option when it comes to reducing health care spending and not worth the additional cost? The reality is that many employers offer wellness benefits to keep costs down and employee morale up. Wellness initiatives can cover a ...
Your Recall Plan Fitting Together Like a Puzzle
By David Duvall Western Growers Insurance Services When people think about the term “recall,” they tend to visualize an automobile manufacturer alerting customers that there is a problem with their car model and offering to fix the issue for free. That’s not the case in agriculture, and a “one size fits all” insurance model will ...
Big Data for the Healthcare Win
By Jason Verhoef It’s no secret that healthcare costs are rising at a rapid pace. How do we help reduce costs? We should be turning to innovative and technological solutions. Both consumers and employers are continually paying more for healthcare. According to the Milliman Medical Index, the cost for healthcare for a typical American family ...
Resolving Small Wage Claims: The Benjamin Solution
By Terry O’Connor It is the rare employer who has not had a terminated employee claim untimely payment of a last check, or failure to pay expenses. In response, most employers will insist that the employee got all of their pay and vow to fight the claim as legal extortion. However, when dealing with the ...
REBUTTAL: Recycling Food into Fertilizer Registered for Use in Organic Agriculture
By Dan Morash Founder, California Safe Soil We read with interest the July/August 2017 Western Growers article entitled: “Cause for Concern Over Organic Fertilizer Made from Food Waste?” by Stephen Meyer & Thomas Marrs of the Downey Brand law firm. The article raises concerns for organic growers that may currently be using, or considering ...
Legislator Profile: Representative Ken Calvert from California’s 42nd Congressional District, encompassing parts of western Riverside County
By Western Growers staff Born and raised in the city of Corona, California, in the western-most part of Riverside County, Congressman Ken Calvert witnessed the growth explosion of his hometown and the surrounding areas over the last several decades. The lifelong Riverside County resident, who currently represents the state’s 42nd Congressional District and serves ...
Using Technology to Limit Shrink
If you ask Hazel Technologies co-founder and CEO Aidan Mouat where the idea came from for creating the technology that helps prevent food waste by keeping fresh produce edible longer, don’t expect to hear an astonishing tale of discovery. “Everybody always thinks there is this ‘Eureka!’ moment in chemistry where some flash of inspiration starts ...
The Evolution of Produce LTL From Inconvenient to Enabling
By Steve Gabrick C.H. Robinson Regional Sales Manager Today’s supply chains are changing—they are becoming increasingly complex—especially when fresh produce and other perishable commodities are involved. There are many reasons behind this, but consumer buying influences, multi-channel sales, and speed of the order seem to be driving the most change. Millennials’ buying behavior…
#MeToo Movement Demonstrates Importance for Sexual Harassment Training
Sexual harassment is not a recent phenomenon. However, recent allegations against high-profile figures in entertainment, media, sports, business and politics show how important it is to address inappropriate behavior in the workplace. Sexual harassment is often downplayed or worse—excused, sanctioned and obscured. It is important to educate your workforce and to establish a culture where…
Water Tech Updates
SWIIM’s 2.0 in Beta Testing With thousands of acres using its irrigation management software, SWIIM has its 2.0 version in beta testing and is in line for another round of funding to continue developing its cutting-edge water use tracking technology and add staff and offices. Kevin France, founder and CEO of SWIIM (Sustainable Water and ...