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Data Corner: Capture Once, Use Multiple Times
By Marlene Hanken, Data Analyst Welcome to the Data Corner, a place where this resident data nerd addresses some of the most common data issues and data-related topics facing the agriculture industry today. This column’s topic is how data can inform multiple uses or outcomes. Another way to think about it: “Capture once, use multiple ...
Workplace Safety Practices: Keep Your Eye on the Ball Even as Workers’ Comp Rates Decline
By Ken Cooper, Director of Risk Strategy, Western Growers Insurance Services In late July, the California Commissioner of Insurance once again approved a decrease in the workers’ compensation pure premium advisory rates, which are used by insurance carriers to set their rates for coverage. As a result, policyholders are likely to see a decrease in ...
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 ...
Science Column: New Year, Same Mission | WG Science – What’s Happened and What’s Next?
By Scott Nichols, Science Program Specialist For decades, Western Growers has progressed the science, technology and innovation of our industry to enhance agricultural practices, improve food safety and protect the environment. Today, that same mission flows through everything we do as an organization. Between world-class food safety guidance and an abundance of educational and informative…
WGIS: Battling PAGA Extortion Through Proactive Risk Management
By Steven Barge-Siever, Esq., Vice President Property and Casualty, WGIS In California, extortion is defined as “1) obtaining property or other consideration from another…induced by a 2) wrongful use of force or fear, or 3) under color of official right.” In many cases, Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) litigation has fallen nothing short of extortion ...
Western Growers Loses Two Agricultural Pioneers
Hank Giclas Henry Lee Giclas III, loving husband and father and chile connoisseur, passed away Friday, Aug. 5, 2022, at the age of 63. Hank, as he was called by all who knew him, was born in Socorro, New Mexico, to parents Patricia “Patsy” and Henry “Hank” Giclas Jr. With a mother who earned her ...
Misclassification of Employees: A Per Se Violation Under the Agricultural Labor Relations Act
By Pat Moody, Catherine Houlihan and Vismaad Gondara, Barsamian & Moody Can non-compliant paystubs in violation of Labor Code section 226(a) lead to an unfair labor practice under section 1153(a) of the Agricultural Labor Relations Act (the “Act”)? Shockingly, or not so shockingly in California, the answer is yes, according to a recent ruling by ...
The Data Corner: Data Standardization—A Tedious Necessity
By Marlene Hanken, Data Analyst, Science Welcome to The Data Corner, a place where this resident data nerd addresses some of the most common data issues and data-related topics facing the agriculture industry today! This issue’s topic is Data Standardization…and what is data standardization anyway? Simply put, data standardization is a set of processes and ...
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 ...
Inside Western Growers
The Western Growers Family of Companies is built on the strength of 445 dedicated employees providing expert advocacy and services across multiple business lines. To honor its employees who demonstrate “above and beyond” service, Western Growers recently launched an Employees’ Choice Award Program where employees select and honor fellow team members for their exemplary work and remarkable…
Welcome New Members
The Ag Center 59 Alsco-Geyer Irrigation Inc All American Drilling Inc Demos Farm Fresh LLC Gallagher Farming Company LLC Gregory P Crossgrove Inc HR Mobile Services Inc Millennium Pacific Greenhouses Inc. NGB Markets Inc N Drip Inc Oakbend Dairy Parabug, LLC Phytech Phytologix Agroscience Services LLC Radical Plastics Inc Schuil & Associates Inc Skyline Dairy ...
Inside Western Growers
The Western Growers Family of Companies is built on the strength of 445 dedicated employees providing expert advocacy and services across multiple business lines. Whether it is securing healthcare benefits for agricultural businesses and their employees or advocating for growers and shippers in the produce industry, WG employees are fully committed to helping ensure the ...
Creating Value in Agtech: The Role of Intellectual Property
By Rudolph P. Darken and Nelson T. Rivera Agtech entrepreneurs have a lot in common with the growers they serve. Just as a grower plants, nurtures, and harvests products for their market, the agricultural technology (agtech) entrepreneur takes an idea, grows it into tangible goods and services, developing products for their market. All agtech ...
Countering the Continued Vilification of Crop Protection
By Jonathan Saragen The issue of pesticide safety continues to be demonized and is frequently raised before the court of law, but it’s in the court of public opinion where we should focus our countering efforts. As we all know, crop protection technologies truly aid in providing a steady, nutritious diet to families across ...
Western Growers Member Directory of Attorneys and Law Firms
Since Western Growers began more than 90 years ago, attorneys specializing in agricultural issues has been part of the association’s landscape. Staff attorneys have long been an integral part of the organization reaching a peak during the 1970s when unionization was a daily concern. Today, Western Growers’ legal staff has a significant presence and gets ...
Fed Raises Interest Rates Again; Caution Advised
In the second week of December 2017, Federal Reserve officials decided to raise interest rates. The Fed funds rate was raised from 1.25 percent to 1.50 percent, and along with this change, officials raised guidance on GDP growth to 2.5 percent, up from 2.1 percent forecasted in the September Fed meeting. Along with this revised ...
Western Growers Member Directory of Attorneys and Law Firms
In the 1970s, Western Growers had about a dozen attorneys on staff mostly handling labor law. Today, agricultural lawyers have gone well beyond labor law and specialize in a wide variety of business decisions from wage & hour concerns to water law and even to issues surrounding cannabis production. Currently there are dozens of law ...
Financial Literacy: Are you prepared for retirement?
By Chris Oerman With low unemployment rates and all-time stock market highs, Americans have many reasons to feel confident in their personal finances. However, according to a recent survey from Financial Engines, America’s largest independent investment advisor, a majority of Americans lack the basic financial knowledge they need to properly prepare for retirement. A ...
Western Growers University: Employee Handbook and Management Essentials Multi-Workshop
The Foundations of Management Workshop is designed to prepare new and current supervisor and manager with essential tools to better perform in their role more efficiently and effectively. In this workshop, participants will learn: 1.What is management, its function and the various roles; and know how to: Improve management efficiencies Help decline…