Ann Donahue
Western Growers, Director, Marketing and Communications
Ann Donahue serves as Director, Marketing and Communications for Western Growers, where she is responsible for external communication efforts and publicizing the Association’s executives, initiatives, and members across all media platforms. Ann spent more than 20 years as an editor and reporter covering entertainment journalism, with bylines at publications including Variety, the L.A. Times, Billboard, […]
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USDA Announces Another Installment of the Farm Service Agency’s Emergency Relief Program
The U.S. Department of Food and Agriculture is offering another installment – also known as a phase – to assist commodity and specialty crop producers impacted by natural disaster events in 2020 and 2021. More than 18,000 producers will soon receive new or updated pre-filled disaster applications to offset eligible crop losses. FSA will begin ...
New Zealand Forecasts the Future of Agriculture Amid Climate Change
Peter Wren-Hilton, the Founder of Wharf42 Limited and the mastermind behind the upcoming 2035 Agri-Food-Tech Oceania Summit, joins the podcast to discuss how New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands are responding to the threat of climate change. “Climate change is real, it’s happening, and it’s happening much faster than we thought,” he says. One ...
Super Diamond to Perform at the 96th Western Growers Annual Meeting
Super Diamond, a tribute band that honors the much-loved international pop icon Neil Diamond, will perform after the Award of Honor Dinner Gala at the 2022 Western Growers Annual Meeting in Las Vegas. The event will take place at The Venetian Resort from Nov. 2-5, 2022. Super Diamond will perform timeless classics including “Sweet Caroline,” “America,” ...
Western Growers Mourns the Passing of Steve Taylor
Steve Taylor, the innovator who helped develop the packaged salad industry during his tenure at Fresh Express, passed away on Aug. 21, 2022 at the age of 67. Taylor served on the Western Growers Board of Directors from 1993-1996. According to the Monterey Herald, Taylor became chairman and CEO of Fresh Express in 1993 after his father died ...
Western Growers Center for Innovation and Technology Kicks Off New Season of Resident Programming Events
The Western Growers Center for Innovation and Technology held its first Resident Programming event of the season on Aug. 24 with a virtual information session entitled “Ag in the Desert.” Grower guests at the event represented the three main desert growing regions: Matt Maguire, Chief Agricultural Officer of J.V. Smith in Yuma, Ariz.; Scott Howington, Owner ...
VofV: Sun World CEO David Marguleas Explains the Successful Strategies Behind a New Product Launch
From watermelon to stone fruit to table grapes, Sun World CEO David Marguleas has decades of experience in bringing vibrant new products to the consumer market. He visits the podcast this week to talk about how his company has made critical new hires and brought breeding in-house to stay at the forefront of molecular technologies. ...
WG Urges EPA to Reject Pesticidal Seed Treatment Petition
Western Growers has joined more than 30 other agricultural organizations in asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to reject a petition that seeks formal agency rulemaking or interpretation of seed treatments falling under the treated article exemption. In part, the coalition letter states: “There is no benefit to be gained by imposing duplicative layers of…
Comprehensive Overview on Environmental Risk Factors in the Human Pathogen Transmission Pathways between Animal Operations and Produce Crops is Now Available Online
The most recent issue of the International Association for Food Protection’s journal “Food Protection Trends” is now available online, and features a peer-reviewed article, “Environmental Risk Factors in the Human Pathogen Transmission Pathways between Animal Operations and Produce Crops” that was co-written by two Western Growers Science executives. The abstract of the article reads:…
Voices of the Valley: Remembering Hank Giclas, Part One
This is the first episode in a special two-part Voices of the Valley that is dedicated to the memory of produce industry stalwart Hank Giclas, the former Senior Vice President of Science, Technology & Strategic Planning at Western Growers, who passed away in August. Western Growers President & CEO Dave Puglia, Secretary of the California ...
WGCIT Lunch & Learn Sessions Return with Naturipe Berry Growers’ Dr. Hillary Thomas
After a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Western Growers Center for Innovation & Technology Lunch & Learn series returned last week with a presentation from Dr. Hillary Thomas, the Research and Technical Director at Naturipe Berry Growers. At Naturipe, Dr. Thomas focuses on the development of applied agricultural programs and technology transfer to ...
Voices of the Valley: Hank Giclas Tribute, Part Two
In this episode, Voices of the Valley continues to honor Hank Giclas, the produce industry veteran who passed away in August. Bruce Taylor, Chairman and CEO of Taylor Farms; Edwin Camp, President of D.M. Camp & Sons; Joe Pezzini, Sr. Director of Ag Operations at Taylor Farms and Peter Wren-Hilton, Founder of Wharf42 Ltd., all ...
President Joe Biden Issues Order to Boost Agricultural Biotechnology
An Executive Order was issued by President Joe Biden on Sept. 12 that calls on federal departments and agencies to increase the use of bio-based products and identify barriers to agricultural biotechnology. Per the order, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency have 180 days to find “ambiguity, ...
Jennifer Sey, Former Levi’s Executive Who Resigned After Free Speech Controversy, to Kick Off the 2022 Western Growers Annual Meeting
Jennifer Sey will kick off the 2022 Western Growers Annual Meeting on “Speaking Out After Resigning as Global Brand President of Levi’s.” Jennifer Sey is an author, former national gymnastics champion, and corporate leader who spent close to 23 years at Levi Strauss & Co., holding various leadership positions. She began in 1999 as a ...
Western Growers Helps Sponsor the Fifth Safe Fruits and Veggies Farm Tour for the Alliance for Food and Farming
The Alliance for Food and Farming hosted its fifth Safe Fruits and Veggies Farm Tour for registered dietitians, health and nutrition writers and influencers from Sept. 12-14, 2022 in the San Joaquin Valley. Western Growers was one of the sponsors of the tour, during which participants visited Porterville Citrus, HMC Farms, Family Tree Farms, Jasmine Vineyards ...
Genius Beehives with Dick Rogers, Entomologist at Bayer Crop Science
In this week’s episode of Voices of the Valley, Dick Rogers, Entomologist at Bayer Crop Science, discusses the need to meld nature and technology to create and monitor healthy honeybee colonies. Dick wants to move towards the creation of a “genius hive,” which would use data to ensure the right conditions exist for thriving bee ...
September/October Issue of Western Grower & Shipper Magazine Now Available
The September/October issue of Western Grower & Shipper Magazine is now available; print copies should be in your mailbox shortly and articles from the issue can be accessed online here. The articles in the issue include: President’s Notes: Economics Always Wins Western Growers’ 2022 Award of Honor Recipient Exemplifies the Best of California Agribusiness: Celebrating John…
Register Now for FIRA USA Oct. 18-20, 2022 in Fresno
The first edition of FIRA USA, the cutting-edge agtech robotics conference, will be held from Oct. 18-20, 2022 in Fresno, and Western Growers members can click here to register! Co-sponsored by GOFAR-FIRA, the University of California and Western Growers, FIRA USA 2022 is a unique event dedicated to robotics, autonomous systems and technologies for farming. Through ...
VofV Podcast: Linking Small Farmers and Scientists on the International Stage
Dr. Eugenia Saini, the Executive Secretary of Fontagro, joins the podcast to talk about her objective of strengthening public and private strategic alliances that enhance international cooperation between scientists and farmers. It’s a goal that requires boundless curiosity and big picture thinking; Eugenia has three degrees from the University of Buenos Aires and was a ...
Register Now for 2022 WG Annual Meeting – See the Complete Agenda!
The agenda for the 2022 Western Growers Annual Meeting, which will be held Nov. 2-5, 2022 at The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas, is now complete! Among the highlights: Kick Off Keynote: Jennifer Sey -Speaking Out After Resigning as Global Brand President of Levi’s PAC Luncheon: Featuring Karl Rove Featured Session – When Family Farms ...
WGCIT Startups Tour GreenGate Fresh in Salinas
More than 10 tech startups from the Western Growers Center for Innovation and Technology toured GreenGate Fresh in Salinas, Calif. to learn first-hand about how processing plants work and what technology the facility already uses. GreenGate Fresh is lead by Robert K. Barkley, Travis Pendleton, Jay Iverson and Keith Bazabal, who have more than 100 ...