WG is pleased to announce a valuable new member benefit for 2023. In partnership with Agri-Pulse, each member company will receive one complimentary annual subscription to Daily Harvest West, an early-morning email capturing all the major food and agriculture headlines from key media outlets in the West and across the country. (This represents an $800 annual value.) Additionally, WG members will…
Yesterday, Class III of the Future Volunteer Leaders Program completed an introductory orientation session in the Western Growers’ Irvine office, the first activity of the two-year program. In attendance were ten outstanding young individuals from Western Growers’ member companies: Pete Aiello, Uesugi Farms (Gilroy, CA); Brian Antle, Tanimura & Antle (Salinas, CA); Neill…
On Tuesday, March 10th, the Arizona representatives of the Future Volunteer Leaders Program participated in a legislative day at the Capitol in Phoenix, Arizona. In attendance were Charlie Montgomery (Rousseau Farming Company, Tolleson), Kyle Smith (JV Smith Companies, Yuma), Alexander Muller (Pasquinelli Produce Company, Yuma), and Trey Rodriguez (The Growers Company, Somerton). During the…
The CDC has announced a new toolkit to help employers educate their essential workers about COVID-19 vaccines, raise awareness about the benefits of vaccination, and address common questions and concerns. The toolkit contains a variety of resources that can be used virtually or in person, including key messages, frequently asked questions, facts about COVID-19 vaccines ...
Arizona The Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) has developed an online portal that allows residents to book and schedule vaccination appointments for themselves and their family members. The portal requires the user to create an account. Click here to visit the ADHS Vaccine Patient Portal. Arizona COVID-19 vaccines are being allocated through local and tribal ...
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has developed several resources to assist the public with understanding the COVID-19 vaccination process. Please refer to the links below to access the latest CDC recommendations and guidance documents. COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout Recommendations Because the U.S. supply of COVID-19 vaccine is limited, the CDC is providing recommendations ...
The Santa Barbara County Food and Agriculture Clinic Consortium (the Consortium) recently sent California Government Operations Agency Secretary Yolanda Richardson a letter urging the State to increase its vaccine allocation for farm employees in Santa Barbara County. According to the letter, the State has estimated that there are less than 9,000 agricultural workers in Santa ...
FDA has published a new web page to help agricultural employers communicate about COVID-19 vaccinations to their workforce. The resources are from FDA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other trusted partners. Click here to access the COVID-19 vaccination resources for agriculture page. As the COVID-19 vaccine supply increases, FDA hopes these ...
As a member-driven organization, Western Growers is always looking to better understand the issues that affect your business so we can continue to improve our offering of products and services. To that end, we have designed the following survey to assist in accomplishing that goal. Please consider taking 10 minutes to complete the survey and ...
This morning, Western Growers President and CEO Tom Nassif participated in the opening panel of the Forbes Reinventing America AgTech Summit being held in Salinas. Titled “The World’s Biggest Opportunity,” panelists discussed how a generation of new technologies will revolutionize the way farming is done in the future. Nassif focused his remarks on the need ...
Today, the House of Representatives passed the Western Water and American Food Security Act of 2015, which provides tangible benefits for drought-stricken parts of the western United States. The bill seeks to expedite water storage projects by shortening the time it takes for environmental reviews to be conducted. Western Growers president and CEO Tom Nassif ...
The upcoming October issue of the WG&S magazine includes an article on sustainable agriculture that features two WG members — The Nunes Company and Church Brothers — and what each is doing to sell edible fresh produce items that were previously discarded or not harvested. Their innovative approaches to reducing food waste are stories worth ...
On Wednesday, September 30th, Western Growers President and CEO Tom Nassif was a featured speaker at the Bayer Horticulture Symposium held in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Addressing a multinational audience, Nassif spoke on trends in fresh fruit and vegetable consumption and how the industry is responding to evolving demands from buyers and consumers. Citing a recent ...
In light of the strengthening El Niño weather pattern, Western Growers delivered a letter to Governor Brown last week calling on his Administration to “capture as much precipitation as our infrastructure will allow.” The letter reinforces the fact that we cannot afford to let a drop of wasted water flow out to sea this wet ...
Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. As in previous versions, the federal guidelines continue to recommend an increase in consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables as part of an overall effort to promote healthy eating patterns and ...
Today, the Coalition for a Sustainable Delta released data indicating that 125,000 acre-feet of water has been flushed out to the ocean this week alone as a result of environmental regulations restricting operation of the Delta pumps. And for the month of January? The total amount of water lost so far is 208,000 acre feet ...
Most news reporters don’t know squat about the business of farming, and thanks to a pervasive bias, they don’t care. That is the obvious conclusion one would reach after reading a recent Associated Press article that opens with this not-so-subtle lede: “A new state report shows California farmers reaping record sales despite the epic drought, thriving ...
Last Wednesday, Senator Feinstein introduced a revised drought relief bill. Responding to the bill, Western Growers President & CEO Tom Nassif stated the following: “We are encouraged by Senator Feinstein’s introduction of a revised drought bill, but to have any chance of success, it must have the support of Senator Boxer and the Obama and Brown ...
Western Growers has launched a digital media campaign aimed at intensifying awareness among urban Californians about the water being lost to the sea this winter and the need for federal and state leaders to exert pressure on water system operators to capture and store those El Niño waters before they are lost. With another blast ...
Last week, the Western Growers Board of Directors met in Sacramento where they engaged with key administration officials and legislative representatives and deliberated on major policy issues facing the membership and broader Western fresh produce industry. The following is a summary of several important points of discussion and significant action taken by the Board: H-2A ...