Michelle Rivera
Western Growers, Communications Manager
E: [email protected]/P: 949.885.4778 EXT 4778 Michelle Rivera serves as the Communications Manager for Western Growers, where she is responsible for ensuring effective internal and external communications for Western Growers members, industry partners and consumers across all platforms. Michelle has more than 15 years of marketing and communications experience in various industries, including adtech, consumer products […]
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Save the Date: Grower Field Education Seminars to Focus on Maximizing Nut Profitability
Growers and agricultural professionals are invited to attend a hands-on grower field education seminar focused on practical tools and strategies for maximizing nut profitability. Hosted by Desert Control, Phytech and UltraGro, the seminar will bring participants into the field to examine what trees and soil can reveal about crop performance and how that information can be used to make more…
Dave Puglia Featured in New York Times Coverage of Cyclospora Outbreak
Western Growers President and CEO Dave Puglia was featured in The New York Times this weekend as it examined the ongoing Cyclospora outbreak and its impact on the produce industry. While California-grown lettuce has not been implicated as the source of the outbreak, growers across the region have experienced significant declines in demand, with millions of heads of healthy produce being…
Western Growers 2026 Compensation and Benefits Survey Now Available for Purchase
Where does meaningful compensation data in agriculture come from? It starts with you. Get the latest compensation data for California and Arizona’s specialty crop industry with the 2026 Compensation and Benefits Survey. Designed for HR professionals and executives, the survey provides valuable insights to help employers attract and retain top talent. This year’s report includes base…
Save the Date: Growers Invited to Plug and Play Silicon Valley Summit
Western Growers members are invited to join Plug and Play for its Silicon Valley November Summit, a three-day event showcasing the latest innovations in technology and artificial intelligence. The summit will bring together startups, investors, corporate executives and innovation leaders for live pitches, technology demonstrations, networking opportunities and discussions on emerging trends.…
Western Growers Joins Acting Labor Secretary for New Mexico Farm Tours and Workforce Roundtable
From left: Ed Ogaz, owner, Seco Spice; Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling; and Western Growers President and CEO Dave Puglia. Western Growers President and CEO Dave Puglia joined Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling in New Mexico last week for farm tours and a roundtable discussion focused on agricultural workforce challenges and the need for H-2A reform. In partnership…
Deadline Extended for 2026 Specialty Crop Multi-State Program Proposals
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has extended the deadline for proposals for the 2026 Specialty Crop Multi-State Program (SCMP) to Oct. 16, 2026, at 1:59 p.m. PT. The SCMP is a federal grant program administered by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service that supports collaborative, multi-state projects designed to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops.…
Beyond the Way We’ve Always Done It
Canadian startup Sami Robotics, the first Western Growers-sponsored resident at Reservoir Farms, is bringing a new generation of multifunctional harvesting robots to California fields. A few years ago, Sami Robotics Co-founder Eric Lapalme returned to his family farm where he grew up in Quebec. As an engineer, he had spent years developing technology and watching industries transform through…
“The Port That Farmers Built”
At the height of the supply chain crisis, cargo ships floated offshore for days, sometimes weeks, waiting to enter California ports. But not at the Port of Hueneme. There, containers kept moving. Trucks rolled in and out, perishables made their deadlines and exporters found space for freight that other ports couldn’t handle. While congestion dominated headlines across the industry, this…
Jordan Energy & Food Enterprises: Harvesting the Power of the Sun
For growers across the country, rising electricity costs continue to challenge already slim margins, making energy efficiency and sustainability more important than ever. But while solar energy has become an increasingly attractive solution, many agricultural operations face a major barrier before installation even begins: securing the financial resources to make large-scale energy investments…
Western Grower & Shipper Magazine Q3 2026 Digital Edition is Available Now
The Q3 2026 digital issue of the Western Grower & Shipper magazine is available for online viewing. In this issue's President's Notes, Western Growers President and CEO Dave Puglia examines the renewed push for federal agricultural labor reform and what the introduction of the Securing Agriculture's Workforce Act (SAWA) could mean for growers. Also in this issue, we celebrate California…