Posts By: Stephanie Metzinger
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Western Growers Statement on Letter of Undertaking Required by Chinese Customs
IRVINE, Calif., (June 26, 2020) — In response to reports that Chinese Customs is requiring a Letter of Undertaking of Safety of Import Food for food shipments, Western Growers President & CEO Dave Puglia issued the following statement: “The recent move by Chinese authorities to require a statement of undertaking for food importers is not ...
Western Growers AgTech Center Announces First International Partner
Western Growers Center for Innovation & Technology expands global reach with partnership from Canadian Government IRVINE, Calif. (July 30, 2020) – The Western Growers Center for Innovation & Technology (WGCIT), a California-based incubator dedicated to accelerating the development of agricultural technologies, is pleased to announce the Government of Canada as its first international…
Western Growers Partners with Agri-TechE Ecosystem to Accelerate Field Harvest Automation
IRVINE, Calif. (November 2, 2020) – Western Growers Center for Innovation & Technology (WGCIT), a premier U.S.-based agtech incubator, and Agri-TechE, the leading UK agri-tech innovation network, have partnered to accelerate innovation in field harvest automation. The partnership will focus on connecting farmers, scientists, academics, technologists and entrepreneurs in both the…
Western Growers Hires Robert Medler as New Arizona Government Affairs Manager
IRVINE, Calif. (January 19, 2021) – Western Growers (WG) is pleased to announce the addition of Robert Medler as Arizona Government Affairs Manager. Medler brings nearly 15 years of government relations experience and will represent the most influential specialty crop producers in the fresh produce industry in the Arizona State Capitol. “We are very excited ...
Western Growers Launches Global Harvest Automation Initiative
Groundbreaking initiative aims to accelerate ag automation by 50 percent in 10 years IRVINE, Calif. (April 15, 2021) – Western Growers (WG) is spearheading a Global Harvest Automation Initiative (GHAI) to accelerate harvest automation across the fresh produce industry, with a goal of automating 50 percent of harvest within 10 years. “For well over a decade, our ...
Western Growers Selects 13 Innovation Companies for First Harvest Automation Cohort
Teams with potential to rapidly accelerate agricultural automation have been selected by farming and tech giants to participate in first-ever Global Harvest Automation Initiative cohort IRVINE, Calif. (May 17, 2021) – Western Growers has selected 13 innovators for the inaugural cohort of its Global Harvest Automation Initiative (GHAI), a groundbreaking project that aims to automate ...
Western Growers Launches AgTechX Ed Initiative with CDFA Secretary Karen Ross
Statewide workforce readiness campaign to cultivate agricultural workforce equipped with skills needed to navigate new on-farm technology IRVINE, Calif. (June 2, 2021) – Western Growers (WG) has teamed with Karen Ross, California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Secretary, to launch a statewide initiative aimed at developing a future workforce with the skills and knowledge ...
Five Startups Vie for $250K Seed Funding in AgSharks Pitch Competition
IRVINE, Calif. (October 28, 2021) – Out of more than 100 applicants, five agtech start-up companies have been selected to go head-to-head in the Western Growers/S2G Ventures 2021 AgSharks® Competition to win a $250,000 minimum investment and potential access to farm acreage to pilot their technologies. These startups, which are all developing systems and technologies ...
GMOs To Label or Not…That is the Question
Discussions about the labeling of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) were abuzz in the hallways following the “GMO: What’s on Your Label” workshop at the Western Growers 90th Annual Meeting in San Diego this November. Led by a group of industry experts, the workshop engaged the audience in an informative and lively dialogue about the potential ...
NEW MEDIA & AGRICULTURE: From Felfies to Agvocating, Agriculture Can Harvest Benefits of Social Media
In an era when one billion people are starting conversations on Facebook, 320 million people are checking the latest news on Twitter and 300 hours of new video are uploaded to YouTube every minute, social media is giving agriculture a voice and influence. The rapid development of social media platforms gives the specialty crop industry ...
WG INNOVATION CENTER: HeavyConnect Builds Technology Out of Farming
It all started with a “How to Start a Business in 6 Weeks” course. After supporting product design development and deployment for different farm equipment manufacturers for more than a decade, Patrick Zelaya started to notice a trend. “Technologies that were being developed for the equipment weren’t solving major operational challenges for farmers,” he said. ...
CROP PROTECTION TOOLS: Battle to Protect Products Heats Up
Without crop protectants, up to 40 percent of the world’s food production would be lost to pests and diseases. So why is the government constantly trying to take away our crop protection tools? Western Growers has a long history of advocating for the registration and safe use of pesticides that are critical in the production ...
Concentric Power: Delivers Innovative Energy Savings Model
Brian Curtis’ passion for clean energy in the food industry spurs from having been raised in the Salinas Valley and being exposed at an early age to cooling and refrigeration systems on surrounding farms. “I grew up around coolers my whole life,” he says. Curtis, the founder and CEO of Concentric Power Inc., recognized a ...
Food Safety Data: Anytime, Anywhere
Providing real-time food safety data at your fingertips is just one part of iFoodDecisionSciences’ business model. “Our team’s passion to serve the industry, our dedication to helping our clients deliver their produce in a safe and timely manner is above and beyond,” said Diane Wetherington, CEO of iFoodDecisionSciences. “We can get a call from a ...
THE THRIVE PROGRAM: Accelerating Toward an Innovative Ag Future
Hearts are racing, palms are clammy and nerves are out of control. As the initial beads of sweat drop down contestants’ foreheads, the first team of agtech innovators begins to pitch their idea to the judges. Start-up companies from around the world pitched their hearts out on March 22-23 to earn a coveted spot in ...
Farm Management Conservis: Using Data to Drive Decisions
In the last seven years, a new paradigm has arrived: a powerful combination of cloud-based software and proactive customer service to automate, track and optimize all facets of a farmer’s business. It’s called Enterprise Ag Management, and Conservis is leading the way. The Foundation Conservis, led by CEO Pat Christie, was conceived after a ...
POLLUTION REDUCTION Proposal Is All Stick and No Carrot
At the time of this writing, Senate Bill 1383—a bill opposed by Western Growers that threatens to eliminate emissions reductions incentives and increase costs for farmers—is making its way through the Senate and is likely to be heard in the Assembly this summer. SB 1383, by Senator Ricardo Lara (D – Bell Gardens), would require ...
HARVESTPORT: The Airbnb of Farm Equipment
Wipe the dust off that tractor sitting idle on the farm. There is now an online marketplace where farmers can rent out their equipment not currently being used for harvest—and it’s called HarvestPort. HarvestPort helps farmers monetize idle equipment during their off-season. “Agribusinesses are not realizing the millions of dollars that could be earned from ...
A Family Tradition: Reiter Brothers Build a Berry Legacy
On a late summer afternoon more than 50 years ago, Miles and Garland Reiter had just finished up a hard day’s work on the farm and jumped into their Jeep to head to the barn. Garland dared his older brother Miles to hop onto the back of the car and when he did, Garland hit ...
Forbes AgTech Summit Learning to Do More with Less through Innovation
Old town Salinas was transformed into an agtech hub on July 13-14 when the most ambitious and auspicious of innovations were showcased during the 2016 Forbes AgTech Summit. This exciting event brought together more than 600 fresh produce leaders, Silicon Valley’s technology industry, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists to network and discuss solutions to the most ...