Posts By: Stephanie Metzinger
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Brand Journalism Puts Companies in the Publicity Driver’s Seat
What is brand journalism, and why should you care about it? Because traditional media is dying, and brand journalism offers a way for you to tell your story, the way you want it told. The weekday circulation for daily newspapers—both print and digital—in the United States dropped 8 percent in 2016, marking the 28th consecutive ...
As Boomers Retire, Latchkey Kids Become New Face of Farming
While the time-honored tradition of passing the family farm from one generation to the next holds strong, the scene on today’s farm is much different than what may have been familiar in the past. These days, you are just as likely to see a young farmer swiping quickly through multiple screens on a smartphone as ...
Declining Bee Populations Ignite Swarm of Tech Innovation to Save Global Ag
Cruising through California’s San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys in late February, you will see orchards lined with almond tree buds that have burst into lush pink and white blooms in preparation for pollination. Honey bees buzz from tree to tree foraging for nectar, while pollinating the sea of almond blossoms along the way. Come September, ...
Breaking the Stereotype: Women Who Are Defying the Odds in Agriculture
By Stephanie Metzinger In a society where stereotypes and myths are king, tales of heroines can often be overlooked. Social norms have long dictated how women are seen in the workplace, stymying the potential for significant progress in gender equality. These perceptions perpetuate phenomena such as the “gender gap” and “glass ceiling”—the invisible barrier to ...
AGTools: Real-Time Data Tech Improves Bottom Line for Farmers
By Stephanie Metzinger On any given day, farmers face a number of unpredictable variables that can take a heavy toll on their bottom line, including labor strikes, changes in consumer preferences, currency swings, drastic weather conditions, market crop pricing and more. A predictive analytics startup has come up with a tool that aggregates immense amounts ...
“Game-Think” Transforming How Information is Consumed
As you insert the coin in the arcade game, you ready your fingers to quickly and nimbly move around the maze. You swipe the joystick right, right, right, then up, up, up. Your goal? To swiftly maneuver your PAC-MAN around the screen, capturing as many small yellow dots as possible while avoiding the brightly colored ...
Disruption on the Farm AgTech Balances Tradition and Technology
Farmers are tasked with the critical job of feeding billions more people while simultaneously battling challenges around stricter regulations, new consumer preferences, and environmental sustainability. With the rapid development of technology, they can now fight this arduous battle with more tools in their toolbox. Agriculture has always had a relationship with technology, but it wasn’t…
Ganaz Connects Farmers with Farmworkers to Cultivate Employee Loyalty
“I have 1,000 workers and have no way to tell them that it’s raining and work is canceled, and if they show up I have to pay them for their time.” “I don’t have an easy way to call back my seasonal workers to be sure they return this year, other than having my foremen ...
INDUSTRY FIRSTS: Five Innovative Ag Practices that are Changing the World
At a time when the world’s population is soaring—to an estimated 9.7 billion in 2020—and natural resources are quickly depleting, farmers are now faced with crushing weather conditions that are affecting their ability to grow food in a sustainable way. In just the past few years, the United States has seen wildfires blanket regions throughout ...
From Down Under to the U.S., TracMap Delivers Precision Spray Application
When Colin Brown stepped off the plane into the soothing overcast haze that blanketed Monterey County’s farm fields, he knew this is where his agtech company, TracMap, had to be. TracMap originally launched in New Zealand in 2005, and after 10 years of success in offering growers a system that ensured the right fields, blocks ...
Turning Today’s STEM Students into Tomorrow’s Ag Extraordinaires
A skilled labor deficit is plaguing the nation’s agriculture industry as more growers are turning to mechanization and digitization to bolster operations on the farm. There are an average of 60,000 openings for high-skill, ag-related jobs annually but only 35,000 graduates to fill them, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. These jobs typically require ...
Agriculture Provides Gateway to Achieve American Dream
The American Dream, the idea that anyone, regardless of social class or location of birth, can attain prosperity through perseverance and hard work, has inspired the migration of millions of people from around the world to the United States. Though the term was not officially coined until it appeared in James Truslow Adams’ best-selling novel, ...
The Advocates: A Week in the Life of Western Growers’ DC Lobbyists
“Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” – The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution Lobbying is a vital part of American democracy and helps ensure that grievances that threaten the livelihood of individuals or an industry are heard and, ideally, resolved. This tool is ...
The Fresh Produce Industry’s New Chief Advocate
Dave Puglia is a political veteran and public policy expert and now the leader of one of the most influential trade associations in agriculture The blaring ring from the phone pierces through the hotel room, nearly knocking the headset off of its base. A second ring sends vibrations that echo off the walls, nearly knocking ...
12 Agriculture Leaders Who Are Transforming the World
The United States has the largest economy in the world and has retained this impressive position since 1871. The U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) in 2018 amounted to $20.58 trillion and is only expected to increase in the coming years, with a GDP forecast to exceed nearly $25 trillion in 2024. For comparison, the GDP ...
24 Hours with Tony Bova: Chemist turned entrepreneur, founder of mobius and winner of the 2019 AgSharks Competition
Tony Bova’s fascination with renewable energy truly sparked when he and his good friend, Jeff Beegle, decided, on a whim, to participate in a startup pitch competition during their undergrad at the University of Toledo. The pair, who met in 2012 while conducting academic research for the State of Ohio, joined a team of students ...
WG Members Support Transformative Change in Education through Philanthropy
By Stephanie Metzinger Education is an engine of possibilities. It has the power to create change, generate new career opportunities and result in economic development for future generations. That is why, throughout the United States and around the world, many have invested in education through philanthropic efforts. According to a study completed by the American ...
Forward-Thinking Leadership Propels WG Founding Member Jack Bros. into 100 Years of Success
By Stephanie Metzinger Plant. Water. Harvest. Repeat. Jack Bros., Inc. has mastered this technique, making the exact calculations needed to achieve longevity and success. For more than a century, the Jack family has made it a common practice to be ahead of the curve by anticipating changes and utilizing the latest technologies. “Our farm is ...
The WGCIT Turns 5: A Look Back At Its First Years
It’s been nearly five years since Western Growers shook the future of farming as it set out to open one of the first agricultural technology centers in the United States. December 10, 2015, marked an important moment in agtech history as the Western Growers Center for Innovation & Technology (WGCIT) became the only technology center ...
Revitalized Grower Trial Network Provides “Star Alliance” Access and Opportunity
By Stephanie Metzinger Powering up the computer to see perfectly rectangular boxes with familiar faces peeking through, tiled one after the next, has become the new norm. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck and hosting in-person gatherings was ill-advised, video conferencing became a common practice. Events and meetings across the world went virtual, opening the floodgates ...