Posts By: Stephanie Metzinger
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Women on the Front Lines of Leadership at Booth Ranches
The world is currently facing a pandemic that has severely shaken every industry, company and employee. It is during these high stress situations that a company’s workforce either flourishes or falters. Luckily for Loren Booth, she had the right players in place before coronavirus infiltrated the world. These employees are leading the charge in adapting ...
The Warriors: Men & Women Who are Changing the Face of Agriculture
War, by definition, is a sustained effort to deal with or end a particularly unpleasant or undesirable situation. With war, inaction is not an option. This is especially true in agriculture, where inaction puts the nation’s food supply in jeopardy. There is a myriad of passionate agri-warriors across the United States who are fighting for ...
Meet your Future Volunteer Leaders: Kristen Smith Eshaya
Kristen Smith Eshaya (Communications Director & Risk Management Specialist, JV Smith Companies) has worked for JV Smith Companies in Yuma, AZ, as Communications Director and Risk Management Specialist since October 2017. She has optimized insurance programs for the entire JV Smith Family of companies spanning four states and two countries. Kristen has facilitated leadership development…
Meet your Future Volunteer Leaders: Philip Adam
A seventh-generation California farmer, Philip Adam (Chief Operating Officer, Innovative Produce) has worked with his family for the past nine years in Santa Maria, excelling in every aspect of the business from moving sprinkler pipe to research and development. Prior to joining Innovative Produce, he was a financial analyst for Corporate Finance Associates. Philip has ...
Doomscrolling Stops Here: How Ag Companies Can Flip the Script While Strengthening Their Brand
Business tycoon Warren Buffett said, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.” His teaching rings even more true in today’s “new normal,” where COVID-19 has significantly increased the use of technology, digital platforms and social media. When coronavirus triggered a nationwide lockdown in March 2020 and consumers were ...
Naïo Delivers Autonomous Weeding Robots
While driving down the road through the iconic Salinas fog, all looks normal in Monterey County at first glance. Endless rows of lettuce, strawberries, and broccoli line the fields; farmers survey the grounds, meticulously checking on the crops, soil and equipment; and farmworkers span the fields, rapidly preparing for planting and harvesting. But then a ...
Walt Duflock on Leading Innovation in 2021
In October 2020, Walt Duflock was selected to lead Western Growers’ (WG) innovation efforts. He will be focused on accelerating agtech for WG member companies, expanding the footprint of the WG Center for Innovation & Technology, and so much more. Q. What are your priorities this first year? A. Innovation in two directions: labor and ...
The New Faces of Ag: Young Farmers Making a Difference
By Stephanie Metzinger, Communications Manager The United States is currently undergoing an extreme societal shift, as Baby Boomers (U.S. adults born 1946 to 1964) continue to retire and Millennials (born 1981 to 1996) have now become the largest generation in the labor force. According to the Pew Research Center, in the third quarter of 2020, ...
What’s Trending: 5 “Musts” for Managing a Crisis Using Social Media
“Hoarders” quickly went from a popular television program to a stark reality earlier this year when states around the nation urged residents to “shelter-in-place” to flatten the curve and prevent the spread of COVID-19. When the quarantine orders started rolling into effect, citizens flocked to their local supermarkets buying food items in mass quantities. As ...
Evolving Beyond Horse and Buggy, Farmers Looked to as Business Mavens
By Stephanie Metzinger Manager, Communication, Western Growers For generations, growers across the United States have masterfully responded to the ebb and flow of massive global transitions to continue to provide food for the world, carry on their farm legacies and contribute to the nation’s economic success. In 2017, the agriculture and food sector contributed $1.053 ...
Meet Your Future Volunteer Leaders: Tracy Jones
Tracy Jones Chief Operating Officer/Senior Vice President of Sales, Booth Ranches Since graduating from Fresno State in 2002, Tracy has been a force to be reckoned with in the agricultural industry. She started in packing and shipping and has since excelled in various sales and marketing positions within this industry. Providing good produce and collaborating ...
Meet your Future Volunteer Leaders: Mason Brady
Mason Brady Chief Financial Officer/Director of Supply Chain, Homegrown Organic Farms Mason is a finance and operations leader who is part of the knockout team producing some of the best organic produce on the planet. Prior to joining Homegrown Organic Farms, he worked as operations manager for Pro Citrus Network as well as in Chile ...
iTradeNetwork Promises Supply Chain Solutions
By Stephanie Metzinger Manager, Communication, Western Growers When iTradeNetwork formed in 1999, its mission was simple: to help companies in fresh perishables leave pen-and-paper ordering processes behind and embrace digital procurement. What started as a modest idea has now morphed into a sophisticated system that can construct a complete end-to-end story of a commodity’s path ...
5 Facts You Didn’t Know about Innovation at Grimmway Farms
Bakersfield-based Grimmway Farms is the classic story of “How it Started…How it’s Going.” Grimmway originally launched in the 1960s as a small produce stand opened by the Grimm brothers, selling corn to the local community. Today, it produces more than 65 seasonal and year-round products distributed globally and ranks as the world’s largest producer of ...
WG to Advance Harvest Automation through Global Initiative
Automating 50% of harvest throughout the fruit, vegetable and nut industry within 10 years is the goal of the new Western Growers Global Harvest Automation Initiative (GHAI). “What we’ve been able to do, and today’s assemblance is demonstrative of it, is collect the right players across the grower-shipper-processor, VC/investor and industry partner segments to envision ...
What’s Trending: Leveraging Current Events, Holidays for Massive Wins
From Easter to Election Day and beyond, holidays and current events provide companies a prime opportunity to cultivate and grow an engaged audience. By building a digital campaign around a specific date or cause, you can create a far-reaching movement that spurs people to action. In fact, this strategy can also result in gaining more ...
Meet Your Future Volunteer Leaders: Rocky Hampton
Rocky Hampton, manager at Lidco, Inc., has been entrenched in the agricultural industry since graduating from Biola University in 2010. He is a sales veteran in all facets of the business—everything from promoting agronomy lab services to selling remote irrigation monitoring equipment and farm drainage systems. Fun “Rocky” Facts: Rocky is active in supporting local ...
Meet Your Future Volunteer Leaders: Colby Pereira
Colby Pereira serves as vice president of operations at Braga Fresh Family Farms, supporting the overall farming and harvest operations. She has a keen focus on employee health and safety and has diligently led the farm’s COVID-19 response team. Colby is a proud native of Soledad, CA, and uses her extensive background in agriculture to ...
Shop Talk: The Behind-the-Scenes Champions Driving Ag Evolution
Nike and its iconic swoosh. Jeff Bezos and his trillion-dollar Amazon. McDonald’s and those famous golden arches. When thinking of successful companies, their logos, taglines, owners’ names and key products are the first to spring to mind. Often understated, however, are the hardworking individuals who quietly work backstage to innovate new products, cultivate relationships with ...
Ocean Mist Musings on Agtech: 7 Observations on Spurring Ag Innovation
Walking up and down the grocery store aisles, various shades of green start to blend beautifully together as you reach the fresh produce section. In the sea of green, your eyes gravitate toward a flower-shaped vegetable adorned with soft yet crunchy petals that gently protect an earthy-flavored heart: the artichoke. According to the California Department ...