Posts By: Tim Linden
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Novihum: Making Soil Better
By Tim Linden It’s a simple catch phrase but Novihum Technologies claims that its signature product—a soil enhancer—lives up to the company’s motto, “We make soil better.” In the late 1990s and early 2000s, researchers at the Dresden University of Technology in Germany invented a soil enhancer based on modified lignite, a combustible, sedimentary rock. ...
Colorado Legislator Profile: Senator Michael Bennet — Focusing on Ag Issues
Senator Bennet, a Democrat, was first appointed to a vacant seat in the U.S. Senate to represent Colorado in 2009. He was elected in 2010 and re-elected in 2016. What legislation are you most focused on passing during the 117th Congress? As Congress turns its attention to an infrastructure package to create jobs and grow ...
Varietal Research: Still a Laborious Effort…Albeit on a Faster Track
By Tim Linden Building that better variety is a time-consuming endeavor, but over the years seed breeders have developed techniques to target desirable traits and speed up the process. Though these efforts can shave several years off a successful launch of a new variety, development is still measured in years with five years appearing to ...
Ag Leadership Program Alters Career Path
By Tim Linden Director profile: Loren Booth, President, Booth Ranches, Orange Cove, CA WG Board Member 2009-2012, 2021-present Otis Booth Jr. inherited a 40-acre citrus ranch in the San Joaquin Valley from his maternal grandfather in the 1950s and became an absentee owner and investor, while he raised his family in the Los Angeles area ...
WG ANNUAL MEETING 2021: ‘Grow Together’ at the Fairmont in San Diego
We’re back!!! Western Growers will hold its 2021 Annual Meeting at the Fairmont Grand Del Mar in San Diego, from November 7-10, as the western produce industry celebrates the return of in-person events with a robust program. “We are looking forward to greeting everyone in San Diego,” said Western Growers CEO and President Dave Puglia. ...
WG’s H-2A Effort Continues to Expand
By Tim Linden It is no secret that the United States is currently facing a tremendous labor shortage as employers all over the country are having trouble finding workers to fill vacant slots. Welcome to production agriculture, which has been dealing with an acute labor shortage for many years. The problem has been increasing over ...
Collaboration Focus of WGCIT
By Tim Linden When the Western Growers Center for Innovation & Technology was launched in 2015, the concept had already been proven in several other industries: bring technology innovators together with industry users to create new solutions to age-old problems. But the fruit and vegetable industry did not have its own incubator until WGCIT was ...
Director Profile: Boskovich Follows Well Worn Path to Company Business
George Boskovich III, Boskovich Farms and Fresh Prep By Tim Linden “When I was in high school, I mentioned to my dad that it would only be a couple more years before I would be working full time for Boskovich Farms,” recalls George Boskovich III, the fourth generation of the family tree involved in agriculture. ...
A Legacy of Peaches on the Western Slope…and Much More
Bruce Talbott, Talbott’s Mountain Gold, Palisade, CO Colorado Member Profile Member since February 24, 2014 A Family Migrates: In the first several decades of the 20th century, the state of Colorado tried to entice residents of Iowa to relocate to the Rocky Mountain State claiming that it had an abundance of “good air and good ...
WGCIT Sponsor: Duda Farm Fresh Foods – Collaboration Key to Technology Effort
By Tim Linden For Sammy Duda, sponsoring the efforts of the Western Growers Center for Innovation & Technology is a simple equation that boils down to strength in numbers. “How do you tackle these issues except with collaboration?” he asked. He noted that the larger issues facing production agriculture—labor and water shortages and the need ...
A Bit of Normalcy Returns to Ag Legal Battles
By Tim Linden There is no question that 2020 was a year like no other and that also permeated the legal work associated with the business of agriculture. “Last year was all about COVID,” said Jason Resnick, Senior Vice President & General Counsel for Western Growers. “We are not yet living in a post-COVID world, ...
California Legislator Profile: John Laird — A Life of Public Service
California State Senator John Laird representing District 17, which includes Santa Cruz and San Luis Obispo Counties, as well as Portions of Monterey and Santa Clara Counties John Laird, who was elected to the California State Senate on November 3, 2020, has had a lifetime of public service that began more than 40 years ago ...
Drought Triggers Cuts to Arizona Water Supply
By Tim Linden On August 16, in their annual report on the level of Hoover Dam’s Lake Mead, federal officials revealed that the water level has fallen to a point that automatically triggers cuts in Arizona’s water deliveries for 2022. Arizona Department of Water Resources Director Tom Buschatzke told Western Grower & Shipper that the ...
Director Profile: Organic Pioneer Has Deep Salinas Valley Roots
Rod Braga, President/CEO Braga Ranch Director since 2020 | Member since 1977 By Tim Linden Family History: Sebastian and Josie Braga began farming in the Soledad region of the Salinas Valley in 1928 with fresh vegetables and dairy products forming the core of their business. A cattle operation was added later. Ninety-three years later their ...
WGCIT SPONSOR: Prime Time Interested in Varietal Research
By Tim Linden Mike Way, managing partner of Coachella, Calif.-based Prime Time International Inc., is very appreciative of the interactions he has had with the Western Growers Center for Innovation & Technology. “This is our fifth year as a sponsor,” he said. “First of all, we got involved because we see the need for innovation ...
Vic Smith to be Honored at OGS
By Tim Linden Longtime Western Growers Board Member Vic Smith of JV Smith Companies will be honored with the Organic Grower of the Year award at the Organic Grower Summit on Thursday, December 2 in Monterey, Calif. The event, which includes Western Growers as the presenting sponsor, will be held at the Hyatt Regency Dec. ...
Arizona Legislator Working on Long-Range Water Solutions
By Tim Linden When water officials for the federal government revealed in mid-August that, for the first time in history, there will be a cutback in water deliveries to Arizona starting January 1, many people saw dark skies ahead. But not everyone. “We had planned for it,” said Arizona State Representative Tim Dunn of Yuma. ...
Western Growers Celebrates 95th Anniversary: Adaptation Key to Longevity
By Tim Linden It has long been told that Western Growers began its life as the Western Growers Protective Association on March 9, 1926, to represent the interests of shippers of western produce before the Interstate Commerce Commission. The ICC was created in 1887 by the U.S. Congress to regulate railroad carriers and the rates ...
Organic Grower Summit Shines in Monterey
By Tim Linden The December Organic Grower Summit, which featured Western Growers as its presenting sponsor, showcased a plethora of WG members throughout the duration of the Monterey, Calif. event. Longtime WG Board Member Vic Smith of JV Smith Companies received the Organic Grower of the Year award, WG President and CEO Dave Puglia and ...
Agtech Startup Spotlight: 3Bar Biologics Focused on Delivering Biologicals to the Field
By Tim Linden A key problem with biologicals is that by the time they move through the supply chain they have often lost much of their effectiveness. At least that is the view of Bruce Caldwell, CEO and Founder of 3Bar Biologics, a company that was designed to solve that problem and, in fact, won ...