I have discovered that as I near retirement, I have become more introspective. The song, “Seasons of Love,” asks a thoughtful question: “How do you measure a year?” Lately, I have found myself asking a similar philosophical question: “How do you measure a career?” On February 1, 2020, I will step down as president and ...
Few things make me cringe more than being told, “That’s the way it’s always been done.” It represents a way of thinking that can stifle imagination, innovation and creativity, and in any competitive marketplace it almost always leads to failure. We take great care here at Western Growers to continually ask ourselves, and our members, ...
For this column, I would like to step back from my usual focus on agricultural policy and touch on a subject of profound personal significance. Given my Lebanese heritage and deep involvement in the Orthodox Church, I am particularly sensitive to the plight of Christians in the Middle East. This recent story really got to ...
As the year draws to a close, it is an important exercise to step back and reflect on the direction of the association and to answer for our members the most fundamental question: “Why do we do what we do?” If you are not already aware, the Western Growers organizational model is dramatically different from ...
As individual business owners and operators, you are following that American example by banding together as Western Growers members to ensure you do not get a raw deal from the powers-that-be: from one voice to many voices — e pluribus unum. That is the motto of the United States of America and that’s a motto Western Growers has also followed for almost 90 years. Didn’t we…
As part of The Packer’s 125-year anniversary special, Western Growers President/CEO Tom Nassif identified several keys to the future success of agriculture. An excerpt of the article is below: “My 17 years of service to the produce industry as President and CEO of Western Growers have been marked a steady erosion of support for farmers, ...
In a recent interview on Agri-Pulse’s Open Mic show, I reiterated my support for President Trump’s stated objectives on recasting American trade policy. The international trade playing field is fundamentally unfair to the U.S., and many countries have for decades taken advantage of us. It is imperative that the administration seek fairer trade agreements for ...
Upon the passing of Senator John McCain – a true American patriot and hero – this past Saturday, the Western Growers family wishes to extend its deepest condolences and collective prayers to his family. While it is difficult to encapsulate the full impact of the life and career of Senator McCain, which will reverberate for ...
Recently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released a trade mitigation plan that falls substantially short of making fruit, vegetable and tree nut farmers whole for the damages they have incurred, and will continue to incur, as a result of the trade war with China. In this video, Western Growers provides an initial analysis of the ...
The inaugural AgSharks™ Competition took place last week at our Western Growers Annual Meeting in Las Vegas, and the outcome was both unexpected and sensational! Six agtech start-up companies pitched their technologies—everything from robots that cart berries up and down the field to little sachets that reduce decay and extend the shelf life of fresh ...
The wildfires in Southern California continue to rage on and dominate the news. People from all walks of life have been threatened and many have experienced significant losses, including many in the agriculture industry. Unfortunately, Western Growers’ members have not been spared. In response to the fires and to several media inquiries made, Tom Nassif, president ...
Recently Senator Feinstein has come under fire for comments she made concerning the need to have “patience” with respect to President Trump. Senator Feinstein was expressing her hope, which she admitted was perhaps fleeting, that President Trump can become a better President than he has, in her opinion, shown to date. Since making those comments ...
Two recent court judgments against the United Farm Workers (UFW) have floated past most of the news media, and apparently our elected lawmakers in Sacramento, without a hint of irony. In March, the Monterey County Superior Court awarded more than $1.1 million in penalties and unpaid wages against the UFW stemming from a class action ...
Thousands of California farmers today feel like the mythological Cassandra, daughter of the King of Troy. Her beauty caught the eye of Apollo, who felt compelled to give the princess a gift – the ability to see the future. However, when Apollo’s love for her was unrequited, the Greek god cursed Cassandra so that no one would believe her prophecies. Thus, she was forced to live the rest of…
As Election Day approaches in a couple of weeks, I wanted to take a moment to talk about a proposition that, if passed, will not be sound economic policy for California. I usually don’t agree with editorials by the San Francisco Chronicle, but their “Chronicle recommends: No on state Prop. 55” hits the nail on ...
Heated presidential elections are nothing new in the annals of American politics. Consider one of our earliest contests in 1800 between incumbent John Adams and challenger (and then-vice president) Thomas Jefferson, two of the most highly-esteemed Founding Fathers of our country. During the campaign, Adams asked voters if they were prepared to see their “dwellings ...
There is a severe ag labor shortage and it’s only going to get worse. Changing demographics and stringent regulatory barriers are causing the flow of workers crossing the border to dramatically slow down. These are the workers that help us harvest our crops—the workers that are crucial in providing the nutritious fruits and vegetables that ...
I recently ran across an article by Elliot Abrams that hit close to home: The United States Bars Christian, Not Muslim, Refugees From Syria. Abrams notes how “the United States has accepted 10,801 Syrian refugees, of whom 56 are Christian. Not 56 percent; 56 total, out of 10,801.”
Did you know that each year there are 60,000 new job openings in agriculture but we only have 35,000 graduates to fill them? As surprising as this statistic is, it’s absolutely true and reinforces how we need to address the workforce shortage today if we want to continue to have a nutritious and uninterrupted food ...
During President Trump’s first 100 days in office, I plan to regularly blog about how his administration’s policies regarding issues such as healthcare, tax reform, immigration and trade will affect ag and ag-related businesses. To kick off this series, I wanted to delve into what Trump’s executive order concerning the Affordable Care Act (ACA) means ...