For farmers, maintaining and improving the land is not a task that can be addressed and set aside after a few years. Farmers have a generational perspective, with a history of their land that can span 25, 50, 75 years and beyond. Braga Fresh President and CEO Rod Braga’s dedication to this approach has established him as an industry leader and trailblazer in sustainable agriculture.

“I often tell people when they talk about sustainability that it was really how my grandfather and father taught me to take care of the land,” Braga said. “They never used the words ‘sustainable,’ ’regenerative’ or ‘organic,’ but everything that defines those things is what we were taught to do, from rotations to proper tillage to cover cropping. Those practices ensured that we kept the soil in good condition. We’re very proud that on our home ranch, the soil today is in better condition than when my grandfather started farming it nearly a century ago.”

Since its beginnings in 1928, Braga Fresh, based in Soledad, Calif., has established itself as a leader in the fresh produce industry, operating a fully integrated company with multiple growing, processing and shipping locations throughout California, Nevada, Arizona and Mexico. Today, 70 percent of its acreage is organic.

Achieving this success has been a multi generational effort, originating with the vision instilled by Braga’s grandfather, Sebastian, when he immigrated to the United States from Switzerland in 1918. He and his wife Josie started growing row crops in the Salinas Valley. In 1937, Sebastian purchased what is referred to now as the Braga home ranch in Soledad. They built a homestead raising dairy cattle and growing lettuce, celery, cauliflower, sugar beets, tomatoes, onions, hay and corn.

By the early 1950s, Sebastian and Josie’s sons Ernest, Stanley, and Rod Braga’s father Norman, joined the business, during which time the company shifted its cattle operation from dairy to beef and expanded its vegetable operations.

In the early 1990s, the Braga family started transitioning the first ground into organic production. Rod, his brother Chris, and his cousins Marshall and Carson, joined the business in the 1990s, and in 2013 created Braga’s organic brand Josie’s Organics, a nod to Rod’s “Nonnie” Josie. However, Rod’s contributions on the farm started much earlier.

Instead of playing with models of toy cars and trucks on his living room floor, Rod was behind the wheel of his family’s tractor at the age of eight. He recalls driving the tractor for the irrigators who were responsible for picking up and putting down pipe in the fields. “I couldn’t imagine putting my kids on those tractors at that age, but it was common practice back then,” he said.

Braga remembers being on the ranch with his grandfather and father, learning the value of hard work and the importance of having a presence on the farm.

“They wanted us to learn and be able to do all the jobs everyone else was doing,” he said. “This is hard, physical work every day, and it gave me a lot of respect for those who do that work. My grandfather and father would always say, ‘You can’t run this operation by yourself. You need fantastic people working with you, and you have to treat them well.’ We’re especially proud of all those who have been with us for 40- and 50-plus years. We know they have worked for us because they are respected, and that’s the most important thing.”

This year, Braga will be 2023’s recipient of the Organic Grower Summit’s Grower of the Year award. The annual event, which will take place Nov. 29-30, 2023, at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel & Spa in Monterey, Calif., provides growers with firsthand knowledge and information in areas ranging from agtech to food safety and sustainability. Braga was selected based on his ongoing commitment and dedication to excellence in organic production, industry leadership and innovation.

Matt Seeley, Co-Founder and CEO of OPN, said, “We are honored to present the annual Grower of the Year award to Rod Braga, truly a grower’s grower. His decades long work exemplifies what hardworking, passionate organic farming means to the success of his family farm and to California agriculture. Rod has worked tirelessly to encourage water conservation, natural methods for pest control, and always finds ways to share information about those practices with other organic farmers. And now, looking beyond organic, Rod is an early adopter of regenerative farming methods and is leading the way in by applying past principles to ensure future sustainability. This dedication to the environment and community is what makes him so deserving of the title of Grower of
the Year.”

In addition to a successful career on the farm, Braga works in his community to support local families. Braga said, “It’s more than just running a business. We want to be an integral part of our communities because that’s where our team members live. We know there needs to be adequate housing, good schools and safe environments for our team members.”

Braga currently serves on the Western Growers Board of Directors, is a former board member of the Grower Shipper Association, a founding board member of the Pacific Valley Bank in Monterey County and a former board member of the Natividad Hospital in Salinas, Calif. During his tenure as board member of Natividad Hospital, he facilitated in bringing a trauma center to the hospital and helped it attain strong financial footing.

“The hospital services a lot of people, including our team members and their families, so it’s very important to have a strong medical facility in our county, and I’m very proud of what they’ve been able to accomplish,” he said.

Being recognized as Grower of the Year for Braga extends beyond his personal accomplishments and contributions on and off the farm. “This is really a recognition for our entire team, which is about 1,900 people strong,” he said. “I want to embrace this moment and use it to thank our entire team. I think they’ll take a lot of pride in this recognition.”

For Braga, the company is rooted in its core principles of farming with integrity, respecting people and preserving the land on which it grows. “Without any of those things, we certainly wouldn’t be where we are today,” he said