districts have come to learn more about the program, in and out of California,” Torosian-Klistoff said. To accommodate its growth, Fairmont has plans to expand its facilities and construct an $8 million, two-acre complex that will house dedicated areas for plant and animal sciences. The expansion also includes a 4,000-square-foot innovation lab, which will focus on water energy and robotics. The agricultural complex will be accessible to all 8,000 elementary school students in the Sanger Unified School District, Torosian-Klistoff said, adding that all of this wouldn’t have been possible without the community and the Grow the Legacy Foundation. ‘It’s our goal to expand a program like this to other schools,” Torosian-Klistoff said. “We want to be able to create a blueprint for other schools to implement in classrooms not just in California, but anywhere. No one is putting this kind of focus into their curriculum plans,” she said. Torosian-Klistoff explains that the program has been a momentous opportunity for students as they transition to high school, offering them additional pathways to agriculture. “Kids have a great opportunity to get their associate’s degree in high school, so now there are 20-year-old students who graduate and are already out in the field working in incredible ag careers,” she said.
Mulholland sees the program as a good way to bring more awareness to high-tech positions in the industry. “Technology has been evolving so quickly, and growers are having a harder time filling specialized roles that require a lot of technical skills. We see a push for ag curriculum in college to attract people with these specialized skills, but at the Fairmont, it’s starting way earlier. It’s not just focused on production agriculture; it’s high-tech and includes the affiliated components that go into agriculture,” she said. Torosian-Klistoff’s passion for education is driven by a simple yet powerful goal: to make school a place where students are excited to learn. “I want kids to love school. That’s the hook of what’s going to get them loving it. So that has been my mission,” she said. And so far, that mission has proven to be fruitful. “Knowing that my child genuinely loves and looks forward to school, finding an additional reason to be excited about learning—it’s a tremendous achievement,” Mulholland said. “My hope is that each one of these students becomes an advocate for agriculture and gains knowledge about where their food comes from, no matter what path they choose in life. At the very least, they will have learned the fundamentals of agriculture and developed a deep appreciation for it.”
WESTERN GROWERS OFFICERS – 2024 Stuart Woolf, Chair Rob Yraceburu, Vice Chair Neill Callis,Treasurer Don Cameron, Executive Secretary Dave Puglia, President and CEO DIRECTORS – 2024 GEORGE ADAM Innovative Produce, Santa Maria, California CRAIG ALAMEDA Topflavor Farms Inc, Salinas, California ALEXANDRA ALLEN Main Street Produce, Santa Maria, California CHAD AMARAL D’Arrigo Bros Co of Calif., Salinas, Calif. KEVIN ANDREW Illume Agriculture, Bakersfield, California ROBERT BARKLEY Barkley Ag Enterprises LLP, Yuma, Arizona STEPHEN BARNARD Mission Produce, Inc., Oxnard, California BARDIN BENGARD Bengard Ranch, Salinas, California BRIAN BERTELSEN Cove Ranch Management, Reedley, California GEORGE BOSKOVICH III Boskovich Farms, Oxnard, California RODNEY BRAGA Braga Ranch, Soledad, California NEILL CALLIS Turlock Fruit Company, Turlock, California DON CAMERON Terranova Ranch, Inc., Helm, California
EDWIN CAMP D. M. Camp & Sons, Bakersfield, California CAROL CHANDLER Chandler Farms LP, Selma, California LARRY COX Lawrence Cox Ranches, Brawley, California STEPHEN DANNA Danna Farms, Inc., Yuba City, California THOMAS DEARDORFF II Deardorff Family Farms, Oxnard, California TIMOTHY ESCAMILLA Bolthouse Fresh Foods, Bakersfield, California CATHERINE FANUCCHI Tri-Fanucchi Farms Inc., Bakersfield, California DAVID GILL Rio Farms, King City, California ROBERT GIRAGOSIAN Kern Ridge Growers, LLC, Arvin, California BRANDON GRIMM Grimmway Farms, Arvin, California JOHN JACKSON Beachside Produce, LLC, Nipomo, California TRACY JONES Booth Ranches, Orange Cove, California A. G. KAWAMURA Orange County Produce, LLC, Fullerton, California ALBERT KECK Hadley Date Gardens, Thermal, California J.P. LABRUCHERIE LaBrucherie Produce, El Centro, California STEPHEN MARTORI III Martori Farms, Scottsdale, Arizona HAROLD MCCLARTY HMC Farms, Kingsburg, California
DOMINIC MUZZI, JR. Muzzi Family Farms, LLC, Moss Landing, California THOMAS NUNES The Nunes Company, Inc., Salinas, California STEPHEN PATRICIO Westside Produce, Firebaugh, California JOHN POWELL, JR. Peter Rabbit Farms, Coachella, California RON RATTO Ratto Bros. Inc., Modesto, California CRAIG READE Bonipak Produce, Inc., Santa Maria, California ERIC REITER Reiter Affiliated Companies, Oxnard, California KYLE RICHARDSON Garry Richardson Farms, Bakersfield, California SONNY RODRIGUEZ The Growers Company, Inc., Somerton, Arizona BRUCE TALBOTT Talbott’s Mountain Gold, LLP, Palisade, Colorado RYAN TALLEY Talley Farms, Arroyo Grande, California BRUCE TAYLOR Taylor Farms Calif., Salinas, California JACK VESSEY Vessey and Company Inc, Holtville, California MIKE WAY Prime Time International, Coachella, California STUART WOOLF Woolf Farming & Processing, Fresno, California ROB YRACEBURU Wonderful Orchards, Shafter, California
19 Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com November | December 2024
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