ALL IN THE FAMILY
ITO BROS. Four generations leave
a legacy of farming
BY JAKE POINIER
I F YOU WANT TO THANK someone for having fresh strawberries available nearly year-round at your local grocery store, the Ito family would be a good place to start. Their farming enterprise has had its literal roots in California since 1918, when Gonsaku Ito and his two brothers emigrated from Japan and started farming in central Los Angeles, and later in Ventura and Gardena. The advent of World War II, however, soon disrupted the burgeoning enterprise. “They packed up their truck, headed to San Francisco and took the boat back to Japan—while some of their relatives and
Ito says. “Farming is getting harder with rules and regulations, and the sleepless nights. But nope, they said they wanted to do it, and so we support them 100%. They’re taking over more of the duties so my brother and I can relax and take more vacations. We told the boys to do whatever they need to make it better, whether that means a bigger operation or keeping it the same, but becoming more efficient.” Berry specialized Historically, the family had grown row crops, citrus and strawberries—days which Ito describes as hectic. “There was a lot of running back and forth, and I remember my dad getting phone calls at four or five in the morning with orders for different vegetables,” Ito says. “The cost of strawberries was so high that we decided to concentrate on them.” Ito Bros. grows strawberry varieties adapted to two different seasons, which means almost no downtime between picking one crop and prepping for the next. Summer berries are planted in Ventura near the coast, while the winter berries are grown in Camarillo and Oxnard. When Ito and his brother took over from their father, they were cultivating about 90 acres, which they eventually expanded to 600 acres before backing off to 500. “We said, OK, that’s enough,” he says. “Henry runs the farming operation, I run the business side, and we have a few foremen to manage the day-to-day at the ranch and the production crews. In the old days, you could manage the farm and the office, but now there’s a lot more paperwork and bureaucracy: labor rules and regulations, health issues, environmental issues, posting signs, making
people they knew ended up in internment camps,” says George Ito, president of Ventura-based Ito Bros. and Gonsaku’s grandson. “After the war stopped, my grandparents came back and started all over again with my dad and uncles.” Ito reels off a list of various farming operations as the family expanded beyond the initial G. Ito & Sons after their return to California, including numerous uncles and
“The whole process has really evolved from when I started with my dad. It’s very intense,
but you’ve got to do everything right.” George Ito President, Ito Bros.
cousins. Operating under the Ito Bros. brand, Ito and his brother Henry represent the third generation of farmers in the family—and in the past few years, George’s son Steven and Henry’s son Dylan have become the fourth. “The funny part is, we tried to talk them out of it,”
30
IN YOUR CORNER ISSUE 18 | 2024
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker