MARCH | APRIL 2025
SAVING GENTLE GIANTS
HOW ONE AG FAMILY TURNED THEIR RANCH INTO A HAVEN FOR DRAFT HORSES
Trey, Beau and Sarah Rodriguez
WESTERN GROWER & SHIPPER Published Since 1929 Volume XCVI | Number 2
To enhance the competitiveness and profitability of Western Growers members
Dave Puglia President and CEO Western Growers davep@wga.com
Features
P. 14
SAVING GENTLE GIANTS: HOW THE RODRIGUEZ FAMILY TURNED THEIR RANCH INTO A HAVEN FOR DRAFT HORSES
Editor Michelle Rivera 949.885.4778 | mrivera@wga.com Contributors Ann Donahue 949.302.7600 | adonahue@wga.com Taylor Lauson 949.634.3624 | tlauson@wga.com Cory Lunde 949.885.2264 | clunde@wga.com Emily Lyons 831.272.0661 | elyons@wga.com Michael Escañuelas michael.escanuelas@gmail.com Circulation Marketing 949.885.2248 | communications@wga.com Advertising Sales Dana Davis 302.750.4662 | dana@tygermarketing.com
P. 20
FOOD SAFETY AND SUSTAINABILITY: PERMISSION FOR RISK
P. 22
OWYHEE PRODUCE’S BAILEY MYERS REVEALS HOW TO START AN AGRITOURISM OPERATION ON YOUR FARM
Articles
P. 30
WGCIT RESIDENT PROFILE DESERT CONTROL LOOKS TO BOOST YIELDS AND CUT WATER USE IN AMERICAN WEST
TOGETHER.
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4 President’s Notes 6 Agriculture & the Law 8 Advocacy | California 9 Innovation 10 Western Growers Women 12 Health and Wellness 26 Director Profile
28 WG Member Welcome & Anniversaries 32 Updates from the WGCIT 36 WG News You Can Use 40 Connections 41 Contact Us 42 Farm Dogs and Barn Cats of Western Growers
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EUROPE’S GREEN REVOLT: A HARBINGER OF THINGS TO COME IN CALIFORNIA? By Dave Puglia, President and CEO
On his first day back in office, President Donald J. Trump wasted little time issuing a series of executive orders overturning regulations restraining U.S. innovation and competitiveness. European CEOs took notice. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in late January, Morten Wierod, CEO of the Swiss robotics company ABB, echoed the sentiments of his fellow chief executives: “It needs to be a clear reset on regulation and let business get on with it.” Wierod went on to state that while each European Union (EU) regulation is set with good intentions, “it’s when you take and you put everything together, it just becomes too much. It gets too complex.” One set of regulations that has the entire continent reeling is 2019’s European Green Deal, which launched with the goal of making the EU climate-neutral by 2050 through various environmental and agricultural policies. Among the rules that have posed challenges for local farmers include targets to reduce pesticide use by 50 percent by 2030, policies aimed at reducing nitrogen emissions and mandates that require farmers to allocate a portion of their land to non-productive use to enhance biodiversity. All while mandating a doubling of organic production to 25 percent of EU farmland regardless of market demands. Farmers in the Netherlands were the first to revolt. You may recall scenes from 2019 when Dutch farmers drove their tractors into the cities, blocking highways and major roads. Other farmers stormed government offices. Some dumped milk on the streets while others blockaded roads and government buildings with manure and hay bales set on fire. The Dutch insurrection spread across Europe in 2023 as the EU climate and environmental regulations predictably led to rising fuel and production costs coupled with increased competition from cheaper non-EU imports. Along with the Netherlands, famers in Germany, Belgium, Poland, Spain, Italy and Greece staged coordinated demonstrations in which tractor convoys shut down major transport routes across Europe and manure and produce was dumped in front of government buildings. “They’re drowning us with all these regulations,” railed one farmer in Spain. “They need to ease up on all the directives and bureaucracy. We can’t compete with other countries when things are like this.” In response to the widespread rebellion, the European Commission backed off several key pieces of the Green
Deal, including its plans to cut pesticide use and set aside land for biodiversity. Although Europe’s long-term climate plans remain relatively intact, several European countries have experienced a political shift away from the left since the Green Deal was first enacted. Conservative gains in Italy, Sweeden, Finland, France and Germany between 2022 and 2024 signal widespread desire for a move away from command-and-control government policies. While not entirely attributable to the Green Deal, the EU’s regulatory-first approach has led to significant dissatisfaction among the continent’s farmers, business leaders and voters. But could the recent events in Europe be a harbinger of things to come in California? In addition to their broader assault on environmental no-no’s like single-use plastics, oil and gas production and gas-powered vehicles, California’s ruling political class has added even greater weight to the regulatory burden already carried by the state’s farmers. A widely circulated January 2025 study out of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo documented the cumulative costs of regulatory compliance for California farmers. Compared to its own baseline study in 2006, the report places total regulatory costs at $1,600 per acre in 2024, an increase of nearly 1,400 percent. Over the past 18 years, two dozen major regulations were added in the areas of food safety, air quality, water quality, health and safety and wages, each individual mandate carrying with it another incremental cost. In addition to rising regulatory costs, production expenses are increasing faster in California than the rest of the country, according to USDA’s Economic Research Service. And gross receipts are rising faster in the rest of the country than in California. Plot both of those lines on a graph and you find that net profits have risen by 59 percent for U.S. farmers over the past 10 years but have fallen by 37 percent for California farmers during the same period. Consequently, California lost nearly 15,000 farms between 2012 and 2022, a loss of 19 percent, along with 1.4 million acres of farmland. Those are sobering numbers for America’s greatest agricultural state. Hopefully California’s political pendulum has reached its amplitude and the same course correction we are beginning to see in Europe will soon take hold in the Golden State. But things might need a little nudge. I can’t remember California farmers ever dumping loads of wasted produce on the State Capitol’s well- kept grounds. But maybe our friends in Europe are on to something.
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WESTERN GROWERS FIGHTS FOR FARMERS Challenging Unconstitutional Overreach in Court By Jason Resnick, Senior Vice President and General Counsel
At Western Growers, we stand firm in our commitment to protecting the rights of the farmers and agribusinesses we represent against burdensome and unconstitutional laws. In recent months, we have engaged in two critical legal battles to push back against legislative overreach: one challenging California’s SB 399, a law restricting employer speech, and another contesting SB 253 and SB 261, which impose costly and impractical climate-related disclosure requirements on businesses. These cases represent more than just legal disputes— they highlight the growing tension between government regulation and the rights of employers in the agricultural sector and beyond. Here’s where both cases stand today. Challenging SB 399: Protecting Employers’ Right to Speak SB 399, also known as the California Worker Freedom from Employer Intimidation Act, took effect on Jan. 1, 2025. The law prohibits employers from requiring employees to attend meetings where political or religious matters—including discussions on unionization—are addressed. While supporters claim the law protects workers from coercion, it simultaneously restricts employers’ ability to communicate with their workforce on critical issues that directly impact their businesses and employees’ rights. "Both SB 399 and SB 253/ SB 261 impose significant and unnecessary burdens on agricultural businesses. SB 399 directly undermines employer free speech rights, while SB 253 and SB 261 create costly, complex compliance obligations that unfairly target businesses operating in California."
Western Growers joined the California Chamber of Commerce and California Restaurant Association in filing a federal lawsuit in the Eastern District of California challenging SB 399 on constitutional grounds. We argue that the law: • Violates the First Amendment by limiting employers’ ability to speak on political and labor-related matters. • Is preempted by the National Labor Relations The legal battle escalated on Feb. 14, 2025, when the association plaintiffs filed a motion for a preliminary injunction seeking to block enforcement of SB 399 while the case is litigated. If granted, the injunction would prevent the state from enforcing the law until the court reaches a final decision on its constitutionality. This case is critical for maintaining open and transparent workplace discussions, ensuring that employers can provide employees with the information necessary to make informed decisions about their rights and workplace representation. Opposing SB 253 and SB 261: Addressing Unconstitutional Climate Disclosure Mandates Act (NLRA), which explicitly protects an employer’s right to express opinions about unionization as long as there is no threat or coercion. In a separate legal action, Western Growers has joined forces with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, California Chamber of Commerce and other industry groups to challenge California’s new climate reporting laws—SB 253 and SB 261. These laws mandate extensive greenhouse gas emissions reporting and climate-related financial risk disclosures from companies operating in California with revenues exceeding specific thresholds. Notably, SB 253’s mandated Scope 3 emissions disclosures will have a ripple effect across the entire supply chain, requiring even small and mid-sized farms and agribusinesses to provide emissions data to larger companies that are subject to the law, creating substantial compliance burdens industry-wide. Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the lawsuit contends that SB 253 and SB 261 unconstitutionally compel speech in violation of the First Amendment by forcing companies to disclose information that may be inaccurate or misleading due to the complexities of measuring emissions across extensive supply chains. Moreover, the plaintiffs
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argue that these laws are precluded by the federal Clean Air Act and violate the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution by attempting to regulate activities beyond California’s borders, thereby imposing burdens on interstate commerce.
Unfortunately, the Court recently dismissed the challenges to SB 253 on federal preemption and extraterritoriality as not yet ripe to file. For SB 261, the Court dismissed the federal preemption claim with prejudice, barring it from being refiled, while the interstate commerce claim was dismissed without prejudice, allowing plaintiffs to amend their complaint and reassert the challenge. While this ruling represents a short-term setback, our legal challenge remains active. The case will continue on First Amendment grounds, with summary judgment motions expected later this year. Additionally, because some claims were dismissed without prejudice, we have an opportunity to amend our complaint and reassert those challenges. Why These Cases Matter for Agriculture Both SB 399 and SB 253/SB 261 impose significant and unnecessary burdens on agricultural businesses. SB 399 directly undermines employer free speech rights, while SB 253 and SB 261 create costly, complex compliance obligations that unfairly target businesses operating in California. Western Growers remains committed to fighting these unconstitutional laws and ensuring that our members are not subjected to government overreach that disrupts their ability to operate efficiently and fairly. We will continue to provide updates as these cases progress, standing firm in our mission to protect the agricultural industry from unjust regulation.
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WATER 411: UNDERSTANDING CALIFORNIA’S COMPLEX WATER SYSTEM By Gail Delihant, Senior Director, California Government Affairs
Most of California’s water supply is managed through two major projects: the Central Valley Project (CVP) and the State Water Project (SWP). These systems rely on an intricate network of rivers, dams, reservoirs and pumps to store and distribute water across the state. Understanding how these systems work is key to navigating California’s ongoing water challenges. The CVP is operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) and governed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Agency, Endangered Species Act, Biological Opinions, State Water Resources Control Board and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. It delivers federally managed water from Northern California’s Shasta and Folsom Lakes, primarily for agricultural use. The SWP is managed by the California Department of Water Resources and governed by the State Water Resources Control Board (State Board), with input from the Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW), the Endangered Species Act and the Biological Opinions. It supplies water from Lake Oroville to cities, farms and wetlands. Both projects coordinate water movement through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and the San Luis Reservoir, a crucial storage site shared by state and federal water users. In the Central Valley is the Friant Dam, located on the upper San Joaquin River in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Fresno County, which forms Millerton Lake. Friant Water Authority manages delivery of San Joaquin River water supplies via the Friant-Kern Canal on behalf of Friant Division Contractors of the federal CVP. These deliveries are subject to the Bureau of Reclamation’s ability to satisfy the senior water rights of the San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors through supplies delivered from the Delta and other sources. Both the San Joaquin River and the Sacramento River flow into the Delta and out to the San Francisco Bay. The crash of fish species in the Delta and sequent development of the Biological Opinions have severely limited the amount of water the two large pumps are allowed to divert into San Luis Reservoir, which can hold 2,027,840 acre-feet of water of which 1,062,180 acre-feet is the state’s share and 965,660 acre-feet is the federal share for the CVP. According to the BOR, 95 percent of water collected in the Delta was flushed out to sea during the 2024 water year. On Feb. 12, 2025, the total Delta inflow was 177,996 cubic feet per second, or 352,808 acre-feet per day. Only 5.5 percent over a 14-day average was diverted into the San Luis Reservoir. As of mid-February 2025, the Reservoir had 1,601,000 acre-feet (78 percent total capacity) of which 668,000 acre-feet is for CVP contractors.
The two lakes in recent news articles regarding President Donald J. Trump's Executive Order, Lake Success and Lake Kaweah, are operated by the BOR and are primarily used for flood control. These two lakes, located just south of Fresno, rarely meet full capacity because of the January and February water releases. When wet weather is predicted for the months of January, February and March, the Army Corps of Engineers will release water, frustrating farmers who use that water in the hot summer months. Both the Kaweah and Success water levels were higher than normal because of early predictions that this will be a dry year and based on our unusually dry January. The unexpected release of 6,700 acre-feet of water from Lake Success and Kaweah was not wasted but used for groundwater storage due to the quick response by farmers. Connecting these systems is the Kern River Intertie, which has been used to move water into the California Aqueduct, which then flows to southern California. Water rights, water transfers, environmental regulations and state and federal agencies all play a large role in how California manages water. It is our main objective to continue working to move the needle so farmers have a sufficient amount of water to grow the food we eat.
Source: https://sites.uci.edu/energyobserver/2015/04/28/ california-water-projects-feeding-southern-california/
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SOME BIG-PICTURE THOUGHTS ON SPECIALTY CROP AUTOMATION SOLUTIONS By Walt Duflock, Senior Vice President, Innovation
I wrote this on the eve of the Tulare World Ag Expo in early February and wanted to share some big-picture insights on the state of specialty crop automation solutions, driven by some major developments in recent weeks. 1) John Deere continues pushing out autonomous solutions at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, this time with new kits for the 9RX and scaled down autonomy in the 5ML Orchard Tractor for Air Blast Spraying. It’s also rolling out nationwide training, and the autonomy options will be available in some regions from select dealers later in 2025. This is about right for a company of John Deere’s size. This launch is not as high impact as the overall autonomous tractor announcement from a couple of years ago, but it is definitely a big move forward as the autonomy solutions are coming downstream (from the 9 series to the 5 series) and starting to get into the dealer channel with a few key dealers like RDO.
competitive landscape. If you’ve been selling against Carbon Robotics by claiming that it is too expensive and too heavy, you should begin adjusting your message to the new product family. 3) The automation space is maturing with new products and product extensions. GUSS has gone from the original GUSS sprayer unit to a product set with three sprayers - GUSS, Mini GUSS and Herbicide GUSS. Similarly, Burro has expanded its product family to include the Burro, Burro Verde, Burro Grande and Contador that offer different sizes, ranges, costs and functionality. The larger footprint units provide extra capabilities for its horticulture customers, and Contador adds lawn mower capability to the Burro family. So that’s a three-model (GUSS), a four-model (Burro) and a five- model (Carbon Robotics) set of product families, which is great news for growers because they now have more choices and price points to evaluate. 4) Ecorobotix is one of the recent startups to successfully launch into the U.S. market. It has sold over 60 machines in 60 weeks, and the product and traction are helping it establish a nice foothold on the West Coast of the U.S. Obviously, it has a solid product that had gotten traction and some scale in Europe before coming to the U.S. That always creates the opportunity for a new regional launch, but it’s another thing to execute the launch successfully. The question now is how many more companies can replicate Ecorobotix’s success—and whether any will take on the challenge of entering the U.S. market in 2025. 5) California growers pay $16.3 billion for 850 million hours of farm labor per year – two-thirds for harvest and one-third for non-harvest – at an average cost of $19.25. Venture capital remains limited for all segments, including agtech - both have seen a 50 percent to 70 percent drop in two years with no change in status expected for 2025. VC will remain tough until IPOs or M&A return, and that looks at least a year out. Harvest remains tough for all fresh specialty crops. Weeding is seeing some progress with Carbon Robotics selling and delivering 100 robots into market. Even at 100 machines, the total hours saved by all CR machines is 3 million hours per year. It's a nice start, but we need it to scale to really have an impact on the 280 million hours of non-harvest labor - it's really at just over 1 percent of hours saved so far. So while we consider 3 million hours a year to be meaningful, there is still a lot of work to be done to really start addressing the labor challenges of specialty crops.
"When new food safety learnings and/or
technologies are developed, we must evaluate that new
understanding against how the pre-existing system performs."
2) Recently, Carbon Robotics launched the LaserWeeder G2 product line, which was showcased in Tulare, California. Viewers were introduced to five models varying in size and cost for specialty crops, along with two new products designed for Midwest crops. The specialty crop solutions are built in 2-meter, 4-meter and 6-meter sizes. This raises the bar for all weeding automation providers. Carbon Robotics’ launch introduces a complete product line to compete against. With 100 machines sold and delivered, a $70 million raise last year (including Nvidia as an investor) and a CEO with a $2 billion prior exit, they are well-positioned in the market and setting the pace. Others with weeding robots need to plan their product and messaging in a way that will address the new
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WESTERN GROWERS WOMEN ADVOCATE FOR AGRICULTURE IN D.C. By Cierra Allen, Program Manager
In late January, I had the privilege of planning and leading a group of passionate women from the Western Growers Women’s (WGW) Program on an inaugural advocacy trip to Washington, D.C., to advocate on behalf of the agriculture industry. With the expert guidance of Western Growers’ Federal Affairs Director, Tracey Chow, the women’s group took to Capitol Hill for several meetings. We met with Congressional offices, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials and industry partners to discuss topics that included the Farm Bill, labor, water, immigration and food safety. We arrived in D.C. exactly one week after President Donald J. Trump was inaugurated. It was truly a unique time to be in D.C., with new changes and updates happening almost hourly. The WGW group included: Rosa Bustillos (JV Smith Companies), Sandy Levya (Bonipak Produce), Megan Kavanaugh (Bio S.I. Technologies), Morgan Kelley (3P Partners), Tara Monreal (Westside Produce), Kellie Bauman (Bolthouse Fresh) and Western Growers employees Brittany Thomas, Anna Ramirez-Castro and Michelle Rivera. We started our day of Hill meetings at the U.S. House of Representatives, where we met with House Committee on Agriculture Majority staff members. The group discussed topics, such as the Farm Bill and crop research. The staffers had a positive attitude and were
confident that the Farm Bill would move forward with the new administration. Our next visit was to the U.S. Senate, where we met with key staff members from Sen. Alex Padilla’s office. The group discussed California-related issues, such as how stricter immigration laws could affect California farmworkers. The staff assured the group that Sen. Padilla is doing all he can to address immigration issues and labor shortages in the agriculture industry. They also spoke about the senator’s current work regarding the California wildfires and water. The final visit of the day was to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), where we met with Bruce Summers, Administrator for the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). The discussion was heavily centered on how the new presidential administration could affect the agriculture industry and the type of work AMS does to support specialty crops. We were then given a special tour that ended with a photo opportunity atop the USDA building, which offered exquisite views of the National Mall. The group noted that while our meetings ranged from frustrating to exciting due to the recent administration change, they provided a firsthand look at the many
Western Growers Women at the House of Representatives.
The group in front of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial.
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facets of our government. We ended the day with an evening reception, giving WGW members the opportunity to network with staffers from various California representatives’ offices and industry partners. We rounded off our trip the following day with a tour of notable D.C. monuments and landmarks, guided by the company A Tour of Her Own. This tour company specializes in American history and life in D.C., with a focus on women’s stories. A personal favorite stop of mine was the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial. This Memorial also honors FDR’s wife and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Eleanor Roosevelt was a champion for women and is famously recognized in FDR’s memorial with a statue of her, accompanied by an inscription that states she was the “First United States Delegate of the United Nations,” rather than simply being referred to as First Lady.
As the group headed home, they left with a deeper appreciation for Western Growers' advocacy efforts in D.C. and a renewed commitment to championing the agriculture industry in their daily lives.
The group in front of Eleanor Roosevelt's statue at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial.
A view from the top of the USDA building.
WGW with Bruce Summers, Administrator for the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS).
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NEW YEAR, NEW APPROACH: HOW TO MAKE YOUR GOALS STICK IN 2025 By Beth Sims, Health and Wellness Manager, Pinnacle Claims Management, Inc.
We’re well into 2025, and the New Year’s celebrations are behind us—along with many resolutions, like getting in shape, eating healthier or spending more time connecting with ourselves. Even with the best of intentions, it’s easy to get caught up in day-to-day life and let those goals go to the wayside. Whatever goals or resolutions you set for yourself way back in January, I am excited for you. I am excited because we’re all trying to better ourselves, and even though things perhaps haven’t worked out the way we wanted them to, I know this time it can be different. If you’re trying to build a new workout habit or change the number on the scale this year, I salute you. Setting a goal to change a behavior is very commendable. But to give ourselves the best chance of accomplishing our goal, we must combine the goal with some self-reflection and self-awareness. Here are some questions to ask yourself as we creep into spring of 2025: What’s different this time? And by the way, I’m proud of you for starting again. But what’s different about this attempt? If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got. The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. If you pick the same strategy that you tried (unsuccessfully) in the past, the end result will be the same: another lost year of “why can’t I get my act together?” Instead of jumping into another fad diet, swearing off sugar forever or committing to a triathlon—especially if these approaches haven’t worked for you in the past— consider a more sustainable strategy. Something has to be different this time. • Make fewer changes. • Pick one goal and focus on it. • Pick a different workout routine. • Pick a different diet or nutrition change. • Pick a different time of day to work out. • Recruit a friend to join you so you’re not doing it alone. • Make your new desired behavior beneficial or necessary. Prove to yourself you’ve learned something from your past attempt. Don’t let past failures be in vain—they showed you what doesn’t work. What are you afraid of? You’re full of momentum right now, and that’s great. But as we know, life will happen, and something might
go wrong. What has been your tendency when this happens in the past? Before I coach someone, I ask every single client, “What are you most nervous about?” That answer is something they’re aware of as a result of their past attempts. “Are you going to get busy and decide to take a break until things slow down?” Now you know when that little voice in your head says this, you can prepare for it, plan to do something differently and decide that you don’t have to listen to it. “Are you going to have one bad day and go totally off the rails?” Now you know that when you have one bad day, you can forgive yourself, not look back in anger or guilt and get right back on track. “Are you going to give up even though you really want to push through?” This happens to all of us when motivation wanes after a few weeks. Consider guarding against your weaknesses or making a bet with a friend to keep you accountable. We all set out to change. Even when we’re self-aware, our goals and hopes often exceed the reality that we’re fallible, busy humans living unpredictable lives. And that’s okay. If we acknowledge these factors and approach things differently, even if the next attempt doesn’t succeed, we can learn from it, eliminate that strategy as a viable option and move forward with a new approach. That’s all life is anyway: try, fail, adjust and restart. If you don’t have a Western Growers Assurance Trust (WGAT) plan, which includes a care management program and the added option of a Wellness Program, contact us to see how we can help you better manage your health care costs at (800) 333-4942.
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YOUR WORKFORCE.
COVER STORY SAVING GENTLE GIANTS: How One Ag Family Turned Their Ranch into a Haven for Draft Horses By Michelle Rivera, Senior Communications Manager
The Canyon House. Photography by Amy Marlan.
In the heart of the Salinas Valley, amid the rolling hills of Chualar, The Canyon House stands as a refuge for draft horses in need. Founded by Sarah Rodriguez, the sanctuary is more than a passion project—it’s a lifelong commitment to rescuing and providing a forever home for these gentle giants, many of whom were once bound for slaughter. Even with deep roots in Western Growers and agriculture, Sarah never imagined she would one day be at the helm of an equine sanctuary. She is married to Trey Rodriguez, whose family is well known among Western Growers members and the agriculture industry. Trey’s father, Sonny Rodriguez, was the recipient of the 2024 Western Growers Award of Honor. Sarah also has deep ties to the industry through her father, Mike Azzopardi, who operates American Cooling, another proud Western Growers member. Trey and Sarah both followed in their fathers’ footsteps. They own a three-year-old multi-state cooler management company, Legacy Cooling, and they too are members of Western Growers, with Trey currently in his fifth year serving on the Board of Trustees for Western Growers Assurance Trust. It was an unexpected moment online that changed everything for Sarah. While browsing through an equine adoption ad, she stumbled upon the heartbreaking reality: countless horses, particularly draft breeds, faced uncertain futures with many destined for kill pens.
For some people, learning about the realities of horse slaughter and equine neglect might lead to a donation, a shared social media post or a passing moment of concern. For Sarah, it became a calling. “I just couldn’t let it go,” she said. “I knew I had horse knowledge. I had energy. I was young and fit, and I could help in some way. I just didn’t know what that role would be yet.” It became clear in October 2023 when Sarah saw a plea from an equine rescue in Texas, highlighting the urgent need for a draft horse sanctuary in the Western U.S. Unlike smaller breeds, draft horses require more resources. They need three times as much space, they eat twice as much as a regular-sized horse and they require specialized farriers (providers of hoof care) and stock equipment. Often discarded when they are deemed no longer useful, particularly in Amish communities, many aging workhorses are left to a grim fate; shipped to kill pens and sold for slaughter in Mexico. Sarah had an unwavering love for horses, 87 acres of untouched ranch land and a relentless determination. “I told Trey, ‘I want to start a draft horse sanctuary.’ And he said, ‘I don’t know about that. Where are you going to put them? I think we should think this one through.” Sarah didn’t wait. Within a week, she purchased six draft horses from a kill pen. “I jumped into the deep end,” she said. “If I was going to do it, I was going all in.”
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And thus, The Canyon House was born—a sanctuary where these draft horses, once used for intense farm labor and carriage rides and now cast aside and destined for tragedy—could spend their days in peace. After those first horses arrived, it became clear that Sarah couldn’t do this alone. This is where having deep agricultural roots made all the difference. Sarah and Trey turned to the network they knew and trusted—longtime industry partners who didn’t hesitate to step up. It took one call to Coastal Tractors, and within days, a brand- new blue tractor arrived at the ranch. Within 24 hours, Toro Petroleum delivered a red diesel drum straight to the barn, fully equipped for seamless fuel transfers. Now, monthly fill-ups are just a text away. When the local hay didn’t meet the nutritional needs of the senior draft horses, Sarah reached out to an old friend of Trey’s at Hancock Farms, known for growing the highest-quality hay in the Yuma Valley. Delivering that hay? Another trusted ag family, Harrison Farms Trucking, always ready to navigate a tight delivery with reliability and care. Although The Canyon House takes in horses of all ages, what makes it so unique is its focus on senior draft horses—those often overlooked because they require lifelong care but are no longer useful for riding or work. Unlike traditional rescues that rehabilitate and adopt out horses, The Canyon House is a sanctuary. That means every horse that arrives stays for life. “Nobody wants to adopt a senior horse. You want a horse you can ride, that your kids can ride,” Sarah said. “But these seniors still deserve a soft landing.” Today, The Canyon House is home to 32 equines and two donkeys. The equines include draft Belgians, draft Mules, wild Mustangs rescued from Native American reservations and retired rodeo bucking broncos. Almost all arrive sick, injured, underweight and fearful of humans. Caring for them isn’t easy. It’s costly, time-consuming and emotionally demanding. But for Sarah, the work is deeply fulfilling. “Every horse that comes here is going to die at some point,” she said. “But here, they get to live their last years with dignity.” The sanctuary is more than just a place for these horses to land—it’s a place where they learn to trust again, heal and be seen as more than just tools for labor, Sarah explained. Each one of them has a story, a past filled with struggle and a future that, for the first time, is filled with care and security.
A curious horse
Sarah tending to Bruce
Horses roaming the ranch
Trey and Sarah Rodriguez with some of the ranch's draft horses
A horse in mid-gallop
15 Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com March | April 2025
The Canyon House—a sanctuary where draft horses, once used for intense farm labor and carriage rides but later cast aside and destined for tragedy—can now spend their days in peace.
emotional work—it all continues whether you’re ready or not,” Sarah said. But on days that feel impossible, when Sarah questions if she’s making enough of a difference, there are moments that remind her why she does this: Pete finally allowing her to touch his face without pulling away, Bruce able to gallop for the first time in over a year as his hoof heals and Thunder, after monthly anti- inflammation shots and proper feed, finally running with the herd and as a thank you, showing his trust by standing closer, letting her into his space. When asked if he ever saw his home turning into a sanctuary, Trey said: “My wife has supported me and our business since day one. When she asked for my support, it felt great to be able to return the favor.” “I am not an animal person by nature, and I am the textbook definition of a workaholic. Having these amazing creatures here who depend on you, showing up for them for their survival, opened my heart in a way that I never expected,” he said. “You see their soul when you look into their eyes. You see their fear, their hurt and their thanks. It teaches you to slow down and see the beauty in people as well. If I reflect honestly, I must admit, I think the sanctuary rescued me as well.” The long-term vision for the sanctuary is still evolving. The Canyon House needs more space, more helping hands and more awareness. Right now, the sanctuary is at maximum capacity and that’s a hard reality to face when Sarah knows there are so many more horses out there in need of help. But for now, she will continue to use her platform to educate and advocate for these gentle giants. If you’d like to support The Canyon House, you can visit canyonhousesanctuary.org to learn more about the sanctuary’s story, meet the horses and make a donation, where 100 percent of contributions go directly to the horses. You can also follow The Canyon House on Instagram at @the.canyonhouse, where Sarah shares heartwarming and inspiring moments of daily life at the sanctuary.
Trey making the rounds
And while this work is fulfilling, it is certainly not easy. “You think they’re going to come in and you’re going to bond with them immediately, and they’re going to love you and trust you. And it’s absolutely not like that,” Sarah said. “They finally get here and they’re like, ‘Where am I? What are you going to do to me?’ And it’s not an immediate connection,” she said. “Sometimes it takes months and months and months to connect and say, ‘Okay, how can I help you? What do you need?’ And I just sit there, and I’ll stare at them and try to figure them out.” Among the sanctuary’s notable horses are Pete, aka Little Pete, a 2,000-pound, 20-hand-tall draft horse who, despite being only four years old, suffers from a paralyzed larynx and stringhalt, conditions that prevent him from doing any kind of riding work. Then there are Thunder and Mabel, who were so distrustful of humans that Sarah couldn’t even catch them at first. And then there’s Bruce, another large draft horse with a severely cracked hoof. “He couldn’t even walk. The people who owned him before just kept working him until he was physically unable to move,” Sarah said. Bruce required an all-star farrier team. Through Sarah’s networking with other rescues across the country, she was able to connect with Pete May, a renowned farrier who is in such high demand that he is very reluctant to take on new clients. Through their shared devotion to horse care, Sarah was able to convince Pete to help Bruce. Bruce lived at Pete’s ranch in Texas for six months, debriding dead tissue, binding his cracked hoof and creating custom shoes for this 1,800-pound giant so that he could finally make his way to his forever home at The Canyon House. When people ask how she balances the sanctuary, motherhood to two-year-old Beau and a full-time job, Sarah’s answer is simple: “You just do it. You wake up every day, knowing that lives depend on you, and you keep moving forward. There’s no time to dwell on how overwhelming it can be, because the horses don’t wait. The feedings don’t wait. The medical care, the rehabilitation, the
Bruce's hoof
The eyes of Bruce
18 Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com March | April 2025
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WESTERN GROWERS OFFICERS – 2025 Stuart Woolf, Chair Rob Yraceburu, Vice Chair Neill Callis, Treasurer Don Cameron, Executive Secretary Dave Puglia, President and CEO DIRECTORS – 2025 GEORGE ADAM Innovative Produce, Santa Maria, California CHAD AMARAL D’Arrigo Bros. of Calif., Salinas, California KEVIN ANDREW Illume Agriculture, Bakersfield, California ROBERT BARKLEY Barkley Ag Enterprises, Yuma, Arizona STEPHEN BARNARD Mission Produce, Oxnard, California BARDIN BENGARD Bengard Ranch, Salinas, California SOREN BJORN Driscoll’s, Watsonville, California GEORGE BOSKOVICH III Boskovich Farms, Oxnard, California RODNEY BRAGA Braga Fresh Family Farms, Soledad, California STEVE BRAZEEL SunTerra Produce, Costa Mesa, California NEILL CALLIS Turlock Fruit Company, Turlock, California DON CAMERON Terranova Ranch, Helm, California
JOHN CHANDLER Chandler Farms, Selma, California LAWRENCE COX Coastline Family Farms, Brawley, California STEPHEN DANNA Danna Farms, Yuba City, California THOMAS DEARDORFF II Deardorff Family Farms, Oxnard, California TIM ESCAMILLA Bolthouse Fresh Foods, Bakersfield, California KRISTEN SMITH ESHAYA JV Smith Companies, Yuma, Arizona CATHERINE FANUCCHI Tri-Fanucchi Farms, Bakersfield, California DAVID GILL Rio Farms, King City, California BOB GIRAGOSIAN Kern Ridge Growers, Arvin, California BRANDON GRIMM Grimmway Enterprises, Arvin, California JOHN JACKSON Beachside Produce, Nipomo, California TRACY JONES Booth Ranches, Orange Cove, California A.G. KAWAMURA Orange County Produce, 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
CANNON MICHAEL Bowles Farming, Los Banos, California HEATHER MULHOLLAND Mulholland Citrus, Orange Cove, California DOMINIC MUZZI, JR. Muzzi Family Farms, Moss Landing, California TOM NUNES V The Nunes Company, Salinas, California STEPHEN PATRICIO Westside Produce, Firebaugh, California JOHN POWELL, JR. Peter Rabbit Farms, Coachella, California RON RATTO Ratto Bros., Modesto, California CRAIG READE Bonipak Produce, Santa Maria, California KYLE RICHARDSON Garry Richardson Farms, Bakersfield, California SONNY RODRIGUEZ The Growers Company, Somerton, Arizona BRUCE TALBOTT Talbott’s Mountain Gold, Palisade, Colorado RYAN TALLEY Talley Farms, Arroyo Grande, California BRUCE TAYLOR Taylor Farms Calif., Salinas, 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 March | April 2025
FEATURE STORY FOOD SAFETY AND SUSTAINABILITY:
PERMISSION FOR RISK By Joelle Mosso, Associate Vice President, Science Programs
This is part one of a two-part series on food safety and sustainability.
The shift to risk-based regulations and standards has been rapid from a regulation perspective, leading to numerous updates and forms being produced to aid the industry in assessing and documenting their risk to meet compliance requirements. While new forms and checklists were made and training developed, it appears the root cause impeding the shift to true risk-based management is that no concerted effort to shift to a fundamentally different management or regulation style occurred at the same time. With the introduction of risk-based language in the regulation, the industry acted effectively the same, albeit with more paperwork and different terms used. Customers required the same information and had the same expectations of suppliers while regulators used similar decision-making and actions reminiscent of the prior regulatory era. In effect, the transition to risk-based food safety happened on paper, but food safety culture remained more-or-less entrenched in an era of zero-hazard tolerance. The paradigm shift to true risk-based management ultimately requires some amount of risk to be acceptable, and it recognizes that different systems, producers and products will have variable levels of risk. In a risk-based system, it does/will not matter how many risk assessment forms are completed since risk-based management only truly begins when we permit the food industry and food regulators to recognize that there is some acceptable amount of risk. "The food industry should have a goal of zero risk to consumers, and that must always be the target. However, while one
Risk-based management has been the on-trend phrase of the past decade within the food safety community. Globally, numerous regulations and food safety standards have adopted language that requires food-producing entities to assess their process and product, and then apply risk-based measures appropriate for the risk. This is a logical and scientifically supported theory – it makes complete sense to apply the most time and resources where gaps are identified and where our opportunity to minimize risk is the greatest. I have spent my academic and industry career chasing, supporting and helping execute this concept, supported by science and the best-informed guesses when available. I am an ardent believer that when risk-based programs are truly developed and implemented, we will find a more manageable and sustainable system of food production. The transition to risk-based management is a passion, and I work diligently to support the produce and food industry in incorporating those practices. However, one of the observations I have made throughout my career is that risk-based management and measures are straightforward only in textbooks, and the true application of risk-based management for food safety represents a quagmire of scientific and social complexity.
illness will always be too many, zero illness is also unattainable and building systems that only tolerate pass/fail or good/bad outcomes prevents identifying realistic ways to manage risk."
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Without acknowledging that not all risks can be eliminated or controlled - especially for fresh produce and foods without microbial kill steps - there will continue to be little incentive or benefit for risks to truly be identified. Risk identification and characterization are generally still perceived as evidence of failure rather than evidence of proactive risk management. One illness is too much, but zero is unrealistic. Allowing for risk in the food system seems counterintuitive to our goal to reduce foodborne illnesses. The food industry should have a goal of zero risk to consumers, and that must always be the target. However, while one illness will always be too many, zero illness is also unattainable and building systems that only tolerate pass/fail or good/bad outcomes prevents identifying realistic ways to manage risk. This binary risk outcome is an enormous roadblock in the path to continuous improvement since there is rarely any advantage for a company to characterize its true risks within the system. For example, while we openly discuss and recognize that seasonal or geographic factors may influence risk in fresh produce production, what benefit do individual growers gain from fully characterizing that risk when customers and regulators view such identification in isolation—often discrediting the fact that sufficient efforts and programs may already be in place to manage it at an acceptable level? "The paradigm shift to true risk- based management ultimately requires some amount of risk to be acceptable, and it recognizes that different systems, producers and products will have variable levels of risk.
In effect, guilt is easy to prove while evidence of control (or innocence) is almost impossible to defend. Taking a recent real-life event as an example, a pathogen- positive sample originating from a routine sampling event for Salmonella led to a grower losing a multi-million-dollar customer who chose to terminate a contract due to the pathogen finding. This reactive decision was made despite that this positive was in isolation and not associated with any illnesses or process failure evidence. This isolated pathogen result ultimately led to a drastic reaction by the customer and reinforced for the grower that there is little incentive to build systems to identify and monitor for risk. Additionally, there is even less incentive to be transparent with external stakeholders about when risks may be present. In the prior example, we saw a customer interpret a pathogen detection incompletely and with what seems a disproportionate reaction. It is understandable that no one wants food/systems with risk and would naturally reject it. However, believing that a successful strategy is to sever ties with any supplier, farm, product or process once a positive is found from a random test is misguided. More importantly, it is counterproductive and destructive since it reinforces to the food producer that a smarter strategy would be to build food safety programs that always return negative results, regardless of whether that outcome truly reflects the situation. As with all risk, the scariest type is the type you do not know you have. If we interpret each finding of a pathogen, and sometimes even indicator/index organisms, to be viewed as evidence of systematic/gross/preventable failure, then that only further reinforces that identifying risk to optimize managing it is not a sustainable food safety or business strategy. Conversely, this supports a strategy opposite of risk-based management since we are not allowing food producers to investigate risk to manage it without then using that same information as evidence against them.
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