Terra Linda Farms Member since 1996
The Growth of a Family Business By Michelle Rivera
When Joe Coelho’s grandfather immigrated to America from Portugal in the early 1900s, he had high hopes for the American dream. With only $15 in his pocket and a one-way ticket to California in his hands, he turned that dream into a successful multi-generational farming business. Now in its third generation, his legacy lives on with the help of Joe Coelho, managing partner of Terra Linda Farms, and his brothers, John and Jerry. Coelho’s grandfather started in ag as a farm laborer
their windshield, but my brothers and I are out there every day. I have a deep respect for our workers and appreciate their efforts, and I make sure they’re taken care of. We have a lot of long-term people on our staff.” Terra Linda Farms has been a member of Western Growers for nearly 25 years. Coelho describes Western Growers as a leader in providing cutting- edge information and has given him countless opportunities to meet like-minded organizations and experts in the ag space. Coelho recently attended Western Growers’ 96 th Annual Meeting this year at the Venetian Resort in Las Vegas, an event he said he looks forward to every year. “The Annual Meeting this year had one of the best lineups of speakers I’ve ever seen. The talks were interesting and riveting, and I enjoyed the event thoroughly, getting the chance to learn and share information with my peers,” he said. To ensure the continued success of his family’s legacy, Coelho said that he and his brothers are working on preparing the next generation of Coelho family farmers, who have so far aided in innovation and technology enhancements with water conservation and harvesting. “The young people coming up in our family are giving us an edge in terms of optimization and working smarter to keep our costs down. We’re improving our irrigation cycles, and we also switched from hand-harvesting our onions to complete machine harvesting, which has saved us about 10 times in costs,” Coelho said. Farming is a lot harder than it ever was, Coelho explained, and it’s more important than ever to work with the next generation so they have a solid understanding of the pitfalls of farming and the challenges facing the agricultural industry. “The farming business is a never-ending story,” Coelho said. “We’re going to keep being mindful of what we’re doing, remain loyal to the people who help drive our business, and support and embrace our new generation of farmers. Their great ideas are going to be our future.”
milking cows in Riverdale, Calif. He eventually purchased a property in Riverdale during the time of the Great Depression for $25 an acre, which would later be known as Coelho Farms. The business continued to expand after the Coelho family purchased more land to establish Linda Vista Farms, a diverse row crop farming operation, and later Terra Linda Farms in the early 1980s. Today, Terra Linda Farms is a diversified farming partnership formed by Coelho and his brothers. The operation farms cotton, wheat, beans, melons, cantaloupes, onions, tomatoes, wine grapes, almonds, pistachios and walnuts. “We were fortunate enough to expand our business with the help of our family. It’s easier to climb the ladder of success when your family builds the ladder,” Coelho said. Following in the path of his family’s legacy is something Coelho envisioned for himself growing up and working daily on the family farm. “I collected books and brochures on tractors as a young kid. I grew up riding in tractors with my dad, helping him with livestock and working in the fields. I’ve done all the dirty jobs—I even picked cotton. My family has never shied away from a hard day’s work.” Coelho’s extensive hands-on experience as a youth has given him a great appreciation for the farmworkers who contribute to making Terra Linda Farms a success. “There are a lot of people who farm from
The founding fathers
12
JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2023
Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com
Made with FlippingBook Ebook Creator