CALIFORNIA DIRECTOR PROFILE
Fred LoBue, Jr. Chairman of the Board LoBue Farms, Inc. Lindsay, CA
Member Since 2000 | Director Since 2000 Fred LoBue: A Career Well Spent
By Tim Linden W hen retiring Fred LoBue Jr. approached the subject of his life, he took to it in the same methodical way that largely defined the work he has done for the past 60 years. He began his produce industry career as a bookkeeper and has spent the past 55 years on the business side of the balance sheet for LoBue Farms. “For the purpose of this interview, I’ve divided my story into three sections,” he said. “My personal life. My career. And my service to the industry.” His story begins in Porterville, CA, in 1940, where he was born and first became acquainted with the citrus
industry, which has been his main pursuit almost ever since. His grandfather started the family citrus business in 1934. Fred’s father and his two brothers joined the family business and expanded it. Fred and several of his cousins followed suit, further expanding the grower-shipper company and then taking it back to its roots as solely a farming operation a couple of years ago. But we’re ahead of ourselves. Fred Jr. remembers working on the farm when he was only 10 years old, driving the jeep down the grove as his grandfather sprayed the trees. He worked in the family operation through high school and knew from a very early age that
it would be his lifetime passion. “I worked in the packing house when I was in high school and I just loved it,” he said. “It got in my blood.” LoBue graduated from high school in 1958 as student body president. He first went to the College of the Sequoias and then on to San Jose State, where he received his degree in Industrial Management. “All through college I took classes that would help me run the business – marketing, accounting, investment classes, business finances. I even took an elementary computer class taught by IBM, which was located right down the road (from San Jose State).” After college, LoBue got drafted and spent two years in military service stationed at Fort Lewis in Washington before he was able to
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NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2020
Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com
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