Grimmway’s Jeff Huckaby to be Named Grower of the Year at the Organic Grower Summit Register Now for the OGS on Nov. 30 – Dec. 1, 2022 in Monterey, Calif. R egistration is now open for the Organic Grower Summit, presented by Western Growers and OPN, which will take place on Nov. 30 – Dec. 1, 2022 in Monterey, Calif. feature Tom Nunes V, President of The Nunes Company; Michael DuPuis, Quality Assurance and Public Relations Coordinator at Divine Flavor and Brie Reiter Smith, Vice President of
a panel discussion with Emily Musgrave, Organic Program Manager, Driscoll’s; Connie Karr, Certification Director, Oregon Tilth; and Tom Chapman, CEO and Executive Director, OTA; Robert Yang, Accreditation Division Director, NOP/ USDA; and Jake Evans, Owner and CEO, True Organic Products. *The panel ”Less Chemistry and More Biology” will take place at 9:30 a.m. on Nov. 30; it will be moderated by Dennis Donohue, the Director of the Western Growers Center for Innovation and Technology in Salinas, Calif. Panelists include Pam Marrone, Advisor, Bioceres Crop Solutions; Don Cameron, Vice President and General Manager of Terranova Ranch; and Denise Manker, Director of Global Agronomic Development, Biologics, Bayer CropScience. *At 10:45 a.m. on Nov. 30, Walt Duflock, VP of Innovation at Western Growers, will host “Meet the AgSharks,” a group of agtech innovators who were selected to present to the hundreds of growers, packers, shippers and industry leaders that attend the 2022 Western Growers Annual Meeting. *”Technology and Robotics – Expanding On-Farm Profitability” will take place on Dec. 1 at 9 a.m. The moderator will be Seana Day, Partner, Culterra Capital. She will be joined by panelists Paul Mikesell, CEO and Founder, Carbon Robotics; Gabe Sibley, CEO and Co-Founder Verdant Robotics and Bart Walker, President, Pacific Ag Rentals. To register for OGS, please visit organicgrowersummit.com. Western Growers members receive a $100 discount off the General Attendee rate and can join the two-day event for $395.
OGS provides growers with firsthand knowledge and information in areas ranging from agtech to food safety to sustainability. The event will take place at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel & Spa, where attendees will have the opportunity to watch cutting-edge panels, listen to keynotes from industry leaders and attend vital networking opportunities. This year, the Grower of the Year will be awarded to Jeff Huckaby, President of Grimmway Farms, headquartered in Bakersfield, Calif. During Huckaby’s 25-year tenure at Grimmway, the company’s organic program has grown from several hundred acres to more than 40,000 acres of certified organic ground. Among the panels: *The keynote presentation, “Grower Rountable: The State of Organic Growing” will take place at 10:30 a.m. on Dec. 1. It will be moderated by Western Growers President and CEO Dave Puglia, and
Product Leadership at Driscoll’s. “While consumption of fresh organic produce continues to climb, domestic growers face an unprecedented array of regulatory and marketplace challenges that threaten future growth,” Puglia said. “The leaders on this panel will share valuable insight into the state of the organic industry and strategies for turning obstacles into opportunities.” *“Exploring the National Organic Research Agenda” will take place on Nov. 30, 2022 at 8 a.m. It will be moderated by Brise Tencer, Executive Director, OFRF and Haley Baron, Partnership and Development Manager, OFRF, and feature panelists Steven Cardoza, Co-Owner, Cardoza and Cardoza Farms; Javier Zamora, Owner JSM Organics; Ari De Lara, NRCS and Asia Hampton, Program Manager, CA FarmLink. *”Get Ahead of the Curve and Avoid Regulatory Speedbumps” also is scheduled for Nov. 30, 2022 at 8 a.m. John Foster, COO of Wolf & Associates, will moderate
Powerful soil fuels organic farming. At Cal-Organic Farms, they use earth-friendly methods such as composting and crop rotation to keep the soil strong and fertile.
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NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2022
Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com
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