generation family farming company known for its variety of sweet-tasting melons. “He had been looking at several opportunities that were opening up,” Callis said. “His father was 82 years old at the time, who by the way is 94 years old and still working today.” Keeping true to his methodical nature, Callis agreed to do a stealth internship to calculate the risks and rewards of this potentially new career and ultimately jumped in with both feet. “It was a big change because I was giving up my own career that I had built and was now working with several generations of business owners who have grown this business from the ground up,” he said. What helped him make the decision was joining his father-in-law at a Western Growers Annual Meeting. “It opened my eyes to not just seeing what farmers were doing, it was about becoming a part of a really important industry that has an effective voice through Western Growers and the people who are assembled as part of the organization,” he said. “There are growers of all sizes, and everyone is pulling on the rope the same way, tugging on the tough issues together, and that’s an amazing thing to see. That was not something that I saw in my years as a NASA contractor.” Today, Callis works with three generations of Smiths at Turlock Fruit Company—his grandfather-in-law, Don
Smith, who is a past Chairman of Western Growers, and was active in Western Growers’ success in convincing Congress to create the PACA Trust; his father- in-law, Steve Smith, who served on the Western Growers board and executive committee for several years until 2012; and his brother-in-law, Alec Smith, who is carrying on the Smith family commitment to grow the highest quality fruit. Callis was first elected to the Western Growers board in 2019 and was most recently reappointed to serve a second term as Treasurer of the Board. For the upcoming term, Callis said he’s looking forward to tackling water management and immigration issues. “There’s a lot happening in our space, and things are changing very rapidly. I’m very anxious to find comprehensive solutions that benefit not just farmers, but everyone,” he said. “I don’t think anyone does a better job than Western Growers. The board has done a great job of nurturing the next generation of talent, even for non-native farmers like me, or in-law farmers, if you want to put it that way.”
Neill with production manager David Prieto at their asparagus packing shed in Firebaugh
Neill with father-in-law Steve Smith in their honeydew packing shed
JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2024
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Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com
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