Ryan acknowledges that like most young adults, at times he might have thought his upward mobility was moving a bit slowly. But in hindsight, he does not believe that was the case. “I couldn’t have planned my journey any better than the one that was built by Uncle Don,” he says. “It was perfect.” Today, Ryan is in charge of row crops, brother Todd is in charge of permanent crops and cousin Brian is Talley Farms’ president. As an aside, Talley Vineyards falls under the umbrella of the family farm but it is owned and operated by late Don and Rosemary’s side of the family. Brian serves as president of Talley Vineyards. Ryan said the growing, packing and shipping operation consists of about 1,500 acres of row crops. In addition, there are the permanent crops, which include avocados, lemons and grapes. The avocados and lemons are sold and marketed through third party companies, with the grapes, of course, forming the core of the wine business. Ryan said it is a bit different having the company’s row crops centered in Arroyo Grande as the operation is isolated from other growing districts in California. There are two other farming families in the same valley but other than that, Ryan said he doesn’t interact with other growers on a regular basis. “Being isolated is both a blessing and a curse,” he said. “As a medium-ish size farm we can’t be on the cutting edge of technology…at the tip of the spear, so to speak. And with only two other farmers in the area, we don’t always see the innovation and new technology going on in the industry.” He said keeping up with new technology is an important part of his job and one of the big advantages of being intimately involved with Western Growers. Ryan inherited that connection from his Uncle Don, who was very involved in the organization, along with Rosemary, for many, many years. Ryan’s first involvement came during the year Don Talley received the association’s Award of Honor in 2004. He said another disadvantage related to the company’s location is its lack of access to labor. Santa Maria, which is 30 miles away, is home to most of the area’s farmworkers. “Why should they drive 30 miles to work for us when they can work closer to home,” he asked rhetorically. “I don’t blame them. So we have had to get very involved with H-2A utilization. We’ve been fortunate that most of the ranches we
have acquired over the years in our valley have come with houses on them. Today we are utilizing all of those houses for our H-2A workers.” On the other hand, Talley Farms has built an impressive array of permanent company employees that have been with the company for decades. He makes it a point to be in the fields as often as possible riding around with the various managers. “Some of these people were here when I was working for the company as a 12 year old,” he said.
changes that will impact us so they can put a face to farming and I can let them know how their changes will impact me.” On the personal front, Ryan and Christina Talley have five children ranging in ages from 14 to 36. Their three oldest are sons—Byron, Grant and Elliott— followed by two daughters, Catherine and Caroline. Grant has joined the family business and is being groomed in a management position in the fresh harvest division, and is also learning as much as he can about organic farming. Byron is currently involved in a family business on his mother’s side, managing mini- storage facilities. Ryan said the three Talley members in his generation established a rule that the fourth generation had to gain experience outside of Talley Farms before joining the family farming company. All of his five children have worked on the farm during summers since they were 12 years old, following a family tradition. “It was an important part of my childhood and taught me a lot of responsibility, including discipline and the value of the dollar,” he said. “Being in agriculture, we have a unique circumstance to pass that on to our children and we are doing so. My kids don’t come and ask if they can have money to buy a $200 pair of jeans. They know how many hours of work it takes to buy those jeans.” For fun, the family enjoy outdoor activities such as spirited family tennis matches. Ryan has also introduced each of his kids to fly fishing and backpacking, two of his favorite pursuits.
Despite hurdles that need to be cleared, Ryan is optimistic about the continued leading role California will play in the specialty crop industry. “I’m a glass half full kind of guy,” he said. “Is it challenging (to grow in California) and are there more and more challenges than there once were? Most definitely. But farmers adapt. That is a very important aspect of who we are in California. And, in fact, that is a very important reason why Don before me, and I am involved in the industry. I want to be a participant (in change) not just a spectator. As chairman, I want to sit down with the people who are proposing
The Talley Family
8 Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2020
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