J U LY | A U G U S T 2 0 2 1
Colorado’s Bruce Talbott
Peach Grower Leads State’s Fruit and Vegetable Association
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W E S T E R N G R O W E R & S H I P P E R
16 Collaboration Focus of WGCIT 20 Meet Your Future Volunteer Leaders – Garret Powell 22 Meet Your Future Volunteer Leaders – Amber Strohauer 28 6 Ways to Strengthen the Supply Chain 32 WG’s H-2A Effort Continues to Expand 40 ANNUAL MEETING: ‘Grow Together’ at the Fairmont in San Diego 43 HUMMINGBIRD TECHNOLOGIES: Going Above and Beyond to Increase Yield 44 Ocean Mist Musings on Agtech: 7 Observations on Spurring Ag Innovation
DEPARTMENTS 4 President’s Notes
WESTERN GROWER & SHIPPER Published Since 1929 Volume XCII | Number 4
6 Member Profile 10 Director Profile 14 Federal Government Affairs 24 Transportation Services 26 Member Welcome & Anniversaries 30 Science 36 Agriculture & the Law 38 Connections 39 Inside Western Growers 42 Innovation 46 Update from the WGCIT 48 California Government Affairs 49 Contact Us 50 Western Growers Assurance Trust
To enhance the competitiveness and profitability of Western Growers members
Dave Puglia President & CEO Western Growers davep@wga.com
Editor Tim Linden Champ Publishing 925.258.0892 | tlinden@wga.com Contributors Cory Lunde 949.885.2264 | clunde@wga.com Stephanie Metzinger 949.885.2256 | smetzinger@wga.com Production Diane Mendez 949.885.2372 | dmendez@wga.com Circulation Marketing 949.885.2248 | marketing@wga.com Advertising Sales Dana Davis Tyger Marketing 302.750.4662 | danadavis@epix.net
TOGETHER.
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Western Grower & Shipper ISSN 0043-3799, Copyright © 2021 by the Western Grower & Shipper is published bi-monthly by Western Grower & Shipper Publishing Company, a division of Western Growers Service Corp., 15525 Sand Canyon Avenue, Irvine California 92618. Business and Editorial Offices: 15525 Sand Canyon Avenue, Irvine California 92618. Accounting and Circulation Offices: Western Grower & Shipper, 15525 Sand Canyon Avenue, Irvine California 92618. Call (949) 863- 1000 to subscribe. Subscription is $18 per year. Foreign subscription is $36 per year. Single copies of recent issues, $1.50. Single copies of issues more than three months old, $2. Single copies of Yearbook issue $4. Periodicals postage is paid in Irvine, California and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Western Grower & Shipper, PO Box 2130, Newport Beach, California 92658.
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Lessons Learned? By Dave Puglia, President and CEO, Western Growers
Business owners and their employees are constantly seeking to learn from successes and mistakes in order to improve their products, processes and service. Adaptation to get better is a never-ending commitment. Those who fail to make that commitment are likely to fall by the wayside as competitors charge ahead.
Government, on the other hand…well, let’s just say, “If only.” Conservatives often say that government should be run like a business. While I think there are some business practices government agency leaders can and should adhere to, the reality is government agencies really can’t be run like businesses, because they just aren’t. They are public agencies funded by taxpayers, staffed almost entirely by employees with civil service protections and union collective bargaining agreements arranged between union leaders and, in states like California, public officials who were elected with the strong support of the same union leaders. On top of those realpolitik realities, the mission of most government agencies is to perform functions that cannot be cast into a profit-and-loss mold. Still, we deserve government that is more interested in doing better by the taxpayers than in doing whatever unions and other powerful interests demand. Granted: Government agencies are not motivated to analyze, learn, adapt and improve in the same way businesses are. The “profit motive” that drives businesses to perpetually challenge assumptions and adapt is really a survival motive. For government agencies, there is no risk of “going out of business.” Indeed, it is the rarest of things when a government agency actually ceases to exist. The motivation to get better in government, therefore, must be an altruistic one. The people we elect to lead our government and all its agencies must lead, and be accountable for, the tough work of driving change in laws that are missing their intended mark and ensuring that bureaucracies constantly adapt to practical and economic realities. Let’s start with Cal/OSHA and its troubling approach to COVID-related workplace safety rules, known by the bureaucratic acronym ETS (Emergency Temporary Standard). The emergency rules were a mishmash of union- promoted requirements that caused enormous confusion and cost for businesses with little factual basis. Indeed, career Cal/OSHA staff and business groups maintained that the proposed rules were not needed at all, noting that existing workplace safety rules were more than adequate to the task. But the unions insisted otherwise, and the political appointees who hold seats on the Cal/OSHA governing board overruled their staff. Western Growers led a business coalition that challenged the rules in court, which is testament to just how onerous
and illogical the rules were; organizations like ours are not eager to make the large financial commitments needed to launch lawsuits, but in this case the deaf ears of the Cal/OSHA board and the Newsom Administration left us no option. The question now, given Governor Newsom’s order to lift most of the ETS requirements, which essentially preempted the slow and confused Cal/OSHA, should be obvious: What will Cal/OSHA and the Newsom Administration do to conduct a brutally honest self-assessment of the way this agency performed during the COVID shutdowns? And what changes will be made to the agency’s regulatory philosophy, processes and engagements with regulated businesses in light of its many missteps? The same questions should be asked of the Coachella City Council, which ignored the laws of economics in ordering farmers to pay workers an additional $4 per hour, couched as “Hero Pay.” Here again, WG was compelled to file a lawsuit challenging the city’s orders, but it should have been obvious to city council members that the order would harm farmers operating on non-negotiable contracts in a globally competitive market. And that would ultimately translate to harm to the farm employees the city council was purportedly trying to help. Will the members of the city council now go back and conduct an honest assessment of their actions and the unintended economic consequences of their orders? Legislative policy makers should be equally motivated to assess, learn, adapt and improve. In California, they could start with the state’s overtime statute governing farm employees. The real world experience under this law is mounting and it all points one direction: Farm workers are losing wage-earning opportunities as employers—fighting global competition and extremely tight margins (thanks in no small part to California's enormous regulatory burdens)—alter operations to minimize the bottom line impact of this law. The tough question legislators should be asking themselves is whether their desired outcome is being realized by virtue of the mandate they imposed, or whether instead the laws of economics are once again prevailing. If it’s the latter (spoiler alert: it is!), the right thing to do, for farmers and farm workers alike, would be to repeal or otherwise dramatically change the overtime law to restore farm worker wage-earning capacity. If we all press on our elected legislators and Governor to hold themselves accountable on these issues in a cool and clinical way, perhaps change is possible. The alternative is too ugly to contemplate.
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Dust Your Competition As Well As Your Crops
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Bruce Talbott, Talbott’s Mountain Gold, Palisade, CO Member since February 24, 2014
A Legacy of Peaches on the Western Slope…and Much More
A Family Migrates: In the first several decades of the 20 th century, the state of Colorado tried to entice residents of Iowa to relocate to the Rocky Mountain State claiming that it had an abundance of “good air and good water.” Bruce Talbott’s great-great grandfather, Joseph Evan Yeager, took the bait and moved west in 1907, and began the family history of growing peaches on the Western Slope near Palisade. Harry Augustus Talbott, a farmer from Kentucky and Bruce Talbott’s grandfather, married into the Yaeger family and began what is now Talbott Farms. The Early Years of Talbott Farms: Granddad Talbott started the business at its current location in 1945 and ran it relatively independently, though he had some summer help from his four sons with one eventually managing a set of satellite orchards. “My granddad was an autocrat who kept tight control over the organization. Dad taught school and though he planted an apple orchard in the early ‘70s and bought a peach orchard a few years later, most of his farming efforts were marketed through the local peach co-op,” said Bruce Talbott. When the elder Talbott retired in 1985, the organization was 90% apples, 5% peaches and 5% pears. After he retired, Bruce and two of his brothers—Charlie and Nathan—along with his dad took over the operation and have since greatly expanded it. “Dad was the exact opposite of my granddad. He had no desire to be a controller. In the early years, he was happy to let us do what we believed was necessary to stay viable.”A fourth brother went into medicine and became a doctor. He does own orchards with the production being part of Talbott Farms. Talbott Farm’s Evolution: Today’s farm is 65% peaches and 30% wine grapes. They have some conventional and organic cherries and also produce sweet cider, hard cider and wine. Bruce said that the 1990s were a period of transition. They had some problems with peaches in the 1990s and started eliminating the apples in 1999, shipping their last apple crop in 2005. Wine grapes came into their vision in 2000. Though they were gun shy about peaches, they remained an important crop and today, Bruce Talbott raves about Colorado’s Palisade Peaches, the family’s signature crop, which he believes rivals any peach out there for great taste. The Talbotts market that
peach “anywhere but California,” Bruce quips, adding that sales to several Midwestern states form the heart of their deal. Palisade Peaches are marketed from mid-July to mid-September, with the cooperation of Mother Nature. Talbott Farms grows about three dozen varieties within that time frame with each having a 10-14 day harvesting window. “We get a premium for our fruit in our market,” Bruce said. The three brothers have divided the task of running the operation into three well-defined compartments. Bruce oversees farming, Charlie runs the business end of the operation, and Nathan is in charge of packing and processing. That includes the cider business, which was launched in 1983 and “has become a significant part of what do.” The hard cider business, and later the wine business, was started six years ago and Bruce commented that his teetotaling mother has never quite been comfortable with the wine grape and hard cider businesses. Bruce Talbott’s Journey: Bruce was born in 1959 and grew up around the family business. He began driving a tractor and working on the farm at a very young age, which convinced him that he was going to grow up and be farmer. He worked on the family farm during summers and knew that would be his career. He took a slight detour after college and went on an eight-month worldwide tour with his younger brother. They worked along the way, picking apples in England, grapes in France, oranges in Greece and grapefruit in Israel, basically being international fruit hobos. They attempted to pick tea leaves in Malaysia but weren't given the job. Bruce returned to Colorado to continue managing orchards for a couple neighbors. “An attempt to work for my granddad proved to be unsuccessful at which point he decided to retire,” Bruce said. Diversification: Though the Palisade peach is their top crop, Talbott Farms has been built to last with diversification being a key component of that strategy. The operation now includes a taproom with wine and cider on tap. Bruce said the area is well known as a destination with bike riders often stopping by for a sip of one beverage or another. “We are only two miles off of I-70. It’s a very easy place to get to and a lot of tourists come by looking for fruit and wine.”
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The brothers have separated the operation into multiple entities with the alcoholic beverage portion being under a separate business structure from the fruit side. A new dry storage facility was built last year for paper, aluminum cans, etc. to free up cooler space. The taproom, which was the original sweet cider building, has also seen a number of upgrades including recently adding a new stage for events. The Next Generation: Bruce (who was born Harry Bruce Talbott) is not certain how the transition to the next generation will occur. Three of his four kids are currently involved in the alcohol and retail side of the business though “Harry” Charles Talbott would prefer to brew beer over making hard cider and wine. There are additional nieces and nephews that will hopefully return but at the moment there is no heir apparent for the farming side of the venture. Bruce said he and his brothers were never forced into the family business and he is giving his kids that same latitude. “I think a family member should spend 10 years elsewhere before coming back to work here,” he quipped. Industry Involvement: Bruce has always been the brother involved in the farming organizations including the local Farm Bureau,
Western Colorado Horticultural Society, Colorado Association of Viticulturalists and Enologists, Child and Migrant Services, Western Growers, and the Colorado Fruit and Vegetable Association. When longtime CFVGA President Robert Sakata stepped down to accept a position on the Colorado Water Conservation Board, Talbott was elected president. “I’ve always felt it was important to be a part of these organizations whether it was out of passion for agriculture or out of a sense of self preservation.” Colorado’s Regulatory Drift Toward California: Bruce Talbott has nothing against his agricultural colleagues in California, but he is a bit perturbed about his state following California’s lead in several thorny areas including a change in overtime pay regulations, other labor laws, water priorities and urban sprawl. He said Colorado has always had good right to farm laws but population growth, urban encroachment and demographic shifts are bringing new voices to the table that have the potential of drowning out the farm community. The urban-rural divide has never been greater, affecting political attitudes and voting patterns.
WESTERN GROWERS OFFICERS – 2021 RYAN TALLEY, Chairman ALBERT KECK, Senior Vice Chair STUART WOOLF, Vice Chair CAROL CHANDLER, Treasurer VICTOR SMITH, Executive Secretary DAVE PUGLIA, President & CEO DIRECTORS – 2021 GEORGE J. ADAM Innovative Produce, Santa Maria, California ALEXANDRA ALLEN Main Street Produce, Santa Maria, California KEVIN S. ANDREW Illume Agriculture, Bakersfield, California ROBERT K. BARKLEY Barkley Ag Enterprises LLP, Yuma, Arizona STEPHEN J. BARNARD Mission Produce, Inc., Oxnard, California BARDIN E. BENGARD Bengard Ranch, Salinas, California LOREN BOOTH Booth Ranches, Orange Cove, California GEORGE BOSKOVICH III Boskovich Farms, Oxnard, California RODNEY BRAGA Braga Ranch, Soledad, California NEILL CALLIS Turlock Fruit Company, Turlock, California EDWIN A. CAMP D. M. Camp & Sons, Bakersfield, California CAROL CHANDLER Chandler Farms LP, Selma, California LAWRENCE W. COX Lawrence Cox Ranches, Brawley, California STEPHEN F. DANNA Danna Farms, Inc., Yuba City, California JOHN C. D’ARRIGO D’Arrigo Bros. Co. of California, Salinas, California THOMAS DEARDORFF II Deardorff Family Farms, Oxnard, California FRANZ W. DE KLOTZ Peter Rabbit Farms, Coachella, California SAMUEL D. DUDA Duda Farm Fresh Foods, Inc., Salinas, California CATHERINE A. FANUCCHI Tri-Fanucchi Farms Inc., Bakersfield, California DAVID L. GILL Rio Farms, King City, California BRANDON A. GRIMM Grimmway Farms, Arvin, California JOHN JACKSON Beachside Produce, LLC, Nipomo, California A. G. KAWAMURA Orange County Produce, LLC, Irvine, California ALBERT KECK Hadley Date Gardens, Thermal, California J.P. LABRUCHERIE LaBrucherie Produce, El Centro, California FRANK MACONACHY Ramsay Highlander, Inc., Gonzales, California JOHN S. MANFRE Frank Capurro and Son, Moss Landing, California STEPHEN MARTORI III Martori Farms, Scottsdale, Arizona HAROLD MCCLARTY HMC Farms, Kingsburg, California TOM MULHOLLAND Mulholland Citrus, Orange Cove, California ALEXANDER T. MULLER Pasquinelli Produce Co., Yuma, Arizona DOMINIC J. MUZZI Muzzi Family Farms, LLC, Moss Landing, California MARK NICKERSON Prime Time International, Coachella, California THOMAS M. NUNES The Nunes Company, Inc., Salinas, California STEPHEN F. PATRICIO Westside Produce, Firebaugh, California RON RATTO Ratto Bros. Inc., Modesto, California CRAIG A. READE Bonipak Produce, Inc., Santa Maria, California ERIC T. REITER Reiter Affiliated Companies, Oxnard, California JOSEPH A. RODRIGUEZ The Growers Company, Inc., Somerton, Arizona WILL ROUSSEAU Rousseau Farming Company, Tolleson, Arizona VICTOR SMITH JV Smith Companies, Yuma, Arizona RYAN TALLEY Talley Farms, Arroyo Grande, California BRUCE C. TAYLOR Taylor Farms California, Salinas, California STUART WOOLF Woolf Farming & Processing, Fresno, California ROB YRACEBURU Wonderful Orchards, Shafter, California
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George Boskovich III, Boskovich Farms and Fresh Prep
Boskovich Follows Well Worn Path to Company Business
By Tim Linden “ When I was in high school, I mentioned to my dad that it would only be a couple more years before I would be working full time for Boskovich Farms,” recalls George Boskovich III, the fourth generation of the family tree involved in agriculture. “But he told me, he wouldn’t hire me unless I had a college education.” George III, who is not called that except in the office and in this article, moved to Camarillo when he was five years old and ever since assumed he would become an active member of the Boskovich farming team. “It seems my dad (George Boskovich Jr., CEO of Boskovich Farms) always took me to work with him. At least that’s the way I remember it. From an early age I always wanted to work with my dad and figured I would.” The younger George did go to California State University at Channel Islands, which is the youngest university in the Cal State system. George majored in Business Management and did join Boskovich Farms on a full-time basis in 2005. “My dad started me off in the sales office. He wanted me to learn about each
customer and know what products they buy and how they wanted them.” After about 18 months, George III went into the operations side to gain more knowledge on every aspect of the firm from growing through harvesting, cooling and processing. “I have been involved in many different projects in all aspects of the operation over the years,” he said. Not too long ago, the Boskovich Farms management team, which includes George III as well as his father and others in the family business, decided to spin off its Fresh Prep division as a stand-alone company. “We did it for a number of reasons,” said George III, who serves as CEO of Fresh Prep while also continuing to wear the hat of vice president at Boskovich Farms. “We wanted to be more nimble and be able to meet consumer demand more easily.” He said there were also fiscal management reasons, including separating risks on the business side, but first and foremost was the concept of being able to make decisions independent of the farming and commodity operations.
George III and George Jr. in an Oxnard field.
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Namesake: Grandfather George Boskovich Sr. helped build the company that was started by his father, Stephen Boskovich. George Boskovich Jr. is current CEO of Boskovich Farms. And yes, there is a George Boskovich IV, who’s not yet old enough to be part of the fifth generation of the Boskovich family to farm in California…but his time is coming…around the late 2030s. Family: George and his wife, Joanna, have two children: George IV, 6; and Henry, 4. Family Pastime: George Sr., George Jr., and George III are into car collecting, concentrating on those in the Ford family. They have quite a few cars among them including more than a handful of Mustangs. tremendously and started growing green onions, which became Boskovich Farms’ signature crop. In the 1970s, the third generation joined the fold and today two of those members remain in the top leadership positions. George Jr. is the CEO of Boskovich Farms while Phil Jr. runs the growing operations. As a member of the fourth generation, George III is joined by cousins Phil III and Bridget (Phil’s kids) rounding out the quintet of Stephen Boskovich’s family tree currently involved in the 105-year- old company. Today, Boskovich is a well-rounded company with dozens of crops, but George III said green onions are still its number one item. “They represent about 25 percent of what we do.” The company also has significant involvement in spinach, romaine and cauliflower, with foodservice sales accounting for about half of the business. George said COVID and the heavy
College: George earned his business management degree at nearby California State University at Channel Islands. Fun Fact: “Before I popped the question to my bride, we did have subtle conversations about my intention to name my son, if we had one, George IV. If she didn’t agree that would have been a deal- breaker,” he joked. More Name Games: In the office, his colleagues do call him George3, but when the family gets together there has never been an effort to distinguish among the various “George” generations with cute nicknames. “You can tell by the inflection and the tone of voice which George is being referred to,” he said. foodservice focus of Boskovich made 2020 a challenging year. “But we got through it and every week it seems like more of our foodservice business is coming back.” The Fresh Prep CEO knows it is an increasing challenge to farm in California for many well-publicized reasons, but he believes the California ag industry will still be around, in one way or another, to provide opportunities for his children. “There will still be farming in Ventura County for at least another generation,” he predicted. “We may have to change the crops we can grow here, but the Oxnard Plain will still be here,” he said, noting that there has been a moratorium on employing ag land for other uses and he expects that moratorium to be renewed when it soon expires. George, who turned 40 very recently, spends much of his free time with his family. He and Joanna married in 2014 and have two sons with six-year-old George IV showing an aptitude for golf.
Name: George Boskovich III Title: Vice President of Boskovich Farms, CEO of Fresh Prep
“This is my project,” George says, noting that sometimes the commodity and value-added businesses have to make decisions without considering the impact on each other. To be sure, Boskovich Fresh Food Group Inc. is the parent company of both Fresh Prep and Boskovich Farms and the two sister companies do have a symbiotic relationship. But Fresh Prep also works with other growers for supplies of its value- added offerings. In 2020, Fresh Prep added a new value-added product line under its new “Fair Earth Farms” brand. The initial line included single-serve and bagged salad kits in 100 percent compostable packaging, and continues to expand. In 1915, the family farming operation, which would eventually become Boskovich Farms, was started in the Los Angeles area by Stephen Boskovich, who had emigrated to the United States from Croatia in the 1880s. After World War II, Stephen’s three sons—Phil Sr., George Sr. and Joe—took control of the company, expanded it
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November 7 TH -10 TH Fairmont Grand Del Mar, San Diego, Ca.
As families, friends, and the world begin to come back together, Western Growers is pleased to announce the return of its most cherished tradition—The Annual Meeting. This is an opportunity to reunite our community and create the next chapter of the Western Growers story. We invite you to join us at the beautiful Fairmont Grand Del Mar, on November 7 TH -10 TH , 2021. Registration is now open: please visit www.wgannualmeeting.com GROW Together.
The Federal Sustainability and Climate Change Push By Dennis Nuxoll, Vice President, Federal Government Affairs and Tracey Chow, Government Affairs Specialist
Climate change and sustainability are concepts that have been around for a long time. Many buyers have been launching various sustainability campaigns that Western Growers members have had to adhere to, and several state and local governments have also been focused on environmental sustainability. President Joe Biden has returned to this theme in a major way with a focus on climate change-related sustainability. Let’s explore what the federal government might be undertaking, as well as how that could impact your operations.
Federal Ambitions Early in its transition period, the Biden Administration made it clear that it intended to quickly follow through with one of its top campaign promises and address climate change. It released a preliminary proposal—the Climate 21 Project—that is extremely comprehensive, laying out proposals for nearly every federal agency. For the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the intent is wide ranging, touching upon a variety of topics such as tapping into crop insurance to incentivize climate-friendly practices, improving forest management, refocusing research and development, using rural development programs to build climate friendly projects, and enhancing conservation programs. The headliner proposal is a USDA-run carbon bank, through which it would offer to buy carbon and greenhouse gas reductions from
public comment upon are voluntary and incentive based; regulatory solutions are not being pushed. Second, any such policies and initiatives must account for the vast differences of the specialty crop sector that occur at a varietal, geographical, and financial level. Produce farming is inherently more cost-intensive and generally grown on higher-value land than nearly any other agricultural segment, so compensation and support must reflect the financial cost. Unfortunately, most of the proposals and activity so far in Washington—both in the legislative and executive branches—do not account for the vast differences between fruit, vegetable and tree nut production and other types of agricultural sector production systems. Most of the effort focuses on the livestock sector (e.g., methane digesters for dairy, improved grazing land systems for cattle) or commodity row crops (e.g., expanding no-till systems). Opportunities We believe that there are multiple opportunities for the produce sector as the federal government ramps up efforts around climate change and sustainability. We highlight a few here that the industry could explore and areas we will push with USDA: 1. Packing sheds. At the packing shed level, we believe there are several areas where USDA programs can increase efficiency to reduce carbon emissions while also saving companies money. Biomass systems can be installed as a cleaner way to deal with agricultural green waste (e.g., vines, tree branches, leaves) than burning or chipping while also providing renewable energy. Digesters could be utilized beyond dairy for the produce sector since they can work to convert ag waste into renewable energy. A focus on food packaging could help lower carbon footprints while also improving efficiency. Finally, identifying ways to reduce food waste and keep more edible food in the supply chain longer would expand the reach of our products to more consumers who enjoy them. 2. Orchard crops. Orchard crops provide some unique opportunities that haven’t fully been considered by carbon systems. Just looking at almonds, a 2015 report by the University of California, Davis found that 1 kilogram of California almonds typically results in
producers at a guaranteed price. State of Play & Prospects
As of this writing, the progress of these proposals has been slow and piecemeal. USDA has solicited climate change comments from the public to add detail to many of the general concepts and guide its next phase of program design. In Congress, aspects of the Biden proposal have been introduced as stand-alone legislation, including the carbon bank proposal. Weaving some proposals into larger legislative vehicles, such as upcoming transportation and infrastructure bills, is one very likely path forward. Looking further ahead, the Farm Bill will expire in 2023, and climate policies will be a central discussion point. Western Growers Position As an influential voice for the fresh produce industry, WG has already had several opportunities to weigh in with federal decision-makers about our needs and perspectives, including the aforementioned public comment period. The underpinning message we are proactively reinforcing is two-fold. First, the administration should pursue voluntary, incentive-based policies and initiatives, to both encourage new adoption of climate-friendly practices or tools and support the existing work and progress countless farmers have already undertaken. To the administration’s credit, all the proposals it has put forward and are asking for
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less than 1 kilogram of CO2 emissions. Moreover, current almond farming practices are offsetting roughly 50 percent of these emissions, as the industry has made strides to improve its air quality impact, water usage, and orchard recycling methods. Furthermore, as USDA considers providing crop insurance incentives for carbon-reducing conservation practices, orchard crops—which routinely use crop insurance—could be prime candidates. 3. Field grown produce. Most of the USDA carbon efforts around crops focus on strategies like no-till which do not neatly suit field grown produce. However, that does not mean that our opportunities will vanish. For example, exploration of new pesticide and fertilizer management techniques and technologies could help producers reduce carbon emissions, as well as save money while maintaining yield. 4. Energy savings. One area that USDA can help producers in all aspects of the industry is around comprehensive whole on-farm energy audits to provide recommendations for how energy conservation and efficiency can be achieved. Beyond that, USDA programs can be utilized toward energy efficiency upgrades for agricultural buildings and facilities. USDA also could have programs that incentivize or assist farmers with swapping or upgrading to newer, cleaner tools and systems. As one potential model, since 2017 California has operated the Funding Agricultural Replacement Measures for Emission Reductions (FARMER) Program, which provides funding through local air districts for upgrading agricultural harvesting equipment, heavy-duty trucks, agricultural pump engines, tractors, and other equipment used in agricultural operations. Overlap with Private Sector and States Many of you may be thinking that some of this is old hat. You are already involved with or familiar with some of the opportunities described above because there are state programs—such as the California Healthy Soil Initiative—or buyer sustainability programs that undertake some of these practices. We agree; we think that there is some work to build on as we explore these federal opportunities. We firmly believe that this topic is not going away. A focus on environmental sustainability has only increased over the years. Today, most buyers have some type of program,
and the level of complexity only seems to be getting higher. Given the degree of overlap between private sector focus and public sector opportunity, it is common sense for Western Growers to help shape the federal program and opportunities on behalf of its members.
While we know that many of you are involved in some of these environmental sustainability efforts, we want to learn about what you are doing to better shape our advocacy. We encourage you to reach out to us, the authors, with your story or questions.
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Collaboration Focus of WGCIT
By Tim Linden W hen the Western Growers Center for Innovation & Technology was launched in 2015, the concept had already been proven in several other industries: bring technology innovators together with industry users to create new solutions to age-old problems. But the fruit and vegetable industry did not have its own incubator until WGCIT was hatched. Today, WGCIT has 50+ residents working with many of the association’s members, and others in the ag space, to formulate solutions to real problems. Several years ago, WG Board Member and WGCIT Sponsor Vic Smith of JV Smith Companies told Western Grower & Shipper that technology geniuses are great, but they often find an answer and then look for a problem that it solves. WGCIT endeavors to get the horse before the cart. Here are a few examples of collaborations that are working in bringing solutions to problems by combining technology experts with produce-industry subject matter experts. Grace Mohan of HeavyConnect noted that the company started in 2014 and believes it recently has progressed beyond the “start-up phase” to that new world where a pat definition is elusive. “We no longer see ourselves as a startup. We have products and are selling them to customers.” But she said working with industry members during their development stage was crucial. She rattled off a number of companies that helped the firm develop its software, which is designed to make documentation compliance easy for a grower shipper. Mohan explained that in today’s environment a successful grower has to be more than just an accomplished farmer. She also has to have a detailed paper trail…and it’s better and more efficient if that paper trail isn’t on paper. In fact, HeavyConnect has digitized the paper trail. “We help the grower take what
he is doing in the field to the office without losing any of the data. The list of documents necessary to run a farming business are almost endless and are specific to what you are growing and where you are growing it. For example, HeavyConnect worked with Braga Farms in Soledad to develop the right documents for organic certification. Mohan said mobile devices and apps are utilized in the field by supervisors, foremen and workers who typically use a drop-down menu to document specific procedures, such as a pre-harvest checklist. That information is sent to the office and the proper documentation can then be created. Mohan said another application that is now ready-for-purchase as it has already gone through extensive testing, is its
time-keeping solution. This application interfaces with a grower’s payroll software automatically handling payroll activities. But it also creates time and productivity reports and keeps track of worker training protocols. She said food safety is another area in which documentation is critical and HeavyConnect has a solution after much testing with WG members. Concentric Power is another company that has gone through the start-up phase and is now in full sales mode with other customers who are benefiting for the collaboration with early users with customers that were not early adopters. Director of Project Development Amy Tomlinson listed Taylor Farms, Rava Ranches and Church Bros. as three companies that were instrumental in the early development state.
The Tasteful Selections groundbreaking featured Nathan Bender, Bob Bender and Brian Curtis (L to R).
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AN EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE FOR YOUR GROWTH.
At Western Growers, we are committed to providing you and your staff with educational opportunities to help upskill your team and help move your business forward. That is why we have created the Western Growers University, designed to deliver meaningful training to agricultural leaders, managers, and workers. Our leadership curriculum provides business owners and functional managers a practical approach to engage and create a more productive work environment. Our customized courses are designed to equip department managers, supervisors, and foremen with the latest wage and hour updates, leave law information, and human resources best practices to reduce potential litigation and improve workplace culture. Western Growers University offers interactive, online, and onsite courses to help you grow your business as the agricultural leaders of today and tomorrow.
UPCOMING COURSES • Management 101: The Essentials July 20 TH Santa Maria, CA. Spanish July 21 ST Santa Maria, CA. English
July 22 ND Oxnard, CA. Spanish
July 23 RD Oxnard, CA. English
• Preventing Discrimination and Harassment: Employee July 20 TH Santa Maria, CA. Spanish July 21 ST Santa Maria, CA. English July 22 ND Oxnard, CA. Spanish July 23 RD Oxnard, CA. English
July 27 TH Webinar Spanish
July 28 TH Webinar English
• Preventing Discrimination and Harassment: Supervisor July 20 TH Santa Maria, CA. Spanish July 21 ST Santa Maria, CA. English July 22 ND Oxnard, CA. Spanish July 23 RD Oxnard, CA. English
July 27 TH Webinar Spanish
July 28 TH Webinar English
To learn more about these and other ways we can provide you with educational training: Visit: Western Growers University | Western Growers (wga.com) Email: WesternGrowersUniversity@WGA.com or Contact Anna Bilderbach, at (949) 439-9740.
With their help, Concentric Power developed an intelligent “Microgrid Controller” that is able to integrate and optimize several power sources to take a facility off-grid for extended periods of time. Taylor Farms’ Gonzales processing facility had existing wind and solar components, but they functioned independently of each other. The goal of the microgrid and cogen project that Concentric Power built was to integrate these existing distributed energy resources (DERs) and add firm power to form a microgrid system that could effectively take the facility off grid. At its True Leaf Farms processing facility, Church Brothers was looking for energy resilience, independence, and cost benefits. The answer was to build an onsite microgrid that consolidated existing services to take advantage of primary, firm power. The project also included provisions for growth as demand increases over time. Concentric Power recently broke ground on a new facility at Tasteful Selections in the Bakersfield to again help solve the firm’s energy needs. The two companies collaborated to identify the need and work together to solve the problem with the aid of advanced energy technology. iFoodDecisionSciences, which recently acquired HarvestMark, also acquired an ongoing relationship with Divine Flavor, a grower-owned distribution company based in Nogales, Arizona, with many ranches in Mexico. iFoodDecisionSciences develops data management software solutions for
Taylor Farms was an early adopter of technology developed by Concentric Power.
supply chain players. It has digitized food safety processes and combined the results with traceability efforts making reporting of food safety a practice-based rather than an audit-based activity, according to Minos Athanassiadis, who handles marketing for that company. Working with grower-shippers, the company developed case level traceability and Athanassiadis said with this acquisition, iFoods is now the market leader in that space. They are now trying to go one-step further and bring traceability down to the consumer level with a QR code on each clamshell. Athanassiadis said that iFoods is working to develop software that can link QR scans
from the consumer container with the case code data already available. Through data analysis, the firm is working on connecting the location of the QR scan to the case code and transfer the food safety traceability data that is on the case to the clamshell scan. Michael DuPuis, public relations manager for Divine Flavor, said traceability along the entire supply chain from food to fork is a goal of the company. He said the case labeling work that Divine Flavor initially did with HarvestMark “is a cool project” that has paid dividends. He added that taking the traceability piece down to the consumer level is a goal of the company that could be in reach with the new-found popularity of QR codes. “The use of QR codes skyrocketed during the pandemic,” he said, alluding to the many uses such as by restaurants to eliminate paper menus. Consumers have become very familiar with scanning a QR menu to reveal data. “If you can take that same principle down to the last mile in a produce shipment that would be great.” Theoretically, a consumer could scan a QR code on a clamshell of grapes and be presented with a host of information identifying the source of that product on a very granular level. It is through collaboration between tech specialists and subject matter experts in the produce industry that companies in the Western Growers Center for Innovation & Technology are tackling and solving some of the industry’s thorniest concerns.
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MEET YOUR FUTURE VOLUNTEER LEADERS
Garret Powell Sales & Operations, Peter Rabbit Farms
Previously handling business development for tech giant Oracle, Garret has applied his operational intelligence and strong business acumen to further solidify his family farm as one of the premier produce grower/shippers in the Coachella Valley. Garret serves as a key player in the sales and operations team at Peter Rabbit Farms, and through the years has skillfully delivered a seamless customer experience and facilitated breakthrough innovations to enhance standard operating procedures.
Today, Garret proudly stands alongside his father, brother, uncle and cousin as the third and fourth generation of Powells owning and operating Peter Rabbit Farms. Journey with Garret as he shares a little bit more about his life.
“Christmas Card photo of my small family, with our son (Milo the puppy). You can find me with these two most of the time.”
“Even though I mainly operate out of the sales office, I like to make it to the fields as much as I possibly can. Here I am checking on our carrot growth and quality in the field. Carrots in hand!”
“Walking the pepper field in early April, checking the crop before the crown pick with my Dad (Steve Powell) and my brother (Collin Powell).” together, but one of our all-time trips was to the Matterhorn in Zermatt, Switzerland. Après Ski, fondue and lots of chocolate (not pictured).” “We love to visit new places! Here you see my wonderful lady (and best friend!) and me. We’ve traveled extensively
“Family is everything and this shot is one of my favorites because it puts our personalities on display. We’re just having fun!”
“My first trip to the LA Market was a success. Franz De Klotz, a veteran of that market (and current WG board member), showed me the way and snapped a photo of me with some Peter Rabbit boxes in the wild!”
Garret is one of nine individuals selected to be in Class 6 of the Future Volunteer Leaders, a program that guides the next generation of leaders within Western Growers member companies interested in becoming more informed and effective advocates for the fresh produce industry.
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