Today the company has a stable of 65 organic vegetables that are utilized in the crop rotation with its carrot production. But Huckaby said it is carrots that continue to be the focal point. Growth is determined by how much carrots are needed. “We have the ability to go out and increase our mixed vegetable production without increasing carrot production, but we don’t do that.” As goes carrots, so goes Grimmway. That path has produced quite a winner over the years. Huckaby said the firm has 42,000 of company-owned acres under organic production. It has come close to perfecting its crop rotation which includes onions, potatoes, broccoli and a host of other items, including cover crops that are tilled back into the field on a regular basis. This rotation, he said, improves the soil and results in the production of top notch organic crops on a continual basis. Huckaby believes that the decision made by Bob Grimm in 2001 to use only the best land has been the key to their success. He notes that other growers often find a piece of land that has been out of production for three years or more to launch their organic involvement as that reduces the time needed for certification. “But there’s a reason that land wasn’t being used,” he said. “And it’s usually because of bad soil.” Grimmway took its best land and produced its best crops. While 20 years of organic farming experience has helped Grimmway achieve close to yield parity between its conventional
and organic crops, Huckaby said it is still significantly more expensive to grow organic products, and the premium price they command is justified and needed. He said weeding costs are 10 times more in organic carrot production because there are no approved herbicides that can do the job chemicals can do on conventional land. And from a fertility standpoint, he said the work done with conventional carrots is cheaper and more effective. “Those two inputs alone are enough to justify the premium price.” Huckaby said that currently organic demand is outpacing supply so the premium is still in play. He indicated that without that premium it would be difficult to continue growing organic crops. For his part, Huckaby grew up on a farm, joined Bolthouse Farms after college as a farm manager and then several years later came to Grimmway to head up their organic farming division. He then took over Cal-Organic and became executive vice president of the firm after Bob Grimm passed in 2006. In 2016, Huckaby was elevated to the role of president/CEO. Grimmway Farms is still a family-owned operation with three children of the original founders currently working within the organization and being groomed for future leadership roles. Brandon Grimm has been active in Western Growers and went through the organization’s Future Volunteer Leaders Program.
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JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2018
Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com
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