SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2024
SONNY RODRIGUEZ, THE PEOPLE’S CHAMPION Celebrating Western Growers’ 2024 Award of Honor Recipient
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WESTERN GROWER & SHIPPER Published Since 1929 Volume XCV | Number 5
To enhance the competitiveness and profitability of Western Growers members
Features
Dave Puglia President and CEO Western Growers davep@wga.com
P. 15
SONNY RODRIGUEZ, THE PEOPLE’S CHAMPION Celebrating Western Growers’ 2024 Award of Honor Recipient
Editor Michelle Rivera 949.885.4778 | mrivera@wga.com Contributors Cory Lunde 949.885.2264 | clunde@wga.com Julia Nellis 949.885.2270 | jnellis@wga.com Ann Donahue 949.302.7600 | adonahue@wga.com Kara Timmins 949.885.4786 | kmtimmins@wga.com Michael Escañuelas michael.escanuelas@gmail.com Circulation Marketing 949.885.2248 | communications@wga.com Advertising Sales Dana Davis 302.750.4662 | dana@tygermarketing.com
P. 20
GROWING FOR SUSTAINABILITY
P. 26
WESTERN GROWERS AG LEGAL NETWORK DIRECTORY
Articles
P. 35 WGCIT RESIDENT TRIC ROBOTICS GOING THE DISTANCE
TOGETHER.
WGA.COM
Departments
Western Grower & Shipper ISSN 0043-3799, Copyright © 2024 by the Western Grower & Shipper is published bi-monthly by Western Grower & Shipper Publishing Company, a division of Western Growers Service Corp., 6501 Irvine Center Drive, Suite 100, Irvine California 92618. Business and Editorial Offices: 6501 Irvine Center Drive, Suite 100, Irvine California 92618. Accounting and Circulation Offices: Western Grower & Shipper, 6501 Irvine Center Drive, Suite 100, Irvine California 92618. Call (949) 863-1000 to subscribe. Subscription is $25 per year. Foreign subscription is $50 per year. Single copies of issues, $2. 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.
4 President’s Notes 8 Agriculture & the Law 10 Advocacy | California 11 Science 14 Insurance 22 WG Member Welcome & Anniversaries
33 Health Insurance 34 Director's Profile
36 Updates from the WGCIT 38 WG News You Can Use 40 Connections 41 Contact Us 42 Farm Dogs and Barn Cats of Western Growers
3 Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com September | October 2024
THE LARGER MEANING OF PAGA REFORM By Dave Puglia, President and CEO
“On my desk in the Oval Office, I have a little sign that says: There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn’t mind who gets the credit.” - President Ronald Reagan Even though I hold Ronald Reagan in the greatest esteem, I am going to violate that admonition a little bit for what I think is a good purpose. Not so much to give credit, although it’s important to recognize a small band of warriors whose boldness yielded great results, but more critically to illuminate a strategic trail that has been cut through the nasty impenetrable thicket that is the California Legislature. This is an abbreviated review of the reforms to California’s notorious Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). Enacted in 2004, PAGA was intended to be a more effective way to help employees resolve workplace disputes. Instead – predictably given the way the law was crafted – trial lawyers seized on this new weapon to shake down California businesses to the tune of $8 billion over the past decade. Agricultural employers were hit with at least 180 cases during this time span at an average of $875,000 per settlement. For every legislative session in Sacramento since about 2010, business groups made the case to legislators that PAGA was being abused by trial lawyers, undercutting the
intent of the Legislature to ensure that the law primarily benefit truly harmed employees. And every session, one or two very modest little bills to reform PAGA around the edges were introduced and promptly shot down in committee hearings. It became sort of a “Groundhog Day” thing in the Capitol. Meanwhile, with every passing year, the number of abusive PAGA claims increased as more trial lawyers moved in. Settlement amounts soared as trial lawyers realized that the web of trip wires that is the California Labor Code makes it nearly impossible for an employer to take these kinds of cases to trial. Frustration in the business community boiled over as it seemed nothing could motivate the majority in the Legislature to restrain PAGA abuses. And yet, today, we celebrate the enactment of legislation reforming PAGA in ways we only dreamed of before. What changed? How did two legislative bills that never would have passed a single committee hearing before this year advance in 2024 all the way to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk without a single vote in opposition? It all started with a bunch of determined new car dealers who refused to accept escalating shakedown lawsuits as “the price of doing business” in California. With the counsel of their leader, Brian Maas, President of the California New Car Dealers Association (CNCDA), the group began in 2018 (yes, six years ago!) on a
From left to right: Jot Condie, President and CEO of California Restaurant Association (CRA); Brian Maas, President of the California New Car Dealers Association; Dave Puglia, President and CEO of Western Growers; Jennifer Barrera, CalChamber President and CEO.
4 Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com September | October 2024
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different strategy: to qualify a ballot initiative to repeal and replace PAGA. The risks of going forward were high. Obtaining sufficient valid signatures from voters to qualify a ballot measure is a multimillion-dollar endeavor, not to mention the far greater financial cost required to win the subsequent campaign. (Think about the ubiquitous TV ads and mail pieces flooding your home during election season.) Maas knew that only the threat of a ballot initiative to repeal PAGA would motivate the Legislature to take PAGA reform seriously. Setting out on this journey – and by design committing his members to dig deeper into their wallets than ever before – was anything but simple. A relatively new law, however, meant that qualifying a ballot measure would not inevitably force Maas’s group to mount a fully funded campaign to pass it. From the inception of the ballot initiative in 1911, once proponents of a ballot initiative submit signatures, the process advances no matter what: Either there are sufficient valid voter signatures, in which case the measure is placed on the ballot, or there aren’t, in which case it dies. But in 2014, the Legislature passed a new law allowing an initiative’s proponent to withdraw a qualified ballot measure even after voter signatures have been submitted, as long as at least 131 days remain before the election. This reform was intended to give interest groups that turn to the initiative process and the Legislature a chance to compromise before requiring voters to decide the matter. The law has been used 11 times to produce compromise legislation that satisfied initiative backers to withdraw their qualified ballot measures. That’s ultimately how we won the major PAGA reforms of 2024. And the “we” part of this is really important. As Maas moved forward, he found three key business association partners to join forces with the car dealers: Western Growers, the California Chamber of Commerce and the California Restaurant Association. Together, these four organizations, through their members and their own association resources, cobbled together the $9.5 million needed to qualify the PAGA repeal-and-replace initiative.
From there, it was game on as interests on the left – notably labor unions – sought a workable compromise that would avoid a costly fall ballot measure fight. With additional partners coming on board for a possible legislative compromise, the business coalition went back to their wells, raising more than $3 million for a public affairs program to make PAGA reform a high priority for the Legislature. With June 27, 2024 – the deadline to withdraw our qualified PAGA initiative from the November ballot rapidly approaching – negotiations between our coalition and labor groups quickly heated up in the early part of the month. After a final weekend of high stakes negotiations, an agreement was announced on June 18 by Gov. Newsom and legislative leaders. Later that week, legislation was introduced, and on July 1, the Governor signed PAGA reform into law. Credit where credit is due: This would not have happened without Gov. Newsom and his staff. After negotiating a deal between labor unions and elements of the restaurant industry that motivated the latter to withdraw their minimum wage referendum from the November 2024 ballot, Gov. Newsom moved PAGA reform to the top of his list. He and his staff operated in good faith. They organized the legislative partners and brought business and labor unions to the table, ultimately driving a workable solution over the goal line. While we did not get everything we asked for – no side ever does in a compromise – the reform package addresses the major problems with PAGA and will reduce the number and severity of lawsuits against our member companies and businesses across the state. More importantly, this unified, sustained and well-funded campaign demonstrates what is still possible in California. Thanks to the direct democracy reforms of 1911, and the 2014 reforms to them, we are not necessarily consigned on all things to the dictates of the Legislature’s supermajority. Be assured that the merry band behind the risky and expensive strategy that resulted in PAGA reform will not disband. Indeed, we are actively looking for our next adventure.
6 Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com September | October 2024
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PAGA REFORM: WELCOME RELIEF FOR CALIFORNIA EMPLOYERS By Jason Resnick, Senior Vice President and General Counsel
Long-awaited changes to the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) bring much needed relief for California employers who take advantage of the opportunity. The Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 allows employees to sue their employers on behalf of the state for Labor Code violations, effectively deputizing private citizens to enforce labor laws. This unique mechanism has led to a significant increase in litigation, often resulting in costly settlements and judgments for employers. PAGA lawsuits have resulted in more than $10 billion in payments from employers since 2016, with a significant chunk going to lawyers. It is widely reported that PAGA has been abused by plaintiffs’ attorneys, resulting in frivolous lawsuits that burden businesses without significantly benefiting employees. Key Changes The reformed PAGA legislation introduces several changes aimed at addressing these concerns while maintaining protections for workers. Here are the most notable aspects of the new law:
1. Requirement for Personal Violations Under the new legislation, employees can only seek penalties for labor code violations they have personally experienced within the year before filing a notice. This change limits the scope of PAGA claims to individual grievances, reducing the likelihood of broad claims based on violations experienced by others. 2. Reduced Penalties • Wage Statement Violations: Penalties for wage statement errors are reduced to $25 per pay period if the employee can easily verify the required information or is not misled about employer identity. This adjustment significantly reduces potential liabilities for employers over technical errors. • Default Penalty Limits: For violations lacking
specified penalties, the default is capped at $100 per employee per pay period. This cap is lowered further in cases of isolated or minor infractions, potentially reducing penalties to $25 or $50 per pay period.
8 Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com September | October 2024
• Weekly Pay Cycle Penalty Reduction: Employers who pay weekly, such as farm labor contractors, now benefit from a 50 percent reduction in penalties for violations across pay periods. This change addresses the previous penalty structure that arbitrarily and disproportionately affected employers with more frequent pay schedules. 3. Penalty Reductions Through Compliance Efforts Employers who proactively work to comply with labor laws can see their penalties reduced. Measures include: • Conducting regular payroll and compliance audits. • Maintaining clear and lawful written policies. • Training management on labor law requirements. • Correcting any identified issues promptly. Penalties can be reduced to 15 percent if “all reasonable steps” are taken before a PAGA notice is received or to 30 percent if implemented within 60 days of receiving a notice. 4. Limitations on Penalty Stacking Employees are restricted from accumulating multiple penalties for related infractions unless there is clear evidence of intentional wrongdoing by the employer. This change helps prevent exaggerated penalty claims, allowing for fairer outcomes. 5. Judicial Oversight and Case Management Courts are now empowered to manage PAGA claims more effectively by: • Adjusting penalties based on the specifics of each case. • Limiting the scope and evidence in trials. • Consolidating overlapping claims to streamline proceedings. This enhanced judicial oversight aims to prevent unwieldy litigation, granting courts and employers more control over legal processes. Opportunities for Early Resolution The reforms introduce procedures for early resolution, offering pathways to resolve potential violations before they escalate to litigation. • Small Employers (under 100 employees): Can propose resolution plans to the Labor & Workforce Development Agency (LWDA) and negotiate settlements in a structured setting. • Large Employers (over 100 employees): Can request an evaluation meeting after a PAGA lawsuit is filed to discuss the factual basis for claims and potential resolutions, reducing legal costs and addressing issues early. Encouragement to Correct Violations Employers are incentivized to rectify labor code violations promptly. This involves complying with relevant statutes, compensating employees for any owed wages, and providing necessary documentation to correct errors.
Miscellaneous Changes
• The share of PAGA settlements that go to aggrieved employees has increased from 25 percent to 35 percent, while the LWDA’s portion has decreased from 75 percent to 65 percent. • The new requirement for personal violation does not apply to existing nonprofit legal aid organizations, allowing these groups to continue filing PAGA claims on behalf of affected workers without being subject to the new standing requirement. • Courts can now issue injunctive relief under PAGA, providing plaintiffs a legal tool to stop ongoing violations and enforce compliance beyond financial penalties. Practical Strategies for Employers To leverage these reforms, employers should take “all reasonable steps” to proactively come into compliance by taking the following measures: • Regular Audits : Routinely evaluate payroll, wage statements and employment practices to ensure compliance with labor laws. • Swift Remedial Action : Address and rectify any issues promptly, communicating corrections to employees as necessary. • Active Engagement : Respond promptly to LWDA notices and requests, focusing on early resolution to avoid litigation. • Policy Updates and Training : Ensure employment policies are current and that supervisors are trained on compliance standards. Conclusion Western Growers played a significant role in the FIX PAGA coalition, representing non-profits, social justice advocates, family farmers, health care providers and businesses, which worked with Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislators in enacting this historic reform into law. PAGA reform marks a significant shift in California’s PAGA landscape, offering new opportunities for reducing litigation risks. While there is much to be proud of in terms of potentially reducing the frequency and severity of PAGA claims writ large, the new law is a compromise borne out of tough legislative negotiations and is not a panacea. While the new law will bring much needed relief for California employers, PAGA litigation in California isn’t going away anytime soon.
9 Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com September | October 2024
A FRONT ROW SEAT TO LEADERSHIP AND PERSONAL CHARACTER By Matthew Allen, Vice President, State Government Affairs
I’m writing this article in the middle of August 2024 and am amazed that this legislative year is already coming to an end. The years seem to be going by faster and faster, and the number of issues that our industry contends with continue to grow. That said, it’s been a very successful legislative year and I have great expectations that we can and will surmount new challenges as they inevitably come our way. I could take up the rest of this article pontificating about bills and issues of the day. While crucially important—and the reason why I am happily employed at Western Growers—I would like to instead dedicate the remainder of this article to expressing my overwhelming joy that Sonny Rodriguez has been selected for the 2024 WG Award of Honor. There will be many accolades and much honoring of Sonny in the months ahead, but I would like to offer my personal congratulations to an amazing person and agricultural leader.
Sonny to join him for a day in 2018 for farm tours in Yuma with the Arizona Center of Rural Leadership class. The background of the class participants was quite varied. A small number of people had some agricultural experience, but most were involved in non-agricultural related work, and a few were public sector employees. In short, it was a great group to spend time with and one that would ultimately benefit from Sonny’s deep knowledge, experience and engagement in Yuma agriculture. My day with Sonny and the class members started in the early morning hours at the U.S. port of entry just south of Yuma. We met with border officials who gave us a tour of the facility as day farmworkers holding either green cards or H-2A visas waited in long lines for entry into the U.S. to commute to work on nearby farms. It was an eye-opening experience for me to also see countless elementary school children in line, who are also eligible to enter the U.S. given their parents’ work status, waiting for their turn to cross the border to attend their classes. Many of the farmworkers and their children had been up for hours starting their day prior to arriving at the border. Hard work, perseverance and dedication is the only way to describe their daily commute to work and school. Following an incredible breakfast at a local food truck, we proceeded to several farm operations where Sonny was able to show the class participants the incredible technical skills involved in farm labor as well as the variety of crops that are grown in Yuma during the winter months. I learned a great deal about different farming practices and the logistics of leafy green planting and harvesting. Most importantly, so did others with little prior knowledge of agriculture. What has really stayed in my mind all these years later, though, is the many smiles, handshakes, winks, nods and occasional jokes that the farm employees shared with Sonny and that he shared with them. Sonny knows not just the names of his workforce but the details of their stories. They loved having Sonny arrive on the worksite to showcase the operations, and he loved seeing and catching up with them. Ever humble, he pointed to the efforts of WG staff in helping further the success of farming in Arizona. I’m ever so grateful to Sonny for letting me be just a tiny part of that day. California and Arizona agriculture has been made better because of his dedicated leadership and kindness. Congratulations on a well- deserved award, Sonny!
I’ve had the opportunity to get to know Sonny through his many years on the WG Board of Directors. His engagement and insight have helped me to more effectively advocate for our membership on an array of legislative and regulatory issues, especially on the topic of farm labor. We’ve all had life and/or career experiences that have shaped our way of thinking or impacted us in ways far deeper than one might imagine. One of mine was the opportunity offered to me by
10 Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com September | October 2024
FOOD SAFETY, FOOD SECURITY AND FOOD POLICY By Sonia Salas, Associate Vice President, Science
“The political forum is just one more place where farmers’ power seems to be slipping away. Concomitantly, agriculture and food system outsiders’ influence over farm policy appears to be gaining ground.” – Ray A. Starling in Farmers versus Foodies: A Look at the Outside Forces Forging the Future of Farming and Food. Food safety, food security and food policy play a critical role in ensuring the availability, accessibility and safety of food. If we search on the internet, we will find that food policy impacts all of us because it encompasses laws and regulations to manage food production, distribution, consumption and safety, impacting food choices and the information consumers receive about food. Focusing on the effect of the latter, the information available to consumers influences their food choices and the nutritional quality of consumers’ diets. If we search for the meaning of “activism,” we will see it is a practice of taking action to effect social, political, economic or
environmental change. But change does not necessarily result in improvement. This story is not about activism or bad policies but instead addresses the need for public-private collaboration and the importance of data-driven decisionmaking to inform effective policy. We live in an era where anyone can state “facts” without supportive evidence or where pieces of partial and incomplete information are used to present or misrepresent the whole or the entire picture. Now, more than ever, collaboration and data-driven information is crucial. In the last 50 years, the domestic production of fresh produce in the U.S. has continued to shrink, while the cost of producing food in the U.S. continues to increase. Based on U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Economic Research Service data, the domestic production of top specialty crops consumed in the U.S. has been declining or remained relatively steady while the imported volume of these crops has continuously increased at a high rate. See a few examples below (lettuce, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, grapes).
11 Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com September | October 2024
According to Professor Timothy Lytton in his article Known Unknowns: Unmeasurable Hazards and the Limits of Risk Regulation : “When known unknowns cause harm, public pressure often leads Congress to mandate that agencies establish specific, science-based thresholds for acceptable risk. In response, regulators, who lack scientific evidence to justify such rules, face a choice: they can either delay the rulemaking process or fabricate a scientific justification.” We face many known unknowns in food safety. That is why it is critical to recognize knowledge gaps and advance science where we can address the remaining uncertainty. We are countering two polarized positions – advocates for robust government intervention vs. unregulated markets – both of which do little to address the effectiveness of regulation and the integrity of private governance. It is time to counter extremes with private-public cooperation and collective learning that can yield better results and support food safety and security.
According to the ERS, all farm production costs for major crops have risen since 2020, with individual cost increases ranging from 2 percent to 78 percent, while the farm share of total food dollar expenditure has been declining (e.g.,14.9 cents in 2022 from 15.2 cents in 2021). The average price of food in the U.S. increased 2.2 percent in the 12 months ending in June, according to the latest inflation data published July 11, 2024, by the U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The cost increase is impacted in part by regulatory and buyer demands. Regulatory and buyer demands are meant to ensure the safety and availability of food but can at times be influenced by public pressure created by distorted activism. For instance, based on media reports, it is easy to believe that foodborne illness outbreaks attributed to fresh produce are increasing because the industry is not doing enough to prevent outbreaks. Based on this media-driven premise, demanding new requirements makes sense. However, the media and activists rarely explore or report on other factors affecting food safety, such as weather events, wildlife population explosions, urban encroachment, the enhancement in detection methods in recent years (e.g., the increased use of technologies such as whole genome sequencing), or even the government’s changes to the definition of foodborne outbreaks. When we engage in a reactive approach that tends to add regulatory requirements regardless of whether they will truly enhance the safety of the food supply, we continue to promote an economically unsustainable approach that will likely drive many operations out of business. While public health is a necessary cost, efforts should focus on continuous, measurable improvements and data-driven preventive measures, rather than on reactive regulations that come with high uncertainty and overlook gaps in scientific knowledge.
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ENSURING PROPER INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR YOUR SEEDLINGS: AVOIDING COMMON GAPS By Jeff Gullickson, President, Western Growers Insurance Services
Do you grow seedlings for yourself or others? Are they in trays in the open, or housed in a greenhouse? If so, there’s a high likelihood that your current insurance coverage has some significant gaps. Many standard property insurance policies either exclude or severely limit the amount of coverage for growing crops. So, how do you protect the value of your seedlings against potential loss? When it comes to growing seedlings, whether for your own crops or others, safeguarding your investment is crucial. Seedlings are vulnerable to a myriad of risks that can lead to substantial financial losses if not properly insured. Understanding these risks and how to mitigate them with the right insurance coverage, is essential for any grower. Several risks can threaten your seedlings, including: 1. Loss of Electricity: In the event of a power outage, essential systems, like pumps and water delivery mechanisms, cease to function. This can lead to dehydration and heat stress, ultimately damaging or killing the seedlings. 2. Disease: Seedlings are highly susceptible to diseases, which can spread rapidly in confined environments, such as greenhouses. Without appropriate coverage, an outbreak can result in significant losses. 3. Excess Heat or Wind: Extreme weather conditions, including heatwaves and strong winds, can cause physical damage to seedlings, particularly those grown in the open. Such events can lead to the loss of entire crops. To illustrate the importance of adequate insurance coverage, consider a recent case involving a Western Growers member. This grower’s coverage, like many others, was negatively impacted by the limitations of standard property insurance. The grower had to settle for a cobbled-together policy provided by their agent. This policy came with higher premiums, reduced coverage and a much higher deductible per building, essentially leaving the grower self-insured. A fire damaged a utility pole, knocking out their water pumps, which left their seedlings at risk. Recognizing the unique challenges faced by growers, we represent a carrier that specializes in nursery operations. This carrier understands the specific needs
of covering seedlings, whether they are in greenhouses, pots or trays in the open. The benefits of choosing a specialized insurance provider include: 1. Comprehensive Coverage: Tailored policies that address the unique risks associated with growing seedlings, ensuring that you are protected against common threats, such as disease, extreme weather and equipment failures. 2. Competitive Pricing: Affordable premiums that provide value without sacrificing the quality of coverage. This allows growers to invest in insurance without straining their budgets. 3. Expert Claims Adjusters: Professionals who understand nursery operations and can accurately assess and process claims, ensuring that you receive the support and compensation you need in the event of a loss.
For growers, peace of mind comes from knowing that their investments are protected. By opting for a specialized insurance provider, you can ensure that your seedlings are adequately covered against various risks. This protection allows you to focus on what you do best—growing healthy, vibrant plants—without the constant worry of potential financial setbacks. Don’t settle for inadequate coverage that leaves your seedlings and your financial future at risk. Choose a specialized insurance policy designed to meet the specific needs of nursery operations. With the right coverage, you can mitigate risks, secure your investment and cultivate your seedlings with confidence. Reach out to us today to learn more about our tailored insurance solutions for growers and take the first step toward comprehensive protection for your nursery operations.
14 Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com September | October 2024
Cover Story SONNY RODRIGUEZ, THE PEOPLE’S CHAMPION Celebrating Western Growers’ 2024 Award of Honor Recipient By Michelle Rivera, Senior Communications Manager
The remarkable evolution from apprentice to visionary is a tale as old as time, a story often told to inspire those looking to enhance their career paths or reinvigorate their lives. The recipient of this year’s Western Growers’ Award of Honor takes the myth and puts a human face on it. WG Board Member Sonny Rodriguez, the President and CEO of The Growers Company, has an inspiring legacy rooted in his family’s support and values, starting with his father, Joe L. Rodriguez, who - even with just an 8th grade education - profoundly influenced his son’s journey. Understanding the value of hard work is best learned at a young age, and Rodriguez’s father made sure of that. Sonny’s first job was grueling and consisted of spending 12 to 14 hours a day picking up empty burlap sacks behind the onion grading crews—a task he describes as the “dirtiest and smelliest job” he’s ever had. With his father’s wisdom and relentless drive influencing his path, Rodriguez achieved his goal of graduating from Arizona State University in 1975 with a degree in Business Administration. At the time, Rodriguez overlooked the significance of this accomplishment. “It didn’t dawn on me until later that I was a first-generation college graduate,” Rodriguez explained. “That’s a big deal.” But that was only the beginning. After nearly 50 years of impacting and revolutionizing the fresh produce industry, Western Growers will honor Rodriguez at the 98th Annual Meeting in November. The Award of Honor is Western Growers’ highest recognition of achievement and is given to individuals who have contributed extensively to the agricultural community. Rodriguez recalls the moment he found out he had been selected for this year’s Award of Honor at the Western Growers board meeting in Sacramento earlier this year. “I was shocked. I looked up, and for the first time in my life, I was at a loss for words. I’m not a grower. This board is made of growers and shippers, so never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I was going to get this award as a labor contractor,” Rodriguez said. “The Western Growers Award of Honor is typically bestowed on the growers for whom this association was created in 1926,” said Western Growers President and CEO Dave Puglia. “This year, we break with that practice to honor Sonny Rodriguez. Sonny ensures that his customers – growers of fresh produce – can be confident that their crops will be expertly tended and harvested by skilled farm employees, and he does this with the highest commitment to integrity, ethical conduct and compassion for all. “Sonny started working in the fields as a teenager and has never strayed from the values his father inculcated in him, none more important than treating every worker with dignity and respect.
Few in our industry have done as much to educate elected leaders and government officials about the many positive contributions – and the many challenges confronting – America’s fresh produce industry. He is a respected and well-known advocate for agricultural labor reform that would honor the work of our farm employees and bring rationality to the industry,” Puglia said. With more than a half a century of experience in providing labor services to farmers in Arizona and California, Rodriguez is truly a man of the people, embodying integrity, fairness and opportunistic employment for all of his workers. “There is a farm worker behind every piece of produce that we can buy at our convenience,” Rodriguez said. “I see what these workers go through, and I’ve gotten to know them on a personal level. I want everyone to appreciate what they do, and that’s why I became a champion of protecting the farmworkers.” Founded by his father Joe to provide labor services to farmers in the Glendale, Ariz., region, The Growers Company offered custom produce harvesting since 1950 and is a third-generation family business. Rodriguez joined the company in 1975 and today serves as its President and CEO. Headquartered in Yuma, Ariz., with offices in Huron and Salinas, Calif., the company harvests lettuce, mix lettuce, cauliflower, broccoli and many other commodities.
Sonny with Jaime Garcia. Garcia has been working with Sonny for 31 years, starting as a field worker, foreman and now a supervisor.
15 Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com September | October 2024
“The People’s Champion” Sonny Rodriguez with Supervisor Jaime Garcia and harvest crew.
The business has always been guided by principles that emphasize acknowledging the people who make everything possible, starting with its very name. “My father’s philosophy in picking the name The Growers Company was, ‘We are nothing without the people who do the work,’ and ‘We are nothing without the farmer to give us the work.’ He said our job is to create a balance that is mutually beneficial to both,” Rodriguez said. The story of The Growers Company is one of tradition—a tradition that has demonstrated sustainability through perilous worker strikes, uncertain immigration policies and mounting regulations, explains Rodriguez. Throughout his career, Rodriguez has faced significant hurdles and challenges, which he regards as the most influential and impactful lessons he has learned. “My first realization that there was more to just packing a box was when we failed our DOL housing inspection at our Casa Grande [Ariz.] housing site,” he said. But rather than become angry, Rodriguez went on to forge a valuable relationship with the representative from the U.S. Department of Labor who initially failed him. “I’ll never forget that. We became good friends, and she guided me through regulations,” he said. “I learned not to fight the regulations, but to comply with them, and participate in changing them—and that takes getting involved.” This served as the catalyst for Rodriguez to assist in creating a free Arizona/California Seminar to educate employers, a program that has continued for 17 years. “Western Growers has partnered with us since day one,” Rodriguez said. “As I reflect, it has been a grind, but it has been fruitful, and the relationships we have made along the way are wonderful and unmatched.”
The Growers Company has been a member of Western Growers since 1978, and Rodriguez was first elected to serve on the board in 1998. The Award of Honor will be a distinguished addition to his extensive list of significant accomplishments. Rodriguez is a graduate of Project CENTRL Arizona Leadership Program’s Class XII and served on the Agricultural Employment Relations Board from 1995 to 2005. He was active in the Yuma Vegetable Shippers Association for 15 years. In addition, Rodriguez is one of the founders of Yuma Catholic High School. “I have accomplished a lot of good things in my life, but being part of starting Yuma Catholic High School tops my list,” he said. His numerous recognitions include Employer of the Year in 1998, 1999 and 2000 by Campesinos Sin Fronteras; Citizen of the Year 2000 by the Knights of Columbus; Philanthropist of the Year 2011 by the Yuma Community Foundation; Heart of Yuma 2020 by the Yuma Community Foundation; and the Sower Award 2023 by Campesinos Sin Fronteras. Rodriguez served on the Diocese of Tucson Charity and Ministry Board for six years, was chairman of the St. Francis Parish Board for three years and Hospice of Yuma Board for two years of his six-year term. Rodriguez also set up funds with the Yuma Community Foundation to fund them in perpetuity for Yuma Catholic High School, St. Mary’s High School, Yuma Young Life, Yuma Food Bank and St. Vincent de Paul. “You know, I have gotten a few awards from time to time, but serving is not about the awards. What’s near and dear to me is immigration reform. Let’s take care of those people who have been here, who have worked for us, who are in the shadows. It’s about making your community better,” Rodriguez said. “I am just a small grain in the sand.”
Sonny and his sons. From left to right: Nick Rodriguez, Trey Rodriguez, Sonny Rodriguez and Freddy Rodriguez.
18 Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com September | October 2024
WESTERN GROWERS 98 TH ANNUAL MEETING NOV. 3–6, 2024 JW MARRIOTT SCOTTSDALE CAMELBACK INN RESORT & SPA
EVENT SPEAKERS & ENTERTAINMENT
Laura Ling Award-winning journalist and writer
Oz Pearlman World-class mentalist
Award of Honor Dinner Gala Entertainment
Kick-off Keynote
Amy Trask Former Oakland Raiders CEO
Bari Weiss Award-winning journalist and author
Chair's Lunch Keynote
PAC Lunch Speaker
REGISTER NOW! To guarantee your spot to network with more than 500 industry leaders - wgannualmeeting.com
For more information, please contact CHERYL HALL: chall@wga.com or (949) 885-2268 For sponsorship opportunities, please contact ROB STEINMANN: rsteinmann@wga.com or (949) 885-2266
Feature Story GROWING FOR SUSTAINABILITY By Joelle Mosso, Associate Vice President, Science Programs
This is part one of a two-part series on food safety and sustainability.
At what point in time does a plant become food? Why would that moment in time matter, and how would we know when it occurs? Food, by the nature of its purpose, should nourish the body and not introduce negative health outcomes. Fresh produce is one of the healthiest food categories, supplying vitamins, antioxidants and overall nutrition to support a healthy body. Unfortunately, fresh produce has had its share of food safety-related incidents, highlighting the challenge of producing fresh food in complex ecosystems where even the best efforts to control human health hazards occasionally come up short. It is difficult to describe the challenges of producing safe produce when the crop system, and item, are subject to uncontrollable forces, such as climate, wind, adjacent land activities—and on a cellular level—bacterial pathogens’ biological adaptations for survival. Simply stated, our food grows where other organisms live.
and food safety goals are at odds with one another. This topic of discussion began to build momentum following produce outbreaks in the early 2000s and has been becoming more frequent as new sustainability programs, certifications and label claims have been introduced and adopted. Despite the increasing references to the perceived conflict, there are no agricultural practices that are solely “safe” or “unsafe” for any produce item or environment. Instead, there is a spectrum of agronomic practices that can be used to propagate a crop, and all practices may have the potential for hazard introduction and system imbalance, and they ultimately have an impact on the final risk to consumers. Sustainability: What’s in a name? Sustainability is an encompassing term with many meanings across businesses, systems and regulations. The concept of sustainability as it applies to business began to form after its appearance on the world stage in the 1987 Brundtland Report, also known as “Our Common Future,” by the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development. The Brundtland Report built the foundation for approaching sustainable development in the 20th century and has helped define overall sustainability goals as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” In the decade following the Brundtland Report, businesses across the globe began introducing corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs and brought to life concepts, such as the “triple bottom line,” an approach for sustainability that includes the social and environmental impacts alongside the overall financial performance for a company. Sustainability responsibilities and efforts have grown over the years, with increasing reporting and transparency requirements for both publicly traded companies and privately owned businesses, with efforts generally aligned on establishing reporting requirements at all levels of supply chains and operations. In recent years, sustainability’s meaning has further expanded to more explicitly incorporate efforts aimed at addressing climate change, resource depletion, social equity, food security and overall community well-being. To address the need for harmonization of sustainability approaches across the globe and industries, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) was formed in 1998 to attempt to deliver consistency, a universal framework and language, transparency and accountability around systems for reporting sustainability metrics. As of 2024, GRI houses various sustainability reporting standards and guidelines with each program attempting to capture industry-specific nuance and needs.
As a result, productive agronomic systems must coexist with other organisms and communities and acknowledge that food grows in an ecosystem far more complex than the crop tended. Produce food safety is an amalgamation of interdisciplinary research, agronomic practices and thoughtful intention by growers to achieve food safety. The factors needed for food safety are the same as those needed to develop agricultural systems that perpetuate environmental resilience. When looking at it this way, sustainability and food safety are inextricably intertwined, dependent on the same research, knowledge and understanding of the broader complex ecosystem. Given the common challenges and scientific characteristics shared between sustainability and food safety efforts, it is unfortunate to hear an increasing narrative that sustainability
20 Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com September | October 2024
In agriculture, sustainability has always been an integral part of a grower’s business plan, even if it was not directly identified or intentionally curated. An agricultural entity that ceases to produce crops productively year-over-year would most certainly not be a sustainable business, and as such growers have always had to, in some capacity, prioritize resource management to ensure that their land stewardship would ensure the long-term economic productivity of their business. However, just because farming and sustainability have always been linked, doesn’t mean that they have been optimized for long-term sustainability from a business and/or environmental perspective. As time has progressed, continued scientific learnings and advancements have better characterized the impacts of agronomic practices and have informed the development of approaches that better contribute to promoting and maintaining natural resources. While all growers consider resource management in some capacity, many in agriculture are quickly selecting practices that specifically foster improvement in soil health, water quality and biodiversity, with the overall goal of establishing agricultural ecosystem resiliency. The critical importance of agricultural resiliency goes far beyond immediate food demands and sustainability programs; resiliency is the core tenet to future generations’ abilities to maintain the ability to sustain populations and continue to thrive.
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21 Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com September | October 2024 Individual results may vary. Nunhems USA, Inc. (“Nunhems”) strives to provide accurate and complete information, descriptions, content, illustrations, images, and data (“Information”) on its websites, social media sites/posts, and printed materials (“Publications”) as such Information is reasonably available to Nunhems at time of compilation. When the Information is based on experiences with tests, trials, or practices, such Information is provided by Nunhems as closely as commercially possible to such experiences. Information may also be based on general observations. However, Nunhems cannot guarantee the Information in any form whatsoever; therefore, the Information is provided on an ‘AS IS’ basis and without any guarantee, either express or implied, including, without limitation, that the Information is accurate or complete. Under no circumstances is the Information to be considered as advice or as a recommendation. Buyer is solely responsible for seed selection and purchasing decisions, including whether to rely upon the Information and for determining suitability of the seed for the intended growth and use under buyer’s local conditions. The Publications are intended to help buyer identify plant diseases that may or could affect his/her crops. The images may give a distorted image of reality and may otherwise not be an accurate portrayal of the disease. ©Nunhems USA, Inc. 2024. All Rights Reserved.
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23 Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com September | October 2024
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