of different revenue streams. In 2016, the 86-acre citrus and avocado ranch substituted 1.5 of its acres with coffee. “We’ve been worried about citrus production in this area, mainly due to Huanglongbing (HLB), so we’ve been trying to find new ways to diversify,” said Lisa Tate Soury, owner/business manager at Rancho Filoso. “One of the ways we are trying is with coffee. Although coffee is typically grown in higher altitudes in the tropics, we wanted to grow it here on the coastal climate to see how it goes.” The plants will not be considered mature until next year, but the coffee beans have already received high cupping scores considering the age of the plant. Once the plants reach full maturity, the ranch will be ready to complete its exciting shift into coffee as it has already accumulated the necessary machinery and knowledge to successfully process the beans once they are picked. “Everything is looking good, but it is still too soon to tell,” said Soury. In the true entrepreneurial spirit, the five generations of farmers who have sat at the helm of Rancho Filoso surveyed the economic landscape during their respective reigns and altered the ranch’s business model accordingly. Taking a risk and diversifying has resulted in a highly successful farm operation that spans 140 years and counting. Though multi-generational farms comprise most of agriculture in the United States, there are still a few who are braving the unknown to launch their own enterprise. Harrison Topp graduated from college during the Great Recession in 2008 and found himself seeking the security that the food and agriculture industry afforded. “I migrated toward agriculture because I wanted something tangible and it felt safer engaging with the food system,” said Topp. In 2012/13, he started cultivating a small orchard in Paonia, Colorado. After a couple of years of working to boost soil and tree health, improve water efficiency, increase harvest yields and diversify production, Topp and his partner, Stacia Cannon, officially caught the farming bug and outlined the steps needed to grow the business. “We started doing the calculations of what we thought we were going to need to be in this long term and provide for the majority of our livelihood,” he said. “I looked across sectors, beyond orchards and horticulture, to develop a model that looked like it spelled long-term success and would
WESTERN GROWERS OFFICERS – 2020
RYAN TALLEY, Chairman ALBERT KECK, Senior Vice Chair STUART WOOLF, Vice Chair CAROL CHANDLER, Treasurer VICTOR SMITH, Executive Secretary DAVE PUGLIA, President DIRECTORS – 2020 GEORGE J. ADAM Innovative Produce, Santa Maria, California ALEXANDRA ALLEN Main Street Produce, Santa Maria, California KEVIN S. ANDREW Vanguard International, 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 GEORGE BOSKOVICH III Boskovich Farms, Oxnard, California NEILL CALLIS Turlock Fruit Company, Turlock, California DON CAMERON Terranova Ranch, Helm, California EDWIN A. CAMP D. M. Camp & Sons, Bakersfield, California CAROL CHANDLER Chandler Farms LP, Selma, California LAWRENCE W. COX Coastline Family Farms, Salinas, 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 Richard Bagdasarian Inc., Mecca, 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 FRED P. LOBUE, JR. LoBue Bros., Inc., Lindsay, 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 TOMMULHOLLAND 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 KELLY STRICKLAND Five Crowns, Inc., Brawley, California 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
lead to a lifelong career in this business.” In 2018, Topp Fruits officially expanded to Hotchkiss and now grows everything from peaches and cherries to apples and plums. Topp notes that the investment to expand the operation went hand in hand with the understanding that both he and Stacia would need to maintain off-farm work for a number of years. Topp is currently the membership director for the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union and lauds the company for affording the flexibility needed to serve in his role, while still working on the farm to get his business up and running. Additionally, he credits Farmers Union for providing the opportunity to interact with high-caliber producers who have shared invaluable wisdom on how to effectively and efficiently run an agribusiness. Many of these relationships have played a role in helping this first- generation farmer establish premium markets to move his fruit. “A huge part of our long-term strategy is making sure we aren’t planting trees where we don’t know where the fruit is going,” said Topp. “We are doing a lot of work to establish and maintain those markets ahead of time so that when we are at the stage of where we are producing a lot of fruit in two to three years, we’ll be in a lot better shape.” Launching new enterprises, adapting business models for long-term success, diversifying and innovating are just a handful of the professional skills that farmers have mastered as entrepreneurs. Producers have ingeniously navigated their operations to withstand the turbulence of the unknown and continue to raise the bar for excellence. Needless to say, farmers are the ultimate business mavens. First-generation farmers Harrsion Topp and Stacia Cannon of Topp Fruits in Colorado
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SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2020
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