NEWS IN A NUTSHELL
112 th Annual Meeting Highlighted a Year of Record Profitability — Overcoming Inflation and Shipping Challenges
Out-going CEO, Mark Jansen, Conveys to Membership that the Co-op Strategy, Talent, and Financials Never Stronger
At the 112 th Blue Diamond Growers Annual Meeting held November 16, 2022 in Modesto, CA, Blue Diamond Growers President and CEO, Mark Jansen, highlighted the accomplishments of the past year, while recognizing remarkable headwinds the cooperative tackled through creative solutions, strategic partnerships, and world-class innovation.
“Although 2022 was marked by supply chain disruptions, the ongoing COVID-19 impact, and a continuing drought, we still fulfilled our mission and provided considerable competitive advantage with our grower returns,” said Jansen. “It could not have happened without the dedication of our 3,000 grower-owners or the 1,800 hard-working Blue Diamond team members.” Jansen further reported that despite the many challenges of the year, Blue Diamond was able to increase payments by an average of $.20 a pound and deliver a record competitive advantage in grower returns. In an additional highlight, he shared that to counter global transportation disruptions, the Blue Diamond Supply Chain Team worked with the Almond Alliance, California Department of Food and Agriculture, and the California
Governor’s Office of Business Development to build a new multi-port export strategy. This included implementing a pop-up yard at the Port of Oakland to stage products closer to the port to reduce wait times at congested terminals. In addition, the Supply Chain Team partnered on the launch of the first inland direct rail port from Fresno to the Port of Los Angeles. Based on these learnings, the team spearheaded the Almond Express train to carry containers from Oakland to Los Angeles, Long Beach and Norfolk, Virginia. The containers were then offloaded onto terminal docks for guaranteed export to Asia, the Middle East and India. “Navigating the global supply chain issues and devising creative solutions — while working alongside our partners — is just one way we remained true to our vision of delivering the benefits of almonds to the world,” said Jansen. Navigating the global supply chain issues and devising creative solutions — while working alongside our partners — is just one way we remained true to our vision of delivering the benefits of almonds to the world. -Mark Jansen, President and CEO, Blue Diamond Growers
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ALMOND FACTS
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