Western Growers

Earlier this month, the Western Growers Government Affairs team toured farms, wetlands and conservation sites last week, seeing firsthand how grower's partnerships with the CA Rice Commission, California Trout and Ducks Unlimited are beneficial to CA's ecosystems. 🌱

The Western Growers Science Team was honored with the 2024 Most Viewed Publication Award by the editorial board of Food Protection Trends and received their certificate at The International Association for Food Protection meeting last weekend. 🏅 Their paper, ‘Fresh Produce Harvesting Equipment – A Review of Cleaning and Sanitizing Practices and Related Science,’ authored by WG Science team members Sonia Salas and De Ann Davis, Susan M. Leaman, Justin Kerr, Trevor V. Suslow, Martin Wiedmann and Afreen Malik, underscores the team’s leadership in advancing food safety practices. 🚜🌱

What I heard from a grower this week: “I spend a lot of my time worried about regulations farming in CA. I’m afraid we’re going to get regulated out of California where we will be forced to grow in other locations.” Thank you to David Gill from Rio Farms & Gills Onions for speaking at this months lunch and learn at the WGA CIT. David is a 3rd generation California grower and he has been a board member of the WGA since 1991.

Congratulations Emily Lyons! Because of your commitment to working in a 3A+ outward way, you have been selected as the recipient of the Western Growers Family of Companies Employee's Choice Award for the month of August 2024. ⭐

Western Growers is proud to announce Hudson Treloar as this year’s WG Scholarship recipient. We’re honored to support and invest in motivated students within our WGFC community. Hudson shared, “I am delighted to be a recipient of the Western Growers scholarship, and I will endeavor to make the most of this incredible opportunity. This fall, I will be starting my Master’s in Aerospace Engineering at UCLA, and this generous gift will help me to finance my pursuit of higher education.” Hudson’s ambitions even include being part of the team that brings the first humans to Mars! Thank you to this year’s judges: Dave Puglia, President and CEO; Steve Mangapit, President, Pinnacle/COO; Ward Kennedy, SVP of Finance and CFO; and Karen Timmins, SPHR, SHRM-SCP Timmins, SVP of Human Resources. Congratulations to Hudson, and a big thanks to all our applicants! ⭐

The next time you pick up a cantaloupe at your local grocery store, take a moment to consider the journey it took to reach your kitchen table. Did you know that California growers are responsible for producing nearly 75% of all cantaloupes in the United States? 🌱🍈 In the latest episode of Voices of the Valley, Western Growers’ Michelle Rivera and Julia Nellis dive into the world of cantaloupe production with Garrett Patricio, President of Westside Produce in Firebaugh, California. Visit the link below to hear all the juicy facts about melons from one of the industry’s key growers. ⬇ https://lnkd.in/gCQwSjX6

#DYK about 75% of melons grown in the U.S. come from California? Learn more about melons by listening to Western Growers newest Voices of the Valley podcast episode featuring our very own, S. Garrett Patricio, J.D., C.P.A.! https://lnkd.in/gRH-K48q

Western Growers is set to honor The Growers Company President and CEO, Sonny Rodriguez, with the 2024 Award of Honor at our 98th Annual Meeting in November. The Award of Honor is WG’s most esteemed award, given to honor individuals who have contributed extensively to the agricultural community. Though this award is typically presented to growers for whom this association was created in 1926, this year’s award is slightly different. Dave Puglia, Western Growers President and CEO says, “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.” As a third-generation family business, The Growers Company has offered custom produce harvesting since 1950 and has been impacted by Rodriguez since he joined the company in 1975. Sonny was first elected to the Western Growers Board of Directors in 1998, is one of the founders of Yuma Catholic High School, has served on the Diocese of Tucson Charity and Ministry Board and was chairman of the St. Francis Parish Board for three years and Hospice of Yuma Board for two years. For the full press release, please visit the link below. ⬇ https://lnkd.in/gEgiA3QN

Western Growers Family of Companies has an immediate job opening for a Learning & Development Specialist position. Please visit the link below for more information on this role. ⬇ https://lnkd.in/gcnUjJms

The Western Growers Science Team was honored with the 2024 Most Viewed Publication Award by the editorial board of Food Protection Trends and received their certificate at The International Association for Food Protection meeting last weekend. 🏅 Their paper, ‘Fresh Produce Harvesting Equipment – A Review of Cleaning and Sanitizing Practices and Related Science,’ authored by WG Science team members Sonia Salas and De Ann Davis, Susan M. Leaman, Justin Kerr, Trevor V. Suslow, Martin Wiedmann and Afreen Malik, underscores the team’s leadership in advancing food safety practices. 🚜🌱