November 10, 2017
CapitalPress.com
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CDFA’s Ross urges growers to
communicate with consumers
By TIM HEARDEN
Capital Press
ORLAND, Calif. — State
Food and Agriculture Secre-
tary Karen Ross held up the
rice industry in the middle
Sacramento Valley as an ex-
ample of how growers can
respond to public concerns
about their production activ-
ities.
The industry’s effort about
a decade ago to move away
from winter residue burning
by using water for decom-
position quieted downwind
complaints from urban resi-
dents while creating habitat
for birds — and enhancing
an already famous hunting
ground, Ross said.
The move illustrates what
California’s 77,500 farms
often have to do to mollify
concerns among the state’s
roughly 40 million residents,
many of whom may have
formed misconceptions based
on inaccurate information,
she said.
“People don’t know how
passionate we are about our
land and all the steps we take
to preserve it,” Ross told
about 75 people at the second
annual North State Innova-
tions in Agriculture conference
Nov. 8 at the Glenn County
Fairgrounds.
Ross cautioned producers not
to lose their human touch.
She encouraged farmers to
tell their stories on social me-
dia and in personal interac-
tions with consumers.
“People can feel a connec-
tion with you even if they’ve
never met you,” she said.
She pointed to former
California Cattlemen’s As-
sociation president Matt
Byrne, whose family’s Sun-
Fed Ranch markets its new
grass-fed beef product lines
Tim Hearden/Capital Press by handing out samples at
California Secretary of Food and Agriculture Karen Ross (left) talks functions such as last year’s
with Kevin Spafford of Ryan Wealth Management and Ryann New- Natural Products Expo West
in Anaheim, Calif.
man, manager of the Glenn County Fairgrounds, before speaking
“That takes a lot of effort,”
at the second annual North State Innovations in Agriculture confer-
Ross said, adding the ranch
ence Nov. 8 in Orland, Calif.
doesn’t sell all of its beef that
She urged growers to work educate Northern California way but still finds the venues
with environmental groups farmers and ranchers about valuable.
While California’s regula-
and cultivate relationships and technological advances and
tions often flummox growers,
human interactions with city marketing trends.
Her message provided a the upside is that the state’s
dwellers and consumers.
“You have the water of the bookend after keynote speak- products are coveted around
state, and you have the wild- er David Schabazian, a man- the world because people
life, the forests and the diverse ager for the Sacramento Area know they’ve met high stan-
landscapes,” Ross said. “If Council of Governments, dards, she said. To that end,
you want to be bolder going opened the conference Nov. 7 California Grown, an or-
forward, you have to form by telling growers they should ganization that promotes
partnerships and communicate form partnerships with local the state’s farm products, is
government planners to have working with the group Visit
with more people.”
Ross’ remarks came during input on land-use policies that California to enhance food-
a wide-ranging speech and could maximize their farms’ and beverage-related tourism,
which already accounts for 25
question-and-answer session earning potential.
Noting the conference’s fo- percent of all the tourism to
near the close of the confer-
ence, which was started to cus on emerging technologies, the Golden State, she said.
Tiegs expands frozen fruit business with purchases
Rader Farms,
Willamette Valley
Fruit Co. under new
ownership
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
Intensifying foreign com-
petition hasn’t dimmed farm-
er Frank Tiegs’ enthusiasm for
the frozen fruit business.
With his recent purchase
of two processing companies
— Rader Farms of Lynden,
Wash., and Willamette Valley
Fruit Co. of Salem, Ore. —
Tiegs is betting on the indus-
try’s resilience.
“There’s always going to
be a place for U.S.-grown
fruit,” he said. “I wouldn’t
have bought them if I didn’t
think it was a good invest-
ment.”
For Northwest crops such
as blackberries and raspber-
ries, anxiety about the future
of the U.S. frozen fruit in-
dustry springs from the easy
availability of lower-priced
imports from Mexico and
South America.
Blueberries also compete
on a global scale, with new
plantings and production ris-
ing steadily around the world
in recent years.
Tiegs said he’s not fazed
by the industry’s changing dy-
namics, recalling the anxiety
surrounding the Chinese ap-
ple industry in the 1980s and
1990s. Decades later, U.S. ap-
ple growers continue to find
ways to compete.
In his time as a farmer,
Tiegs has found it’s often wis-
Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press
A worker at Willamette Valley Fruit Co. in Salem, Ore., unloads
blackberries for processing. Farmer and entrepreneur Frank Tiegs
recently bought Willamette Valley Fruit Co., Rader Farms in Lyn-
den, Wash., and other assets from Inventure Foods for $50 million.
er to invest during periods of
uncertainty.
“My own experience has
been to plant what’s not the
hot thing,” he said.
In the 1970s, Tiegs began
his agricultural career doing
tractor and truck work for oth-
er farmers, then began buying
land for himself in the 1980s.
Eventually, he moved into
fresh packing of apples and
potatoes, then invested in pro-
cessing fruits and vegetables.
Now, Tiegs owns about 15 fa-
cilities across Oregon, Wash-
ington and Idaho.
This “seed to fork,” verti-
cally integrated approach al-
lows Tiegs to better withstand
agriculture’s economic cycles,
he said.
When crop prices are high,
growing his own supply of raw
product helps mitigate costs at
his processing facilities. When
prices are low, the processing
facilities add value to crops.
Though he primarily con-
siders himself a potato grow-
er, Tiegs regularly rotates this
mainstay crop with sweet corn,
onions, peppers, carrots, peas
and green beans for process-
ing.
Frozen fruit offers interest-
ing opportunities for innova-
tion, such as the retail smooth-
ie mix kits that Rader Farms
sells under the licensed “Jam-
ba” brand.
Under Tiegs’ control, the
newly acquired facilities in
Oregon and Washington will
generate more product for
food manufacturers than previ-
ously, requiring an investment
in building inventories.
Increasing the amount of
crops processed at the facili-
ties will also reduce their down
time.
“I usually try to run plants
as close to capacity as I can
get them,” said Tiegs, who
plans to buy crops from more
farmers in the Skagit and Wil-
lamette valleys.
“We’re hoping to expand
our grower base,” he said.
Inventure Foods, the previ-
ous owner of Rader Farms and
Willamette Valley Fruit Co.,
was hindered by serious finan-
cial problems dating back to a
food recall in 2015.
The recall was prompted
by the detection of listeria, a
bacterial pathogen, at its Fresh
Frozen processing facility in
Georgia.
Inventure lost money in
every quarterly period since
the recall, though the compa-
ny also blamed the losses on
lower frozen food prices and
reduced distribution of certain
products.
Before the recall, the
company was reporting sol-
id financial gains to the U.S.
Securities and Exchange
Commission.
Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press
Tim Ramsey (left), the newly-hired CEO of the Wilco farmers’
cooperative, shakes hands with Doug Hoffman, its retiring CEO,
in front of the company’s new headquarters in Donald, Ore.
New CEO will oversee
Wilco’s hazelnut foray
Tim Ramsey
replaces retiring
chief Doug
Hoffman
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
With its forceful foray
into the hazelnut business,
the Wilco farmers’ coopera-
tive is also bringing in a new
CEO with experience in the
food processing industry.
Last year, Wilco merged
with the Hazelnut Grow-
ers of Oregon coopera-
tive, adding a significant
new venture to its existing
businesses of retail stores,
agronomy supplies and fuel
distribution.
The merged cooperatives
will operate out of a mas-
sive new processing facility
and distribution center in
Donald, Ore., that’s nearing
completion.
By the end of the year,
former Oregon Chery Grow-
ers CEO Tim Ramsey will
be taking the helm at Wilco
when its current chief, Doug
Hoffman, retires after 23
years.
As he switches from
cherries to hazelnuts, Ram-
sey looks forward to grow-
ing the consumer market for
the crop.
“We want to take the
lead in driving new products
and domestic consumption
growth,” he said.
Traditionally,
Hazel-
nut Growers of Oregon has
largely been geared toward
packing in-shell hazelnuts
for China — a major export
destination — and shelling
them for food manufactur-
ers.
Since it already operates
18 retail stores in Oregon
and Washington, Wilco now
sees an opportunity to sell
packaged hazelnut products
to consumers as well.
Hazelnuts aren’t widely
available at mainstream gro-
cery stores, so consumers
must often seek them out at
specialty shops, said Hoff-
man.
“Today, it’s hard to find
on the shelf,” he said.
To compare, walnuts pro-
cessed by the Blue Diamond
company have a strong con-
sumer presence, said Ram-
sey.
As it works to increase
the domestic visibility of ha-
zelnuts, Wilco benefits from
the fact they’re grown by its
own farmers — modern con-
sumers value such transpar-
ency, he said.
Market research will de-
termine the exact nature of
Wilco’s hazelnut products,
but history has shown that
crops can quickly achieve
breakthrough
popularity
with the right approach,
Ramsey said.
“Who had a pomegran-
ate before five years ago?
Look what POM (the food
products company) has done
with the pomegranate,” he
said.
Wilco’s retail farm
stores have been successful
at a time when the overall
bricks-and-mortar retail in-
dustry is under stress.
Up until now, the coop-
erative has focused on the
Interstate 5 corridor in Ore-
gon and Washington, but it’s
exploring an expansion into
California and elsewhere in
the Northwest, said Hoff-
man.
The company has found
its niche in locations with a
substantial population base
that earns a decent income
but are still rural enough for
raising livestock and hobby
farming.
“Our stores don’t fit in
all communities,” Hoffman
said.
The biggest challenge
for Wilco’s retail stores is
e-commerce, which the co-
operative aims to overcome
with its own strategy for on-
line shopping.
Retail stores can serve
as useful pickup points for
items bought online, said
Hoffman. “It’s the same rea-
son Amazon bought Whole
Foods.”
Wilco isn’t as vulnerable
to the rise of e-commerce
as grocery stores, since its
retail stores often sell items
that are too heavy or un-
wieldy for easy shipping,
Ramsey said.
“Not everybody is going
to buy T posts online,” he
said.
Wilco’s agronomy unit
is also adapting to changes
in production agriculture
with its recent joint venture
with Valley Agronomics and
Winfield Solutions.
The joint venture allows
the three companies to reach
more farmers over a larger
geographical area while in-
creasing their buying power
for fertilizers and chemicals,
said Hoffman.
Such expansion is neces-
sary as farmers have grown
larger and suppliers have be-
come more consolidated, he
said. “Our competitors also
grew. They became national
competitors.”
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