This is Ag!

My guest Ellen Brokaw is the President and Owner of Brokaw Nursery, one of the largest subtropical tree suppler located in Ventura County, California. Sixty years ago, Hank and Ellen Brokaw began the nursery as an avocation. With hard work and innovation, they built Brokaw Nursery into one of California’s largest suppliers of subtropical orchard trees. Brokaw currently produces over 300,000 plants per year and exports to several countries worldwide. They are an industry leader in innovation of new varieties of fruits and rootstocks. They specialize in avocados and citrus. 

Brokaw Nursery website - http://www.brokawnursery.com/

This episode is sponsored by UnitedAg,  one of the largest association health plans to offer healthcare to the agriculture industry of California and Arizona.  

Kirti Mutatkar, President and CEO of UnitedAg. Reach me [email protected], www.linkedin.com/in/kirtimutatkar

UnitedAg's website - www.unitedag.org

My guest is Shannon Valladarez, General Manager at Monterey Wine Company.

Shannon and I talk about the importance of emotional connections, the power of relationships, our responsibility to the next generation of women leaders, setting an example for the next generation of girls coming behind us, Girls Inc, giving back to the community and much more.

Monterey Wine Company is a custom wine production facility located in King City on the Central Coast of California. They offer the latest in premium wine-making technologies, quality custom crush and processing equipment, experienced blend development, and efficient bottling capabilities to complement their client’s needs. They provide a sound working environment for the wine traditionalist, inventor and entrepreneur. Their emphasis is on innovation, integrity and service is what sets them apart from the rest.

Website - https://www.montereywinecompany.com/

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/monterey-wine-company/

This episode is sponsored by UnitedAg,  one of the largest association health plans to offer healthcare to the agriculture industry of California and Arizona.  

Kirti Mutatkar, President and CEO of UnitedAg. Reach me [email protected], www.linkedin.com/in/kirtimutatkar

UnitedAg's website - www.unitedag.org

My guest Thomas Amaro is a 4th generation family based agribusiness professional. Tom and his son Marcos Amaro cultivate and grow top quality hemp CBD in Visalia California. The family’s goal is to provide consumers with the finest quality CBD products. Tom and I talk about the history of California agriculture and the present state of affairs in agriculture. Please enjoy the episode. 

Here are the links referred to in the episode - 

https://www.amarocbd.com/

https://youtu.be/lXJSq0-tGDU

https://youtu.be/Pl_nHkmrAxs

This episode is sponsored by UnitedAg,  one of the largest association health plans to offer healthcare to the agriculture industry of California and Arizona.  

Kirti Mutatkar, President and CEO of UnitedAg. Reach me [email protected], www.linkedin.com/in/kirtimutatkar

UnitedAg's website - www.unitedag.org

My guest Steve Church is the Co-Chairman of Church Brothers/True Leaf Farms. Steve Church has been a part of the produce industry for more than 50 years. In 1999,Steve and his brother Tom formed what is now known as Church Brothers Farms, a fully integrated farming, agribusiness from seed to salad bowl. He is also a partner in the grower-owned fresh vegetable processing plant, True Leaf Farms.  Steve and I talk about the importance of taking care of customers, how people make our businesses and the impact of taking care of people on the profits of the company.

Church Brothers is a vertically integrated family owned and operated company that produces a full line of fresh vegetables year round. Church Brothers has an in-house farming/harvest program and state of the art processing plants in the U.S. and Mexico. The Church family has a legacy of service and innovation in the Salinas Valley that spans multiple generations

Website - https://www.churchbrothers.com/ourstory

This episode is sponsored by UnitedAg,  one of the largest association health plans to offer healthcare to the agriculture industry of California and Arizona.  

Kirti Mutatkar, President and CEO of UnitedAg. Reach me [email protected], www.linkedin.com/in/kirtimutatkar

UnitedAg's website - www.unitedag.org

My guest  Brenda Allison is the CEO of Coast General Insurance Brokers, an insurance brokerage entirely dedicated to business owners. Her story of how her family came to America, the impact her grandmother had on Brenda's leadership style, the importance of giving back and importance of human connections is  encouraging and inspiring for all business leaders no matter where they are in their leadership journey. 

Coast General Insurance Brokers  is an insurance brokerage based in Oxnard, California. The agency’s purpose is to partner with their business clients to maintain a pulse on their risks as the business evolves. They match Property and Casualty products and help mitigate claims. The agency has a dedicated team for Commercial Insurance as well as a team dedicated to Health and Wellness benefits for any size company. Website - https://coastgeneralinsurance.com/

This episode is sponsored by UnitedAg,  one of the largest association health plans to offer healthcare to the agriculture industry of California and Arizona.  

Kirti Mutatkar, President and CEO of UnitedAg. Reach me [email protected], www.linkedin.com/in/kirtimutatkar

UnitedAg's website - www.unitedag.org

My guest is Glenn Miller, CEO, Saticoy Lemon Association, an agricultural cooperative that provides the finest quality lemons to the world and maximum return to the growers since 1933. Glenn Miller is the past Chair of UnitedAg’s Board of Directors and currently serves as the Chair of the Board of Trustees.

Saticoy Lemon Association  website - https://saticoylemon.com 

Glenn Miller is the Past Chair of UnitedAg’s Board of Directors and currently serves as the Chair of the Board of Trustees.  

This episode is sponsored by UnitedAg,  one of the largest association health plans to offer healthcare to the agricultural industry of California and Arizona.  

Kirti Mutatkar, President and CEO of UnitedAg. Reach me [email protected], www.linkedin.com/in/kirtimutatkar

UnitedAg's website - www.unitedag.org

My guest is A.J. Cisney, General Manager at Rancho Guadalupe, a family-owned grower of fresh produce based in Santa Maria Valley, California. In this episode we discuss the importance of paying attention to mental health, having difficult conversations in a constructive way, true leadership, proactive vs reactive approach to decision making, listening for the sake of truly understanding, first understand to be understood and much more. 

Rancho Guadalupe website - https://ranchoguadalupe.com/

A.J. Cisney - https://www.linkedin.com/in/a-j-cisney-8086ab38

A.J. is the Past Chair of UnitedAg’s Board of Directors and currently serves as the Board of Trustee. 

This episode is sponsored by UnitedAg,  one of the largest association health plans to offer healthcare to the agriculture industry of California and Arizona.  

Kirti Mutatkar, President and CEO of UnitedAg. Reach me [email protected], www.linkedin.com/in/kirtimutatkar

UnitedAg's website - www.unitedag.org
 

True responsibility is not just defining and acting on the minimal legal requirement, but outlining the maximum possible actions you could have taken. 

It's not happening to you, it's happening for you.

Eric Bream's conversation reminded me of Michael Schur's interview with Tim Ferris. Michael Schur is the creator of the hit Netflix series, The Good Place  and written a book called, 'How to be perfect - The correct answer to every moral question." 

Bream Family Farms website - www.breamfamilyfarms.com

This episode is sponsored by UnitedAg,  one of the largest association health plans to offer healthcare to the agriculture industry of California and Arizona.  

Kirti Mutatkar, President and CEO of UnitedAg. Reach me [email protected], 

www.linkedin.com/in/kirtimutatkar

UnitedAg's website - www.unitedag.org

My guest Lee Cohen is the General Manager of Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella, Inc. based in Terra Bella, California. Setton Pistachio is one of America's largest pistachio grower and processors with ownership of pistachios orchards and facilities on over 130 acres. Setton's pistachios are widely regarded as "America's Best Tasting Pistachios" because of their great taste and superior quality. 

His stories of how ag leaders are true stewards of the earth and of the people, the importance of treating trees as living organisms & taking care of their health and wellness not unlike human beings, and understanding how regenerative ag vs organic ag impacts our natural resources are inspiring. They help us understand why true stewardship is important in leading a successful organization.

Setton Farms website - www.settonfarms.com

This episode is sponsored by UnitedAg,  one of the largest association health plans to offer healthcare to the agriculture industry of California and Arizona.  

Kirti Mutatkar, President and CEO of UnitedAg

Reach me at [email protected], www.linkedin.com/in/kirtimutatkar

UnitedAg's website - www.unitedag.org

My guest Steve Nelson is the President and CEO of Plant Sciences, a premier agricultural research company with emphasis on plant breeding and propagation of berry crops for the global marketplace. His story of how California strawberries got to Jordan, it's connection to his dad's doctor at the Stanford hospital shows the power of human connections in business. We discuss how to maintain an entrepreneurial culture in  founder led companies, staying true to our values but being flexible with our methods, introducing technology while being people-centric and other leadership nuggets. Plant Sciences is based  in Watsonville, California. 

Plant Sciences website - www.plantsciences.com 

Richard and Vicki Nelson, the founders of Plant Sciences, Inc have created a legacy rich in family love, care of neighbor and stewardship of their God-given gifts and talents, modeling principled leadership, perseverance, resilience in difficulties and good cheer.  From a  "seedling" incubated in their house, Plant Science gained traction quickly, experiencing year over year growth and profitability, with steady expansion. 

This episode is sponsored by UnitedAg,  one of the largest association health plans to offer healthcare to the agriculture industry of California and Arizona.  

Kirti Mutatkar, President and CEO of UnitedAg. Reach me [email protected], www.linkedin.com/in/kirtimutatkar

UnitedAg's website - www.unitedag.org