Three excellent vegetable operations earned top praise for their regions in the 2023 American Vegetable GrowerSM Grower Achievement Award program. These growers personify excellent practices all of us can learn from.
The Grower Achievement Award honors vegetable growing operations and growers that stand out above the rest. Winners demonstrate industry leadership, innovation implementation, excellence in food quality and safety, and more. From submitted nominations, three regional winners — the top growers in the East, Central, and West – are recognized. And from these three winners, a national winner is selected.
Here are the 2023 Grower Achievement Award regional winners.
East Region
John Shuman, Shuman Farms (Reidsville, GA)
Ask any area grower, and you’ll learn President and CEO John Shuman believes in promoting Vidalia onions in a way that benefits all growers. There are not a lot of vegetable brands consumers know, but Vidalia sweet onions is an exception, especially in the South. So Shuman goes directly to consumers, telling them how tasty the onions grown exclusively in the Vidalia, GA, area are.
He’s also quick to accept invitations to work with associations to lobby for farm-friendly rulings and legislation. His business acumen helped rebuild the family farm when it was on the verge of closing when he first took over, to the point he could create the Healthy Family Project charity.
Editor's Note: Read more about the Shumans' recent charitable efforts here.
West Region
Matt McGuire, JV Smith Companies (Yuma, AZ)
Matt McGuire, Chief Agriculture Officer at JV Smith companies, is a widely respected figure in cool crop production. He builds innovation into the production plans for the operation in a way the team can test new technology, varieties, and growing methods at all times.
When challenges face the region, he’s proactive in finding solutions, working with all involved to find solutions. With food safety such a concern for leafy vegetables, McGuire supports science-based research to find long-term solutions that protect consumers and builds trust with growers.
Central Region
Will Steele, Frontera Produce (Edinburg, TX)
A fellow vegetable grower says if anyone has helped transform the industry for South Texas vegetable growers, it’s CEO Will Steele. He built a supply chain to Mexico, Central America, and South America so that Texas growers can export their produce and widen their customer base
Frontera Produce has been at the forefront of technology improvements by utilizing soil moister sensors, its selection of new hybrid varieties, and its harvest methods to not only increase yields and drive costs out of the equation but to also attain long term sustainability goals.
Will Steele has been a steadfast advocate for South Texas agriculture for more than two decades. He has served on international, national, and local boards, heeding the call to fight for issues that matter to Texas specialty crop producers.