Organic Grower Summit Names Jeff Huckaby as Grower of the Year; Matt Seeley Shares
MONTEREY, CA - To be named Grower of the Year is to be recognized as an industry pioneer who goes down in produce history as one of the greats. The award, presented by Western Growers and the Organic Produce Network (OPN), will be handed out at the Organic Grower Summit (OGS) to Jeff Huckaby, President and Chief Executive Officer of Grimmway Farms.
Huckaby is a fourth-generation farmer who has more than 30 years of farming management experience and deep roots in the produce industry, a press release explained. He joined Grimmway in 1998 and managed its organic division, growing the program from several hundred acres to 40,000 acres.
Before becoming President and CEO in 2016, Huckaby served as Executive Vice President and oversaw sales, production, engineering, and farming for all Grimmway products. His leadership has been integral in establishing Grimmway’s global organic business and position in the category.
The award, sponsored by AGCO, will be presented to Huckaby as part of the keynote presentation at OGS by former President of Whole Foods Walter Robb.
“We are honored to present the annual Grower of the Year award to Jeff. His decades-long work exemplifies what hardworking, passionate organic farming is all about. Over the past three decades, Jeff has worked tirelessly to encourage water conservation, natural methods for pest control, and always found ways to share information about those practices with other organic growers,” said Matt Seeley, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of OPN. “His dedication to the environment and community is what makes the organic sector special and makes him so deserving of the title of Grower of the Year.”
Previous winners of the award have been Vic Smith, CEO of JV Smith Company (2021); The Lundberg Family (2019); Thaddeus Barsotti of Capay Organic (2018); and Vernon Peterson of Peterson Family Farms (2017).
In addition to the annual Grower of the Year award, the other keynote presentation at OGS 2022 will be “Grower Roundtable: The State of Organic Growing,” moderated by Dave Puglia, President and CEO of Western Growers.
Congratulations to Jeff Huckaby on this well-deserved honor!
