Association Hosts Assemblywoman Macedo

Last week, the Western Tree Nut Association staff hosted Assemblywoman Alexandra Macedo for tours at two WTNA member’s operations. The tour began at Horizon Nut Company in Tulare, where Macedo and District staff Ashley Olivas were able to walk around the plant and see pistachios undergo further processing prior to being shipped. Horizon Nut’s Eloy Viveros took attendees through one of the sorting rooms staffed with people diligently sorting kernels on a conveyor. The Association’s VP of Technical Services, Chris McGlothlin, pointed out that constant increases to minimum wage and the implementation of ag overtime were forcing processing operations to consider electronic sorting technology in an effort for those businesses to remain profitable.   

After the walkthrough at Horizon, the Assemblywoman made the short drive to Corcoran to enjoy a quick lunch at the J.G. Boswell Company’s employee cafeteria, and then get out to see the current in-field activities. With tomato plantings ongoing, and cotton bed preparation, the Assemblywoman got the opportunity to see how impactful water allocations and forecasting come into play prior to the planting season. Macedo heard from J.G. Boswell representatives Cameron Boswell, Laura Brown, Gabe Cooper, Kevin Robertson and Cody Wurzel. The Association would like to thank both Horizon Nut and the J.G. Boswell Company for their participation and insight on the industry.