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Wednesday, March 2nd, 2016
7:00 a.m. — 9:00 a.m.
Spanish Hills Country Club
999 Crestview Ave., Camarillo CA

California Agriculture: New Challenges, New Markets

California's $45 billion agriculture industry has long had to deal with problems like drought, labor shortages, steep land prices and regulatory pressures.

Today these vitally important food producers have to respond to new demands from retailers and consumers, and conduct business in a global market. That requires sophisticated infrastructure and technology, and the capital necessary to support their increasingly complex operations and sustain their growth.

What is the outlook for this important sector of the state’s economy? Come hear the opinions of industry experts at the March 2nd breakfast meeting of ACG 101 at the Spanish Hills Country Club in Camarillo.

Our panelists are:

Steve Barnard, President and CEO, Mission Produce, Oxnard

John Erb, Vice President of Supply and Regional Operations, Driscoll Farms, Watsonville

Ejnar Knudson, Managing Partner, AGR Partners, Visalia

Scott La Porta, President, Bolthouse Farms, Bakersfield

Our moderator is: Stephen Redmond, Audit Partner, Moss Adams

Steve Barnard is President of Mission Produce, a company he started in 1983 when he was 29 years old. His startup was funded largely from the farmers that would also become his suppliers.

Today Mission Produce operates from San Luis Obispo County to San Diego and operates growing and packing facilities in Mexico, Chile, New Zealand and Peru. The company was the subject of a 2015 case study in the Harvard Business Review.

Steve, whose father was a citrus and avocado farmer in Ventura County, majored in Agricultural Business at Cal Poly San Luis.

John Erb is Vice President of Supply and Regional Operations at Watsonville-based Driscoll Farms. The company, family-owned for over 110 years, is a leading purveyor of fresh strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries.

The roots of the company go back to 1904, when R.O. Driscoll and Joseph Reiter began growing strawberries in the Pajaro Valley. Today Miles Reiter, grandson of one of the co-founders, is the company’s CEO.

John earned his BA at UC Santa Barbara, and a Masters in Agronomy and Crop Science from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Ejnar Knudson is Managing Partner of Valencia-based AGR Partners, a private equity firm that invests in the agriculture sector, and oversees the firm’s investment activities.

Ejnar founded AGR in 2012 with more than 20 years of prior experience operating and investing in food and agribusiness companies. From 2009 to 2012 he was Co-Portfolio Manager of Passport Capital’s Agriculture Fund. Earlier he was Executive Vice President of Western Milling, a California startup grain and feed milling company that grew to over $1 billion in sales.

Ejnar received his B.S. from Cornell University, and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Scott La Porta is President and General Manager of Bolthouse Farms, headquartered in Bakersfield. The company is a market leader in growing and distributing carrots. It also produces juices, smoothies, protein shakes and café beverages, and recently introduced a line of yogurt dressings and vinaigrettes.

Bolthouse Farms was acquired by Campbell Soup Company on Aug. 6, 2012.

Scott joined the company in 2009 as Chief Financial Officer, and the following year was named Chief Operating Officers. He was appointed President and General Manager in mid-2015.

Scott earned a B.Sc. in Accounting at the University of Virginia, and an MBA in Finance from Vanderbilt.

Stephen Redmond, CPA, is an Audit Partner with Moss Adams. He has over 15 years of experience in public accounting, serving a variety of clients in the food industry. Prior to joining Moss Adams in 2008, Stephen was in the Los Angeles office of a Big 4 CPA firm, providing assurance services to middle market distribution and retail companies.

He is a graduate of CSU-Northridge.

Casual attire (including blue jeans) is welcome atSpanish Hills Country Club for this event. The Country Club is located at 999 Crestview Avenue, in Camarillo. Click for a map.