Western Growers Association
"We grow the best medicine in the world."
Irvine, CA trade association of ~2,500 specialty-crop growers; runs an ag-tech incubator in Salinas and the Global Harvest Automation Initiative.
Western Growers Association (Western Growers, WG) is an agricultural trade association representing family farmers who grow fresh produce in Arizona, California, Colorado and New Mexico. It was founded on March 9, 1926 in Brawley, California as the Western Growers Protective Association, set up to represent the interests of produce shippers. Colorado and New Mexico were added to its territory in 2015. In 2016 the association moved its offices into a single headquarters in Irvine, California, at 15525 Sand Canyon Avenue. Dave Puglia is President and CEO; he succeeded Tom Nassif. Western Growers marked its 100th anniversary in 2026.
According to the association, its roughly 2,500 members and their workers produce more than half of the fresh fruits, vegetables and tree nuts grown in the United States, including half of America's fresh organic produce. The association's work covers public-policy advocacy for its members, including advocacy staff in Arizona, along with member services offered through the Western Growers family of companies. These include Western Growers Assurance Trust (established 1957), Western Growers Health, Pinnacle Health Solutions, OrionRx and Western Growers Financial Services (launched 2000). Western Growers also publishes Western Grower & Shipper magazine.
Western Growers' link to agricultural robotics runs through its agtech programs. In 2015 it opened the Western Growers Center for Innovation & Technology (WGCIT) in Salinas, California, an incubator that places early-stage agtech start-ups close to specialty-crop growers. The association says the center has hosted more than 60 agtech start-ups. WG's broader Agtech Initiative is built on the idea that technology companies need grower guidance to succeed.
In 2021 Western Growers launched the Global Harvest Automation Initiative (GHAI), with a public kickoff in Tulare, California on February 11, 2021 and a formal announcement in April 2021. The initiative's stated goal is to automate 50% of fresh produce harvesting within ten years, in response to farm labor shortages. It includes a shared technology stack to standardize robot interfaces, a Harvest Automation Cohort of start-ups, an annual impact report, and a Harvest Automation Traction Roadmap tracking progress by crop. Subject-matter partners included Trimble, Bosch, equipment makers Ramsay Highlander, Oxbow and Spudnik, engineering firms, and grower-shippers such as Grimmway Farms, Church Brothers Farms and Turlock Fruit Company. The Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission committed US$200,000 over three years.
In May 2025 Western Growers and The Reservoir, a nonprofit agtech incubator and venture fund, opened applications for an on-farm robotics incubator at Reservoir Farms in the Salinas Valley. The first cohort had room for 12 start-ups. Through the partnership, start-ups get custom-planted test fields, equipped R&D workshops, and grower validation using a Western Growers scorecard that rates scalability, efficacy and financial viability.
Primary type & automation activities this supplier delivers:
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Contact Western Growers Association
WEBSITE
https://www.wga.com/PHONE
+1 949-863-1000HEADQUARTERS
United States
Company Facts
Founded
1926
Primary Role
Industry Association
Company Size
-
Primary Region
North America
Annual Sales
-
Funding Stage
Grant / Non-profit
Funding Total
-
