Produce prognosis

Produce Grower: First of all, where do you see the produce industry headed?

Bryan Silbermann: The future of the industry is really bright. I think there are demographic changes happening within the consuming public in the United States and abroad that speak to increased consumption opportunities for fresh produce. That’s one of the reasons PMA has embarked on things like the “eat brighter” initiative with Sesame Street, the FMV campaign with the Partnership for a Healthier America, the new one with the Entertainment Resource Marketing Association to get fruit and veg more onto movies and TV shows.

The industry itself is becoming savvier at marketing its products, and that’s everything from growing the products that consumers really want, based on flavor and taste profiles and what food service needs are, rather than just have what I’ve always grown for the last 40 years because my father and grandfather grew it.

I think we’ve become much smarter at getting the right flavor profiles, the right seeds, the right production, growing them in the right places to provide customers with a better taste experience.

There really is an opportunity for farmers today to think of themselves as part of the community, a part of society that people want to get to know better. People have always trusted farmers inherently, I think. If you look at all the research that’s been done over the years, you ask people, “Who do you trust?” farmers are very close to the top. I think that speaks to the sense that farmers have a sense of long-term commitment, sustainability and involvement in their communities.

PG: What advice would you give to millennials who are looking to change the way that produce is grown and viewed in the public?

BS: Focus on great-tasting produce, not just on great-yielding produce, because I think as an industry we’ve spent far too much time in the last 30 years focusing on what’s the best yield and not nearly enough time focusing on what’s the best taste. Focus on texture. Focus on the entire eating experience first and foremost before you worry excessively about the yield.

PG: What do you foresee as one of the biggest challenges for the industry today?

BS: The lesson of succession planning I think is one of the biggest challenges for companies in the fresh fruit and vegetable industry. How do you turn over the business to the next generation? That’s particularly true of farmers as the average age of farmers is getting higher and higher.

You have to be very deliberate about succession planning … You have to go out and get talent if you don’t have it internally. If you don’t have it internally and you have potential, you have to develop the people internally, train them, get them mentored.

PG: Do you have any advice for the industry leaders when it comes to hiring on good talent and retaining that good talent?

BS: If you’re talking about farm production labor, that’s a huge challenge for this entire country, and the immigration laws absolutely have to be changed.

I will say that I do know of some very progressive farmers, fruit and veg farmers in different parts of this country and in places like Mexico and Canada, who have initiated some incredibly forward-looking ways of retaining their farm labor, down to schools and health care and housing — permanent housing — and all kinds of stuff that really make them the employer of choice. I’ve seen that in Washington State. I’ve seen that in Ontario. I’ve seen it in parts of Mexico, and I’ve seen it in California. There are people who really think of their farm labor as an asset and not just as a cost. That takes a mindset.

I think [millennials are] drawn to jobs that they truly feel are going to make a difference, and there are a lot of jobs that involve the application of technology, whether it’s analysis of sales and marketing, whether it’s the ROI of different ways of marketing product or logistics and distribution. When we talk to the best and brightest students from the food and ag marketing colleges around the United States, and around the world, they really have a passion for it because they feel they’re making a difference.

PG: What is some advice you can offer to other generations about hiring/retaining millennials?

BS: I’ve heard those kinds of discussions, “Well, you’ve got to come in and you’ve got to earn your stripes. You’ve got to show you can do this.” To some extent, that’s true. But I don’t think that we should be so stiff-necked that we think that we shouldn’t be changing the business culture or the industry to better attract and retain younger talent, because it’s going to happen. It’s just a question of how fast this happens and who’s going to benefit by being the most flexible companies to do it first.