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SEED Initiative Helps Growers Chart A Course To Success
 Today’s vegetable grower has moved to a different playing field. Consumers demand a wide variety of vegetables, all of the highest quality, taste, and appearance. Competition is increasing from abroad. Industry consolidation is changing the balance of power in the supply chain. Regulatory demands are more pressing than ever before. That’s why AVG introduced the SEED Initiative -- to bring renewed energy and a fresh start to the American vegetable industry. This initiative is designed to help lead the industry back onto the path of market leadership for the long term. SEED is designed to offer the grower, positive, proactive responses to a changing marketplace. Those changing conditions are covered in our SEED Initiative in four points:
Stand Tall Together
Engage The Consumer
Embrace New Technology
Deliver Quality
All leaders in the market, AVG’s Top 100 Growers are already active in many of these areas. We went to this year’s Top 100 Grower candidates to find out how they’re incorporating the concepts of the SEED Initiative into their businesses. Specifically, we asked growers what will impact their farms the most in the next three years, what they will be doing to increase their connection with consumers, what types of technology they will be using, and what they will do to enhance the quality of their fresh produce.
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Stand Tall Together
Growers ranked five critical issues on a scale of one to five (one being the most important) in terms of how these issues will impact their operation in the next three years. The list leader was labor and immigration.
1. U.S. Labor/Immigration Policy
2. U.S. Trade/International Competition
3. Fresh Produce Provisions in the Upcoming Farm Bill Negotiations
4. Activities of State, Regional, or National Grower Associations
5. Cooperative Efforts with Other Growers to Strengthen Your Position in the Marketplace
This list is based on the number of responses each issue received.
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