Christopher Valadez's guest appearances

Christopher Valadez

The Produce Moms Podcast

Nick Carter

Kara Goldin

Dana Gunders

Tonya Antle

Mike O'Brien

Beth Miller

Corteva Agriscience

Jennifer Wiese

LIsa Helfman

Chris Sutton

Tony Stewart

Marc Oshima

James Lake

Frank Muir

Joy Bauer

OwlTail

Dante Galeazzi

“You can deploy the vaccine in an environment where there’s already built in trust.”Chris Valadez (7:37-7:42)   “Our growers [in Texas] were really in the thick of their season when we had to adjust,” says Dante Galeazzi, where Chris Valadez’s agricultural workers (in California) were just getting started on their season when the pandemic hit.    No one could have expected or been prepared enough for the Covid-19 outbreak this year. Even though we saw store shelves empty of toilet paper, bread, and boxed goods, in most areas around the country produce remained readily available. Our frontline workers and first responders have worked hard to ensure we remain as safe as possible, and our agricultural workers, farmers and produce industry have worked just as hard to make sure safe, fresh, healthy food has kept America fed during this time.    “It is vital to maintain the food that Americans need to eat.” - Dante Galeazzi (11:16-11:20)   As soon as the pandemic hit, Chris’s Grower-Shipper Association partnered with others in the agricultural industry and with the county government to put together a best practices guide that was made publicly available. They needed to get a baseline of safety measures out there fast that made sense for everyone on an operational level, whether it was a farmer, a transportation unit, an employee housing site, or other integral part of the produce industry operation chain. The guidelines were based on what the CDC, local and state government announced.    In a lot of regions where agriculture makes up one-third or more of the job market, crowded and congested personal living situations became an issue fast. Most of these areas have a lack of available and affordable housing, which disproportionately affects many people that work in agriculture. Individuals were going home to many others where the spread of the virus (or illnesses in general) was being exacerbated.    The agriculture industry knew they needed to remedy this fast. Free of charge to farmers and ag workers, the companies that give you your most favorite food brands offered nursing, housing and feeding to help get people out of congested environments. Individuals that contracted the virus were put in this housing (for free) for a two week quarantine period, were provided with all of their medical needs and basic necessities, to reduce the spread of Covid-19.   These are efforts from the agricultural industry no one has talked about, or what would have happened if the people of this industry weren’t able to contain the spread of the virus within the produce supply chain. Growers and shippers were some of the first companies to immediately set up whatever they could, whether it was hand sanitizer stations, wood or plastic partitions, sanitized uniforms, shoes, and gloves, or even shower curtains to prevent the spread of Covid. There’s even packing houses who are implementing blood oxygenation tests!   Now that we’re seeing vaccine trials go through and vaccines being given to our first responders and medical workers, it’s time to talk about who will be next in line. These people are extremely important to our society, and after others who are high risk for the virus, such as the elderly, farmers and food workers should be thought of as top priority for the vaccine. Something that’s critical in thinking about this, however, is partnering with farmers and local clinics to administer the vaccine to the agriculture population.   “We’ve got to get our workforce vaccinated so they can keep putting food on American’s tables.” - Dante Galeazzi (16:08-16:11)   Dante and Chris both advocate for the use of the employer when administering vaccines to farmers and agricultural workers because those individuals already have a built-in trust with them versus government officials where they might be fearful, lack trust or have political views getting in the way of their safety (and the safety of our country). Both associations are doing what they can to advocate for agricultural workers to be next in line for the vaccine by speaking to the state and federal government.    What’s the risk if this doesn’t happen? If more ag workers become sick with the virus and aren’t able to work, or risk spreading it to our vital food sources, the demand for food will stay high, but the supply will decrease, meaning prices will go up. With the fragile state of our economy right now, that’s the last thing our country needs. Hopefully we continue to make progress with the virus and the agricultural industry is seen as a priority to receive vaccination next.   How to get involved  Join The Produce Moms Group on Facebook and continue the discussion every week!  Reach out to us - we’d love to hear more about where you are in life and business! Find out more here.     If you liked this episode, be sure to subscribe and leave a quick review on iTunes. It would mean the world to hear your feedback and we’d love for you to help us spread the word!

“You can deploy the vaccine in an environment where there’s already built in trust.”Chris Valadez (7:37-7:42) “Our growers [in Texas] were really in the thick of their season when we had to adjust,” says Dante Galeazzi, where Chris Valadez’s agricultural workers (in California) were just getting started on their season when the pandemic hit.  No one could have expected or been prepared enough for the Covid-19 outbreak this year. Even though we saw store shelves empty of toilet paper, bread, and boxed goods, in most areas around the country produce remained readily available. Our frontline workers and first responders have worked hard to ensure we remain as safe as possible, and our agricultural workers, farmers and produce industry have worked just as hard to make sure safe, fresh, healthy food has kept America fed during this time.  “It is vital to maintain the food that Americans need to eat.” - Dante Galeazzi (11:16-11:20) As soon as the pandemic hit, Chris’s Grower-Shipper Association partnered with others in the agricultural industry and with the county government to put together a best practices guide that was made publicly available. They needed to get a baseline of safety measures out there fast that made sense for everyone on an operational level, whether it was a farmer, a transportation unit, an employee housing site, or other integral part of the produce industry operation chain. The guidelines were based on what the CDC, local and state government announced.  In a lot of regions where agriculture makes up one-third or more of the job market, crowded and congested personal living situations became an issue fast. Most of these areas have a lack of available and affordable housing, which disproportionately affects many people that work in agriculture. Individuals were going home to many others where the spread of the virus (or illnesses in general) was being exacerbated.  The agriculture industry knew they needed to remedy this fast. Free of charge to farmers and ag workers, the companies that give you your most favorite food brands offered nursing, housing and feeding to help get people out of congested environments. Individuals that contracted the virus were put in this housing (for free) for a two week quarantine period, were provided with all of their medical needs and basic necessities, to reduce the spread of Covid-19. These are efforts from the agricultural industry no one has talked about, or what would have happened if the people of this industry weren’t able to contain the spread of the virus within the produce supply chain. Growers and shippers were some of the first companies to immediately set up whatever they could, whether it was hand sanitizer stations, wood or plastic partitions, sanitized uniforms, shoes, and gloves, or even shower curtains to prevent the spread of Covid. There’s even packing houses who are implementing blood oxygenation tests! Now that we’re seeing vaccine trials go through and vaccines being given to our first responders and medical workers, it’s time to talk about who will be next in line. These people are extremely important to our society, and after others who are high risk for the virus, such as the elderly, farmers and food workers should be thought of as top priority for the vaccine. Something that’s critical in thinking about this, however, is partnering with farmers and local clinics to administer the vaccine to the agriculture population. “We’ve got to get our workforce vaccinated so they can keep putting food on American’s tables.” - Dante Galeazzi (16:08-16:11) Dante and Chris both advocate for the use of the employer when administering vaccines to farmers and agricultural workers because those individuals already have a built-in trust with them versus government officials where they might be fearful, lack trust or have political views getting in the way of their safety (and the safety of our country). Both associations are doing what they can to advocate for agricultural workers to be next in line for the vaccine by speaking to the state and federal government.  What’s the risk if this doesn’t happen? If more ag workers become sick with the virus and aren’t able to work, or risk spreading it to our vital food sources, the demand for food will stay high, but the supply will decrease, meaning prices will go up. With the fragile state of our economy right now, that’s the last thing our country needs. Hopefully we continue to make progress with the virus and the agricultural industry is seen as a priority to receive vaccination next. How to get involved <ul> <li>Join The Produce Moms Group on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/316715662104709/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and continue the discussion every week! </li> <li>Reach out to us - we’d love to hear more about where you are in life and business! Find out more <a>here</a>. </li> </ul> If you liked this episode, be sure to subscribe and leave a quick review on iTunes. It would mean the world to hear your feedback and we’d love for you to help us spread the word!

EP133: Covid-19 Vaccines For Agriculture’s Essential Workforce With Christopher Valadez, President Of The Grower-Shipper Association Board Of Directors, And Dante Galeazzi, President Of The Texas International Produce Association