Vic Smith, Vernon Peterson are Two of Four Organic Grower Summit Growers of the Year
Aiming to inspire and honor excellence in organic agriculture, Western Growers and the Organic Produce Network created the Organic Grower Summit, an annual event bringing industry leaders together. Each year an organic grower is selected and honored as Grower of the Year based on criteria that include excellence in organic production, industry leadership and innovation.
The award has been given four times since 2017 (the 2020 event was cancelled). Two of the four award recipients also run farming operations certified by Equitable Food Initiative (EFI), highlighting the way a commitment to social responsibility coincides with excellence and leadership in the industry. The selection of EFI-certified growers doing great work in the industry demonstrates that EFI can bring improvements to already outstanding farming operations.
Vic Smith, CEO of JV Smith Companies, is the most recent award winner for 2021, and Vernon Peterson, CEO of Abundant Harvest Organics with Homegrown Organic Farms, received the inaugural award in 2017.
Smith’s personal commitment to best practices for environmental stewardship, workforce development and food safety also shows in his service on the EFI’s board of directors. Read more about Smith’s experience with EFI: EFI Program a Strong Strategic Initiative for JV Smith Companies
Peterson’s operation holds the distinction of being the fastest to achieve EFI certification following training, completing the entire process in just three months. Read more about Peterson’s experience with EFI: EFI is the “Only Certification to Add Value” to Farm
