The Agricultural Woman of the Year award honors unique leadership qualities held by women working within the agricultural industry in Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties.

The winner of the award demonstrates a significant contribution to agriculture, is a leader in the community and is a “Ag-Vocate” for agriculture, according to the organization.  Ag Against Hunger, a program of the Grower-Shipper Foundation, honored Pereira at its annual Agricultural Woman of the Year Recognition Luncheon.

Pereira has a rich background in family farming and is active in several professional and community organizations including the Salinas Valley Chapter of California Women for Agriculture, the Monterey County Farm Bureau and the Grower Shipper Association of Central California.

She participates on the Food Safety, Land Use & Water Use Committees for the Monterey County Farm Bureau and Grower Shipper Association and the Leafy Green Marketing Agreement Technical Committee. She serves on the California Leafy Greens Research Board, is an elected director to the Salinas Valley Groundwater Sustainability Agency and is elected to the Mission Union School District Board of Trustees.

Pereira attributes her passion for agriculture to her grandfather, Anthony Costa, a pioneer in the Salinas valley.  In her acceptance speech she said, “What you invest in your community, you get back 10-fold.”

Pereira holds a bachelor’s of science degree in agricultural business with a minor in crop science from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.  She lives where she was born and raised, in Soledad, Calif., also home of Braga Fresh and Josie’s Organics.

For more information about the company, visit www.bragafresh.com.

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About Braga Fresh

In 1928, Sebastian and Josie Braga started farming California’s fertile soil on what is now known as the Braga Home Ranch in Soledad, Calif.  Today, the third generation continues the family values of sustainable-organic farming. Braga Fresh sets aside 10% of farmland to beneficial habitat and has the goal of being carbon neutral.  Vertically integrated, Braga Fresh combines innovation with tradition to grow, harvest and process fresh vegetables and leafy greens through the Josie’s Organics and Braga Farms brands.

This year is the fourth year Braga Fresh is trialing regenerative agriculture practices to better understand the implications and identify the pieces of the concept that may be applied to current commercial farming practices with the goal/focus in mind on reducing soil tillage utilized by the industry in vegetable production.

In 2023 the company increased the total amount of acres regeneratively farmed, harvested and sold to 70, an increase from 32 acres in 2022.  The regenerative acreage produced 17,669 cartons sold to U.S. market in Josie’s Organics Brand. In 2024, this product will be marketed with the Carbon Capture Farming mark.

Throughout the year, grant funds support of CDFA Healthy Soils Study, enabled Braga Fresh to formalize a study of a regenerative versus traditional farming approach using 15 metrics and seven healthy soil indicators.  The company held webinars and field days on the Braga home ranch to share its findings throughout the year. In February, the company co-hosted the second cover crop symposium for Salinas valley growers with  Sustainable Conservation and the Monterey County Farm Bureau.

“We are committed to sharing our successes and failures as we focus on increasing our data set to validate our trial findings,” said Eric Morgan, vice president, environmental science and resources.

Multiple practices are used to implement the trials including Agrology soil probe sensors, plant sap analysis, data management, permanent plantings, crop rotation, intercropping, cover cropping, soil testing, and water management technology. All regenerative trails are grown to meet GMP and LGMA standards.

“Our intent is to learn, adapt and demonstrate our proof of concept and Salinas Valley farming practices where possible,” Morgan said. “Those changes could reduce our overall CO2 emissions.”

The company’s work was recognized in October with the IFPA: Science & Technology Circle of Excellence award: co-honor with Agrology and in November with the Organic Grower of the year: Presented by Western Growers and Organic Produce Network.

To mark Earth Day 2024, Braga Fresh is sharing its learnings through a video series on its YouTube channel with: progress, learnings and 2024 regen goals. For more information about the company, visit bragafresh.com/regenerative-farming-trials.

About Braga Fresh

In 1928, Sebastian and Josie Braga started farming California’s fertile soil on what is now known as the Braga Home Ranch in Soledad, Calif.  Today, the third generation continues the family values of sustainable-organic farming. Braga Fresh sets aside 10% of farmland to beneficial habitat and has the goal of being carbon neutral.  Vertically integrated, Braga Fresh combines innovation with tradition to grow, harvest and process fresh vegetables and leafy greens through the Josie’s Organics and Braga Farms brands.

The product is being recalled due to a sourced cheese ingredient having possible cross-contamination with recalled Cotija Cheese by Rizo Lopez Foods, Inc. with an active recall and outbreak investigation.

The recalled product, Marketside Bacon Ranch Crunch Chopped Salad Kits were distributed to a limited number of Walmart stores in California and Nevada and can be identified with listed details below. All affected products have been removed from store shelves and inventory.

No other salad kit brands produced by Braga Fresh containing cheese are included in this recall.

No illnesses have been reported to date associated with this recall.

Consumers who have this product in their possession should discard it. The affected products can be identified by the following information:

Consumers: What Should You Do?
• To locate the Best if Used by date: Find on top, right corner of plastic bag.

• If you still have the product listed above with the Best if Used By date of FEB 19, 2024, or earlier dates,
discard it.

Have more questions or concerns?
• Phone: 877-456-7445 (Monday-Friday, 8 am to 4 pm PST)
• Email: wecare@bragafresh.com

Media Contact: WeCare@BragaFresh.com

With this award, each year IFPA recognizes changemakers for their contributions and accomplishments in the produce and floral industries that advance the industry through innovation, collaboration and superior leadership. Braga Fresh and Agrology were honored as a result of the work they did to monitor, measure and quantify soil carbon flux and soil respiration, key indicators of soil microbiome health and activity. In the Fall of 2022, Braga Fresh was the first grower to install the  Agrology’s Arbiter Carbon Monitoring System, the first-ever continuous soil carbon monitoring system, on their regenerative crop trials.

“A key piece of our regenerative agriculture journey has been Agrology’s systems for measuring and monitoring soil health and carbon flux,” said Eric Morgan, Braga Fresh vice president of environmental science and resources. “You can’t manage what you don’t measure and the Arbiter has enabled us to measure the impact of our regenerative trials and make better-informed, data-driven decisions. It essentially closes the feedback loop between the soil and farming techniques.”

Since installing Arbiter, Braga Fresh has been able to track their in-field carbon footprint and soil health, as well as drive farm management decisions and improve the environmental impact of their regenerative farming practices. The team at Braga Fresh implements cutting-edge regenerative farming experiments and Agrology has enabled them to measure the impact of these practices on soil health and carbon stocks in real time, which allows them to continuously iterate and improve on their regenerative program. In addition, Agrology also monitors soil moisture, irrigation events, and a variety of other climate data points to help Braga understand what’s happening in their fields.

“Braga Fresh inspires us to dig deeper into our ability to develop technology that adds value and clearly demonstrates the efficacy of regenerative farming practices,” said Charlie Dubbe, head of regenerative partnerships at Agrology. “Braga Fresh is the perfect example of what success looks like in regenerative farming and it’s an honor to be their partner in this industry award.”

“The soil microbiome is the future of regenerative agriculture and to be successful you have to have the right measurement tools in place,” added Morgan. “It has been a big team effort with Agrology and we are extremely optimistic about the direction it’s taking us.”

In September, Braga Fresh and Agrology hosted a webinar, “The ROI of Regenerative Agriculture,” covering a variety of topics, including the return on investment in regenerative agriculture. The webinar specifically covered the practice changes and production methods Braga Fresh employs in their regenerative trials and is available to watch on YouTube.

Agrology was also one of 12 startups invited to participate in the IFPA’s 2023 cohort for the Fresh Field Catalyst Accelerator. This year’s companies were focused on climate-smart solutions to some of the industry’s biggest challenges and brought companies with ready-to-market solutions for the produce industry.

About Braga Fresh

In 1928, Sebastian and Josie Braga started farming California’s fertile soil on what is now known as the Braga Home Ranch in Soledad, CA.  Today, the third generation continues the family values of sustainable-organic farming. Braga Fresh sets aside 10% of farmland to beneficial habitat and has the goal of being carbon neutral.  Now vertically integrated, Braga Fresh combines innovation with tradition to grow, harvest, and process fresh vegetables and leafy greens through the Josie’s Organics and Braga Farms brands. For more information about the company, visit BragaFresh.com. 

About Agrology

Agrology is a leading climate tech start-up and Public Benefit Corporation with a mission to help farmers adapt to and beat climate change with real-time analysis and predictive insights. The Agrology platform consists of climate and carbon monitoring systems, both based on ground-truth data and machine learning. The Agrology Climate Monitoring System delivers predictive insights and warnings, up to four days in advance, for wildfire smoke taint risk, extreme weather, soil conditions, pest and disease emergence, and irrigation. Agrology’s Carbon Monitoring System tracks soil carbon sequestration in real time, quickly detecting carbon loss via carbon dioxide emission events. Agrology customers include Braga Fresh, The Duckhorn Portfolio, Emeritus Vineyards, Groth Vineyards and Winery, Jordan Vineyards and Winery, Joseph Phelps Vineyards, Lawrence Vineyards, Napa Green, Pivot Bio, Renteria Vineyard Management, Sebastien Farms, Silver Oak Vineyards, Sonoma County Winegrowers, and numerous specialty farms. Agrology is the winner of two highly selective National Science Foundation SBIR Awards, a 2022 WINnovation Award, and is a recipient of a USDA Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities grant. Agrology’s academic partners include UC Davis, CSU Monterey Bay, Huntington Farms, RCD of Monterey County, University of California Cooperative Extension, University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, and Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Agrology is based in Alexandria, Virginia and can be found online at Agrology.ag.

The product is being recalled because it contains incorrect condiment ingredients resulting in
undeclared egg that was not listed on the product label. People who have an allergy or severe
sensitivity to egg, run the risk of a serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume
this product.

The recalled product, 8oz Wegmans Organic Sweet Kale Chopped Salad Kit were sold in bags from
refrigerated display cases in the produce department and can be identified by having both a UPC
code 0 77890 55911 6 with Best if Used By Date OCT 27, 2023 and Lot Code: BFFS282B4
(See example image). All potentially affected products have been removed from store shelves.

Only Wegmans Organic Sweet Kale Chopped Salad Kit 8oz displaying the identified UPC of
0 77890 55911 6, with the stated lot code are subject to the recall. This issue was discovered
through an internal inventory reconciliation process. No illnesses nor allergic reactions have been
reported to date.

This voluntary recall does not apply to any other Wegmans Organic or Braga Fresh products.

Consumers who have this product in their possession should discard it. The affected products can be
identified by the following information:

Wegmans Organic Sweet Kale Chopped Salad Kit 8oz Bag.

Store:                                                              Wegmans
Product UPC:                                                0 77890 55911 6
Lot Code:                                                       BFFS282B4
Best If Used By Date:                                   OCT 27 2023
Pack Size:                                                       8 OZ.

Multi-State Distribution:                           NY, PA, NJ, MD, MA, VA, NC, DE & DC

Dates Product Available for Purchase:   10/14/23-10/17/23

Consumers: Customers who purchased this product at Wegmans can bring a valid receipt into the store
for a full refund. Consumers with additional questions can call Wegmans Food Markets at 1-855-934-
3663 Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM – 7:00 PM Eastern or Saturday and Sunday from 8:00 AM –
5:00 PM Eastern.

Media Contact: WeCare@BragaFresh.com

Product Photos:

The new conventional chopped salad kits include six flavors: Sweet Kale, Caesar, Asian Sesame, Sunflower Crunch, Everything and Avocado Goddess.

“Our product development team’s goal was to start this new product line around six high demand flavors with ingredient twists that elevate the eating experience,” said Kori Tuggle, vice president of marketing and product development.  “Some we based off our recipes for Josie’s Organics versions that have a cult-like following.”

Colby Pereira, COO said as the company grows its value-add offerings, it was a natural extension of the current organic and private label chop program to move into the branded conventional chop salad category.

“Moving into the conventional chopped salad space is the natural next step in growing our value-added business,” Pereira said. “As with our current Josie’s Organic salad program, this new Braga Farms product line will focus on flavorful salad options while offering our retail partners value and convenience in one loading location.”

In addition to the new conventional product line, Braga Fresh will showcase its newest, organic offerings: Josie’s Organics Avocado Goddess and Aloha BBQ chopped salad kits, as well as three organic Farmer’s Market Favorites salad blends: Organic Heirloom Crisp, Organic Bistro Duo and Organic Sweet Red Butter.  The regeneratively grown Josie’s Organics baby broccoli will also make its trade show debut in Anaheim.

For more information about the company, visit www.bragafresh.com.

About Braga Fresh

In 1928, Sebastian and Josie Braga started farming California’s fertile soil on what is now known as the Braga Home Ranch in Soledad, CA.  Today, the third generation continues the family values of sustainable-organic farming. Braga Fresh sets aside 10% of farmland to beneficial habitat and has the goal of being carbon neutral.  Now vertically integrated, Braga Fresh combines innovation with tradition to grow, harvest and process fresh vegetables and leafy greens through the Josie’s Organics and Braga Farms brands.

The Grower of the Year award, sponsored by AGCO, will be presented to Braga as part of the keynote presentation at the Organic Grower Summit on November 29-30 in Monterey, California. The Grower of the Year presentation is part of an extensive educational program designed to inform and engage organic producers and their service providers and supply chain partners.

“We are honored to present the annual Grower of the Year award to Rod Braga—truly a grower’s grower,” said Matt Seeley, CEO of Organic Produce Network. “His decades-long work exemplifies what hardworking, passionate organic farming means to the success of his family farm and to California agriculture. Rod has worked tirelessly to encourage natural methods for pest control, water conservation, and always found ways to share information about those practices with other organic farmers. His dedication to the environment and community is what makes the organic sector special and makes him so deserving of the title of Grower of the Year.”

Braga grew up in his family’s multigenerational farming business, starting his first job on the home ranch when he was 8. After graduating from Saint Mary’s College of California with a degree in business administration, he joined the company now known as Braga Fresh full time in 1990. Over the years, he’s helped it expand into today’s operation, which features multiple large-scale growing, processing, and shipping locations in California.

A leader in organic produce production, Braga is a board member of the Western Growers Association and the Grower-Shipper Association of Central California; he was a founding board member of Pacific Valley Bank in Monterey County; and former board member of Natividad Hospital in Salinas, California.

The Grower of the Year award will be presented to Braga by Cale Sledge, Regional Sales Director for AGCO. Previous winners of the award have been Jeff Huckaby, CEO of Grimmway Farms (2022); Vic Smith, CEO of JV Smith Company (2021); the Lundberg Family (2019); Thaddeus Barsotti of Capay Organic (2018); and Vernon Peterson of Peterson Family Farms (2017).

The sixth annual OGS is designed to provide information vital to organic growers and producers, including an overview of the opportunities and challenges in the production of organic fresh food.

In addition to the annual Grower of the Year award, the other keynote presentation at OGS 2023 will be Grower Roundtable: The State of Organic Growing, moderated by Dave Puglia, President and CEO of Western Growers. Panelists for the keynote roundtable include leadership from three prominent organic companies, who will be announced later this month.

Other educational sessions slated for OGS 2023 include:

• SOE Deadline Looms—Are You Ready?
• Understanding Evolving Production Challenges for Organic Growers
• Regenerative—What Does it Mean for Organic?
• Unlocking the Value of AI on the Digital Farming Journey
• Meet the Ag Sharks
• Roadmap to a Sustainable Pest Management Future for Organics
• How Organic Growers Are Using Ag Tech: Obstacles & Opportunities

OGS 2023 will be held November 29-30 at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel & Spa in Monterey, California, and general registration is currently open. The sold-out OGS trade show floor will feature soil amendment, ag tech, food safety, packaging, and equipment exhibitors who will have the opportunity to connect with organic field production staff, supply chain managers, pest management advisors, and food safety experts.

For more information on the sixth annual OGS, please visit www.organicgrowersummit.com.

About Organic Produce Network:

OPN is a marketing organization serving as the go-to resource for the organic fresh produce industry. The company’s mission is to inform and educate through a strong digital presence with an emphasis on original content and complemented by engaging live events that bring together various components of the organic food community. The OPN audience includes organic producers, handlers, distributors, processors, wholesalers, foodservice operators, and retailers. 

 About Western Growers:
Founded in 1926, Western Growers represents local and regional family farmers growing fresh produce in Arizona, California, Colorado, and New Mexico. Our members and their workers provide over half the nation’s fresh fruits, vegetables, and tree nuts, including nearly half of America’s fresh organic produce. Some members also farm throughout the US and in other countries, so people have year-round access to nutritious food. For generations, we have provided variety and healthy choices to consumers. Connect with and learn more about Western Growers on our Twitter and Facebook.

Brenna Flynn is the new Director of Food Safety and Quality Assurance, reporting to Richard Warsaw, Vice President Food Safety and Quality Assurance.

Flynn joins Braga from Watsonville Produce Inc., Blue Ribbon Frozen Foods, Muzzi Family Farms where she was Food Safety Director.  Prior, she was a food technologist at Refine US.  She holds a Master of Science degree in food microbiology from Cornell University and a Bachelor of Science in food science and nutrition, with a food science option from California State University, Fresno.

Shannon Yamada is the new Senior Director of Product Development, reporting to Kori Tuggle, Vice President Marketing and Product Development. Yamada has 20 years of consumer products marketing experience including brand management, new product development, market research, financial and business analysis, consumer advertising and promotion management at companies including Dole Fresh Vegetables, Naturipe Farms and Oberto Sausage Company.  She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Wash.

Casey Mills has been with the company for six years and is being promoted to a new position as Director of Commodity Management, reporting to General Manager Pete Cling.  In his new role Mills will work in conjunction with the sales, cooling and harvest teams to ensure inventories are fresh and properly maintained to ensure the highest quality produce.  He will also set the daily open market pricing for each commodity and make sure our harvest schedule matches demand. “Casey is adept at following the markets closely but also anticipating changing markets while staying ahead of the curve,” Cling said.

Colby Pereira, COO, said, “Our continued growth is creating the need for new positions within the company.  We look forward to the experience and perspective each of these talented professionals bring to Braga Fresh.”

For more information about the company, visit www.bragafresh.com.

About Braga Fresh

In 1928, Sebastian and Josie Braga started farming California’s fertile soil on what is now known as the Braga Home Ranch in Soledad, CA.  Today, the third generation continues the family values of sustainable-organic farming. Braga Fresh sets aside 10% of farmland to beneficial habitat and has the goal of being carbon neutral.  Now vertically integrated, Braga Fresh combines innovation with tradition to grow, harvest and process fresh vegetables and leafy greens through the Josie’s Organics and Braga Farms brands.

“The SEPC fall Southern Innovations is an intimate opportunity to showcase our product innovation with two category product launches” said Kori Tuggle, vice president marketing and product development.

At the Southern Innovations exhibition, the company will introduce five SKUs including two organic chopped salad kits, Avocado Goddess Chop Salad Kit and Aloha BBQ Chop Salad Kit, and three organic Farmer’s Market Favorites salad blends: Organic Heirloom Crisp, Organic Bistro Duo and Organic Sweet Red Butter.

The Organic Aloha BBQ chopped salad kit has the familiar flavors of a Hawaiian barbecue with tangy sweet pineapple bits and vegan coconut bacon.  Braga Fresh is the first company to offer this vegan salad kit ingredient that was inspired by food influencers.

The Organic Avocado Goddess chopped salad kit contains fresh herb notes with a creamy avocado dressing, crunchy flatbread strips and a zingy goddess seasoning packet that is the key to the overall eating experience, Tuggle said.  Both chopped salad kits are vegan, certified organic and contain clean salad dressing and component ingredients.

“The Farmer’s Market Favorites is a line extension for Josie’s Organics salad blends,” Tuggle said. “These three new SKUs offer unique leafy greens varietals, for organic shoppers seeking something different with flavor, loft and texture for at home salad making.”

For more information about the company, visit www.bragafresh.com.

About Braga Fresh

In 1928, Sebastian and Josie Braga started farming California’s fertile soil on what is now known as the Braga Home Ranch in Soledad, CA.  Today, the third generation continues the family values of sustainable-organic farming. Braga Fresh sets aside 10% of farmland to beneficial habitat and has the goal of being carbon neutral.  Now vertically integrated, Braga Fresh combines innovation with tradition to grow, harvest and process fresh vegetables and leafy greens through the Josie’s Organics and Braga Farms brands.

The objectives of the regenerative farming trials are to conserve soil carbon by reducing tillage passes that allows for an increase in soil biology diversity and decrease consumption of diesel fuel that powers the tractors conducting the tillage operation.  With these goals, the company hopes to lessen water and fertilizer usage.

Whole Foods Market, in response to the company’s efforts the last two years, committed to purchasing and selling the scheduled trial crop of organic sweet baby broccoli this summer.   Although small volume, it is a benchmark.

“This early support from an important customer is helping our team continue the farming trials we do not yet have all the answers or know the ending to yet,” said Eric Morgan, vice president, environmental science and resources.

Regenerative agriculture is a variety of farming principles and techniques that seek to help reverse climate change by rehabilitating soil organic matter and biodiversity. The focus of regenerative farming on soil health promotes the natural cycle of building the soil’s carbon and nutrient content levels.

This is the third year Braga Fresh is trialing regenerative agriculture practices; 2022 was a learning year and an opportunity to build awareness with the company’s farming peers and retail partners.

Multiple practices are used to implement the regenerative trials including plant sap analysis, data management, companion plantings, crop rotation, intercropping, cover cropping, soil testing, and water management technology. All regenerative trials are conducted to meet GMP and LGMA standards.

The trial crop, organic sweet baby broccoli, will be harvested on the Braga home ranch in Soledad, Calif and field packed under the Josie’s Organics brand.

For more information about the company, visit www.bragafresh.com.

About Braga Fresh

In 1928, Sebastian and Josie Braga started farming California’s fertile soil on what is known as the Braga Home Ranch in Soledad, Calif.  Today, the third generation continues the family values of sustainable-organic farming. Braga Fresh sets aside 10% of farmland for beneficial habitat.  Vertically integrated, Braga Fresh combines innovation with tradition to grow, harvest and process fresh vegetables and leafy greens via the Josie’s Organics
and Braga Farms brands.