How we make our products matters. We want our energy to be clean, reliable, and affordable. Taylor Farms currently uses energy from solar panels, a wind turbine, cogeneration, and fuel cells at many of our factories around the country. These installations are reducing our greenhouse gas emissions and our energy costs.
This month we’re celebrating the one year anniversary of the installation of the solar panels at our Dallas, TX facility. Since January 2017, they have produced 1,528,141 kWh of power. There have been 1,137 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions sequestered, which is equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions from 244 passenger vehicles driven for one year and to the CO2 emissions from 123 homes’ energy use for one year.
Last month we celebrated two installation anniversaries — in November 2012 we activated a Bloom fuel cell at our Salinas, CA plant, and in November 2014 we began operating one of the Salinas Valley’s first wind turbines to help power our Gonzales, CA vegetable processing facility.
The Bloom box is comprised of five 200-kilowatt fuel cells that convert natural gas into electricity without the combustion required by a conventional electrical generator. The power produced by the fuel cell is 21% cleaner than the traditional utility grid and has nearly eliminated nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide emissions. Also, it produces electricity using virtually no water, which is close to 100% less than an average power plant.
The blades of the 398-foot tall wind turbine in Gonzales spin up to 20 rotations per minute and supply up to one megawatt of power. It produces approximately 15% of the energy needs at the facility. Since 2015, the wind turbine has produced7,760,418.59 kWh of electricity. The greenhouse gas emissions avoided are equivalent to 14,155,479 miles driven by an average passenger vehicle, and equivalent to the energy used to power 624 homes per year.
Our commitment to sustainability goes hand in hand with our mission to make healthy fresh foods for our consumers. We know that one bag of salad won’t change the world, but how we make it might, so we’ll continue to invest in resources to produce healthy, high-quality food powered by renewable energy.
PRO*ACT USA went to Yuma, AZ, and interviewed Albert Garnica, VP of Ag Operations for Taylor Farms, to get an update on our Yuma operations this winter.
Albert touched on the different growing regions and microclimates present in the Arizona desert, and how transitioning growing regions throughout the year from California to Arizona (and back) helps Taylor Farms provide consistent and quality fresh produce year round.
He also shared some of the challenges we’re facing right now, and why we have a positive outlook for the next several weeks! Watch the full interview here:
Taylor Farms is participating in an exciting national college tour giveaway, alongside 15 other food brands. The giveaways, hosted by Mike’s Mighty Good Craft Ramen, are taking place between now and February 16 at ten college campuses around the United States.
Each college ambassador is hosting a scavenger hunt on campus, with clues posted on participating companies’ Instagram stories leading students to special giveaway boxes filled with prizes from the brands! Students are watching these “stories” to figure out where on campus the prize is hidden. Follow along with the hunt on the @yourtaylorfarms Instagram!
Participating brands include:
Mike’s Mighty Good Craft Ramen
Taylor Farms
Enlightened
Encha
Rhythm Superfoods
Gr8nola
Beanitos
Live Love Pop
Four Sigmatic
Mother in Law’s
Annie’s
Good Zebras
True Jerky
Kettle & Fire Bone Broth
Simply Gum
Regrained
“We’re very excited to team-up with such reputable brands for these college giveaways,” said Christina Barnard, Taylor Farms Director of Marketing. “This is a great opportunity to bring delicious, healthy foods to campuses across the nation while introducing ourselves to the next generation of salad shoppers.”
Congratulations to the first two Scavenger Hunt winners….
On a day that is dedicated to all-day snacking, why limit your avocado intake to just guacamole? We’ve partnered with Mission Avocados for a #NotJustGuac giveaway and to bring you a series of creative dishes to help you kick off game day with a menu packed with tasty avocados and greens!
Enter this week for your chance to win the ultimate Prize Pack — 1 case of Mission Avocados, a variety of Taylor Farms Chopped Salad Kits, and a $100 gift card. {3 Lucky winners will be selected}
Here’s how to enter:
– Follow @missionavocados and @yourtaylorfarms
– Tag 3 or more friends in our #NotJustGuac giveaway announcement post
– For extra entries, share your #NotJustGuac recipes with us on Instagram!
Giveaway closes January 31 at 12:00 PM PST, and the three winners will be announced on February 1.
Need some game day appetizer inspiration? Check out these recipes that are guaranteed to score with your party guests:
Taylor Farms CEO Bruce Taylor was featured in a recent SmartBrief article – he discussed what keeps him up at night, how he works to foster innovation within the company, and the advice he has for aspiring leaders and entrepreneurs. Read the full article by Elliot Begoun here:
Taylor Farms and the expectation of innovation
They are ubiquitous today, those bag-salad kits you find in the produce section of most grocery stores. But they are a recent innovation, one that truly disrupted a category. Since 1995, Taylor Farms has been doing just that: disrupting the produce department with bagged salads, salad kits,fresh-cut vegetables and other healthy foods.
Bruce Taylor serves as chairman and CEO of Taylor Farms, headquartered in America’s lettuce bowl, Salinas, Calif. Taylor Farms has 14 facilities in North America. I had the opportunity to talk with Taylor about human capital, innovation, leadership and entrepreneurialism. I found his answers both insightful and profound. I hope you enjoy the interview.
What keeps you up at night?
“Trying to figure out how to generate the human capital to keep growing at a fairly rapid rate. We have a very complicated business, and it has been difficult to find transferable industries where we can just re-pot someone. So, we tend to be homegrown leaders.
“When you’re growing at 10%, 12% a year off a large base, you need a lot of new leaders, and that’s the challenge we’re finding right now. The people we have are great people and we’re particular in terms of who we bring on. So, in a way, it’s a problem that we’ve created ourselves.”
What are some of the steps that you’ve taken to try to address it or overcome it?
“As an industry effort, the Produce Marketing Association has a center for growing industry talent. They’re going out to colleges around the country, getting people interested in the produce business. The message really for those college graduates is what used to be the produce business is now the food business. It’s a very sophisticated, high-tech business.
“People, as they become exposed to our business, suddenly get very interested. People love the thought of growing and producing food for fellow Americans. They understand the challenges and the opportunities from a career perspective. What we try to do is spread our story so people understand that, at Taylor Farms, there are software jobs, there are engineering jobs, there are marketing jobs, there are social media jobs.”
Who do you think with?
“I tend to be very curious, and so I’m always asking people questions, always trying to understand how people do things, how businesses do things. It doesn’t need to be in our industry, it can be in the computer industry or the car industry or whatever else. You can learn from every industry.
“Every day, I try to discover something new that I can then use in our business. I’ve got a board of directors who I think are great financially and strategically. I really enjoy the strategy part of it. I set a clear vision for what we’re trying to do, what products we produce, who our customers are, who we want our partners to be and drive the business that way. Hopefully, people feel that if they think we’re headed in the wrong direction they’ve got permission to say, ‘Wait a minute, this isn’t working.’”
How do you foster innovation?
“I create an expectation of innovation. In other words, I expect that everyone in our organization is thinking about that every day, even down to the accounts-payable person. What I keep telling them is if you’re doing the same thing next year that you’re doing today, we probably just fell behind. Innovation really is the lifeblood of our success.
“We celebrate successes, obviously, and have permission to fail. You don’t get beat up for failure because obviously, that will discourage innovation.
“We don’t have a department of innovation, if you will. Yes, we’ve got a deli engineering group and a retail engineering group, but they’re only one part of the solution. There are amazing opportunities for innovation throughout our organization and throughout our partner base with products and processes to improve what we do every day. People are really tuned into that. All I really ask is that, when you fail, and you will fail occasionally, you learn from it and communicate that learning to everybody else.”
What have you learned about connecting with and motivating people?
“From a leadership perspective, it’s finding what people are passionate about. Because, as you know, when you work on something you love, you don’t feel like you’re working. If we can get 20,000 people doing what they love, then we’re going to be successful.”
What advice would you give aspiring leaders and entrepreneurs?
“The food business as a career is a terrific opportunity for people, and particularly the fresh-food industry. Because you’ve got just a groundswell movement towards healthier fresh food. You’ve got a groundswell towards convenience. People don’t want to spend as much time in the kitchen. We’re really at the confluence of those two major mega-trends. The business opportunity then creates the personal opportunity for growth. It’s just a wonderful place to be. I think that people are going to jump on board.
“I remember Sheryl Sandburg talked at one of our kids’ graduations back east, and she said that if you’re trying to get a position on a rocket ship, don’t argue about what seat you’re going to get, just take a seat, take a seat and you’ll find the right spot.
He ended by adding, “If it’s right for you, you chase it until you catch it. If it’s not right for you, figure out what is right for you and go chase that.”
This month we’re celebrating the one year anniversary of the installation of the solar panels at our Dallas, TX facility. Since January 2017, they have produced 1,528,141 kWh of power. There have been 1,137 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions sequestered, which is equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions from 244 passenger vehicles driven for one year and to the CO2 emissions from 123 homes’ energy use for one year.
fresh-cut vegetables and other healthy foods.