May 08, 2024

Wilbur-Ellis hosts Day in the Life FFA Tour

Wilbur-Ellis hosted more than 50 members of the California FFA at its newly renovated Woodland South location. FFA members learned about career opportunities in food production and agriculture during this event.

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Wilbur-Ellis hosted more than 50 members of the California FFA at its newly renovated Woodland South location. FFA members learned about career opportunities in food production and agriculture during this event.

The “Day in the Life” tour featured presentations by four Wilbur-Ellis Pest Control Advisors (PCAs) who detailed the work they do helping growers throughout the area raise a wide diversity of crops from tomatoes, corn, sunflower, grapes and rice to almonds, prunes, pome fruit, seed for high-value vegetables and more.

Wilbur-Ellis hosted the FFA Tour in May at its Woodland South location near Woodland, California.

Wilbur-Ellis hosted the FFA Tour in May at its Woodland South location near Woodland, California. Photo courtesy of Wilbur-Ellis.

PCAS also explained to the young leaders how membership in FFA influenced their career choices and how it is helping them in their jobs today. The Wilbur-Ellis tour was one of several educational tours offered to FFA members attending the 2024 California FFA Convention in Sacramento.

“More than half our employees are former FFA members, and I estimate nearly 75% of our customers are as well. FFA judging contests and serving as a chapter officer helped me improve my public speaking ability. It guided me to attend Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo to get my agricultural degree,” said Patrick Klingler, sales manager for Wilbur-Ellis at the Woodland South location. “My supervised agricultural experiences (SAEs) in swine production and raising hay taught me to understand how expenses and marketing affected my ability to make money.”

More than 50 members of the California FFA learned about the career opportunities in food production and agriculture during a recent tour of the newly renovated Wilbur-Ellis Woodland South location near Woodland, California.

Wilbur-Ellis Woodland South location near Woodland, California. Photo courtesy of Wilbur-Ellis.

Megan Dyk, agricultural instructor and FFA advisor at Ripon Christian Schools in Ripon, California, appreciated opportunities like the Wilbur-Ellis tour and the investment in agricultural youth.

“Exposure to actual careers helps to connect the dots between classroom learning and what is happening in the ag industry,” Dyk explained. “Students can hear from their teachers all about opportunities in ag. They can do career reports, but it isn’t until they see firsthand by way of a tour with actual industry professionals that they form connections and gain enthusiasm for a certain career. This type of hands-on learning is integral to ag education.”

State-of-the-art technology serves diverse crop needs through precision 

During the tour, FFA members also viewed the state-of-the-art tools, technologies and services available today to growers throughout the area. The facility opened in early 2024 after nearly four plus years of planning and construction.

The company’s liquid fertilizer tank farm and new liquid blending station where precise combinations of crop nutrients are formulated with accuracy akin to measuring ingredients in a cake recipe are some of the new features highlighted on the tour.

“Our PCAs begin by evaluating soil samples, leaf petiole or tissue samples and aerial imagery of growing crops to identify nutrients that a crop may be lacking. With this information, we prepare a prescription of the primary and micronutrients needed. Our new blending station, supported by Agvance software, then allows us to precisely formulate the crop nutrients to the specific analysis needed for each block or field,” Klingler explained.

“We’re also using technologies such as soil probes and in-field weather stations to monitor the water being applied and how quickly it is used by the plants. With these tools, we help our customers add water only when the crop needs it,” added Klingler.

Technologies also are used to help growers spoon-feed nutrients to crops through drip or sprinkler irrigation when the crop needs it most, for very efficient use of the inputs. Wilbur-Ellis has similar formulation and blending systems for dry bulk nutrient use.

For more information, visit wilburellis.com.

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