February 2022 - 5

MCLEAN
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Organic. The reaction of Matt's
grandfather (Benny's dad, who they
all called Pappy) to that supposedly
newfound idea of going organic, was
humorously blunt.
" 'Matt, what the hell do you think
we did for 150 years up here?' " Benny
recalls Pappy saying about the days
before the pesticide prevalence.
" 'Nobody ever told us it was organic.' "
Pappy McLean, who died in
2004, was knowledgeable on many
subjects, including soil health. He
had been taught to analyze the
ratios of soil nutrients based on the
Albrecht Method, and he was fond of
reminding Benny that soil pH wasn't
the only thing to keep an eye on. He
was a believer in the importance of
teaching children to work.
" As we were growing up, you had to
go to work during the summer. You
went out there in the hot groves in the
summer, pulling vines and all that, "
Benny said. " All of us boys grew up
knowing how to work. "
Today, Benny McLean remains
active, working most days and giving
three or four presentations per year.
A common question from listeners
is what they should know to be a
successful organic grower.
While citrus greening, labor and other issues affecting growers remain a big challenge for Florida citrus growers, the McLean family
remains dedicated to agriculture and selling quality organic orange juice.
partners with him in the early 2000s,
as we began to grow our own fruit not
only for juice, but also we began to
pack fresh well into 2015, 2016, " Ben
said.
There were a few ups and downs - the
BENNY MCLEAN
" If you don't understand soil
chemistry and physics - if you don't
understand the biology in that soil, do
not try to be organic, " Benny said. " It's
a whole different world that's under
your feet. "
Unto the sons
The push to grow citrus organically
wouldn't have happened without Matt
McLean's vision for an organic orange
juice company.
Matt earned a degree in finance
and was serving as a consultant for
a German who owned farmland and
exported frozen concentrated orange
juice, when he became interested in
the idea of growing organically and
selling organic orange juice.
Brother Ben calls it a classic story of
the American Dream.
" My brother started the brand in
1999, Uncle Matt's Organic, and it's
still the nation's oldest and largestselling
brand for organic orange
juice. And of course, we joined in as
family sold Uncle Matt's Organic to Dean
Foods in 2017, but that parent company
went bankrupt a few years later. The
McLean family in 2020 assembled a
new investment group to repurchase
their company. Investors in that
group included Gary Hirshberg, cofounder
of Stonyfield Organic; John
Foraker, former CEO of Annie's and
co-founder and CEO of Once Upon
a Farm; Andrew Abraham, CEO and
founder at Orgain; Nicole and Peter
Dawes, founders of Late July Snacks
and Nixie Sparkling Water; Matt
Rogers, founder of Nest and Incite.
org. Renewal Funds, a mission venture
capital firm with a commitment to
supporting organic companies, also
participated, according to a news
release from the company.
" When Dean's financial distress
took a saddening and unfortunate
turn, it became a rare opportunity for
us to purchase Uncle Matt's to expand
distribution, innovate into new
categories and educate consumers
on the intrinsic health benefits of
buying organic, " Matt said in the news
release.
Ben agreed it was a win, on the
whole.
" In some ways, it was a positive,
even though it was a roller coaster, " he
said. " It's just been a great experience,
and Dad and Matt and I, we wouldn't
change that for the world. ... (Dad)
and I work together growing it, and
Matt, my brother, works selling
it. We've always said that's our
partnership, how things work. "
Today, in addition to marketing
agreements with other growers, the
McLean family itself has nearly 100
acres of fruit production, either
owned or under lease. The family
grows about 40 acres of organic
navel oranges, 20 acres of organic red
grapefruit under basic maintenance,
See MCLEAN, page 6
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503-985-7161
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FGN | FEBRUARY 2022 | 5

http://www.copenhavenfarms.com

February 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of February 2022