October 2021 - 16

Sebastien Boyer
FarmWise Labs Inc.,
Co-founder and CEO
Before co-founding FarmWise, Boyer
worked as a mathematician for IBM
Research and a data scientist for Facebook. He holds a master's
degree in electrical engineering and computer sciences from
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he studied
machine learning. Following his true passion for sustainability
issues, Boyer co-founded FarmWise in 2016 with the mission to help
farmers transition to more sustainable farming practices and deal
with new regulatory and societal changes. Boyer was one of the
winners of Innovators Under 35 Europe 2018 from MIT Technology
Review and named to the 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 list with his cofounder,
Thomas Palomares.
Trey Enloe
Lewis Creek Farm, Manager
Enloe is a fifth-generation farmer at his family's
farm in Henderson County, North Carolina. The
Enloe family has been growing, packing and
marketing tree fruits, mainly apples, since the mid-1800s. After growing
up just down the road in Bat Cave, North Carolina, he attended North
Carolina State University in Raleigh. He currently lives on the farm with
his wife, and together they operate the retail portion of the farm, Bright
Branch Farms.
Mark Evans
Evans Brothers Fruit Co.,
Farm Manager
Patricia Contreras
Dole Food Co., Food Safety and
Quality Assurance (FSQA) Supply
Chain Manager
Over the last decade, Contreras has demonstrated a strong drive to
push the industry forward, especially in food safety. She is a part of
the Managing Risk in Produce & Leafy Greens Global Food Safety
Initiative working group, Post Harvest Sanitation working group with
Commercial Food Sanitation, and an active member of the Arizona
Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement. Contreras has managed
food safety and quality assurance programs for the supply chain
at Dole Fresh Vegetables in the Southwest and Mexico, which are
primarily Southern California, Arizona and all of Mexico vegetable
production, while serving as a liaison at Dole Berry Co. for FSQA.
She previously was quality manager for Dole in the United States,
Canada and support for the Mexico and South America regions.
Evans a farm manager at Evans Brothers
Fruit Company where, alongside his family,
he manages more than 350 acres of apples, cherries, grapes and
blueberries. Evans participates as a member of the International Fruit
Tree Association, Benzie Manistee Horticulture Society, Michigan State
Horticultural Society, and a board member for the Northwest Michigan
Research Foundation. In addition to his farming accomplishments, Evans
is a husband and is raising four future farmers of his own.
Joe Ferguson
Ferguson's Orchards/Ferguson's
Pepin Heights Orchards, Co-owner
Ferguson manages wholesale operations for
350-400 acres of high-density apple orchards.
Along with his brother and father, Ferguson's has six wholesale orchards
with three retail stores across Wisconsin and Minnesota. He is a strong
advocate for technology in farming and being a voice for the younger
generation. He is currently the vice president of the Wisconsin Apple
Growers Association board, and frequents the International Fruit Tree
Association as a scholarship recipient. Ferguson has a wife and two
children who love spending time in the outdoors.
Angelos Deltsidis
University of Georgia,
Assistant Professor
Deltsidis is an assistant professor
in the Department of Horticulture of
the University of Georgia (UGA), specializing in postharvest
physiology of fresh produce. His program focuses on ways
to extend the shelf life of fresh horticultural crops and on the
implementation of technologies to improve marketable quality.
Deltsidis received his Ph.D. from the University of Florida. Before
joining UGA, Deltsidis served as the International Postharvest
Specialist at the University of California, Davis.
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Kyle Flack
Bell's Farm, Co-Owner
Flack is co-owner of Bell's Farm. Under Flack's
leadership, Bell's follows a regenerative
agriculture philosophy with livestock, strawberries
and mixed produce. Before farming, Flack served in the U.S. Army
and the reserves. After the military, Flack met his wife and together they
returned to her family farm. Recently, Flack has helped form a cooperative
and now serves as the organization's president. The co-op hosts an islandwide
food hub that has established a resilient local food system.
http://www.VegetableGrowersNews.com
October 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of October 2021
