Shay Myers is an onion expert and the owner of Owyhee Produce. Owyhee Produce is a 3rd generation family farm and one of the biggest vertically-integrated onion farms in the United States. Their farm grows enough onions to provide adequate supplies that reach about 6 million Americans annually. Other than managing an onion farm, Shay is also a produce industry influence and agriculture keynote speaker. He is currently working to provide asparagus, hemp, and sweet potatoes to American families on top of their onions.
Shay joins me today to describe how their farm differs from most growers when it comes to vertical integration. He shares how his dream to fly was granted when he returned to manage the farm. He discusses some of the early mistakes he’s made as the lead farmer and what he learned from them. Shay also explains some of the challenges in the ag industry, particularly when it comes to working with companies and people, and why the US safe practices system is broken and easily exploitable.
“You can't expect the consumer to be willing to pay you a fair price for something if they don't know what it takes.” - Shay Myers
This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:
- Pursuing his passion for flying by having a career in agriculture.
- How his family responded to his desire to return to farming.
- What vertical integration is in agriculture and some examples.
- Some of the mistakes he's made in the industry and what he learned from them.
- The difference between a yam and sweet potato and why the US doesn't grow yams.
- What he believes is the most challenging hurdle in today's ag industry.
- Processing differences between mint oil and CBD oil.
- His thoughts on growing our own food and importing them and why the US is at a disadvantage.
- Eliminating labor and overhead costs with innovative technology.
- Why the system surrounding safety practices is broken.
Connect with Shay Myers
This episode is sponsored by Indigo Ag
What if surviving a drought began with just a microbe? What could accessing 10,000 buyers do for your agriculture business? Indigo Ag helps farmers improve profitability, environmental sustainability, and consumer health by working with growers to reimagine every aspect of the agriculture industry - from soil to sale.
To learn more about Indigo Ag and their mission to improve the environment and agriculture industry, visit IndigoAg.com/Questions
Indigo. From questions… we grow.
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