Interview with Roberto Gomez, Learn about Sun Valley Baja.

Oh, down in Mexico
I never really been so I don't really know
Oh, Mexico
I guess I'll have to go
-James Taylor

Sunflowers!

We have a beautiful Sunflower crop coming to harvest at our farms in Baja, Mexico. This south of the boarder endeavor is a relatively new enterprise for Sun Valley and is spearheaded by Roberto Gomez. Roberto has been farming sunflowers in Baja for about seven years and has been directly involved in the floral industry for most of his life. He started growing his own Sunflowers in Baja for a very specific need. His bouquet company, Pacifica Farms, was buying in a huge amount of sunflowers for bouquets and consumer bunches. Roberto was consistently disappointed with the quality he was getting from other sunflower growers.

Black Eye, Teddy Bear and Pro-Cut Red Sunflowers.

He found that other growers did not have solid “Cold Chain Management” systems in place and that their growing styles didn’t lead to a consistent crop. Consistency is one of the keys to a successful flower growing or selling operation, this seems like a no brainer but there was a hole in the market for consistent, high quality, floral grade sunflowers.

Sun Valley sells big beautiful Sunflowers

Sunflowers in the ground.

In the classic entrepreneurial model, Roberto headed down to Baja to grow the best available sunflowers himself. The benefits of controlling the production process and maintaining superior cold chain management led to a very successful endeavor, and ironically this success led to Roberto and Sun Valley building a relationship based on growing techniques and sales opportunities.

Sunflowers growing in Baja, Mexico.

In 2012 Roberto, who had been one of our best customers, and Sun Valley partnered to work together. We have combined our resources to bring sunflowers and a host of other warm weather crops to market. Our relationship has been built on a deep interest in the science of growing and a commitment to quality.

Lane DeVries among the Sunflowers.

I sat down with Roberto the other day top find out the skinny on our Baja farms.

Lily: There are two plots of land in Baja, where are they and how big are they?

Roberto: One is near Ensenada about 80 miles south of the boarder, this farm is 54 acres. The other is much smaller, located at the end of the Baja peninsula in Los Cabos, it is 19 acres.

Roberto Gomez with the Sun Valley Sales Team.

Roberto, third from left, with some of the Sun Valley Sales Team.

Lily: What are the major crops?

Roberto: This whole operation is envisioned as a Sunflower farm, however, we are also growing (or planning on growing) a lot of the flowers that compliment sunflowers, such as wax flower, stock, snapdragons, liatris, strawflower, statice and dianthus.

Lily: What about Eryngium?

Roberto: I am very excited about our eryngium program; we moved the eryngium production from Sun Valley Oxnard to Baja to take advantage of the longer growing season. I was also able to establish our farm as the only farm in North America licensed to grow the beautiful Super Nova eryngium. We are developing this crop as we speak and production levels should start to sky rocket. As a flower grower at heart, it is great to be with Sun Valley and have the resources and space to move crops from northern California to southern California, or to Baja. This way we take advantage of the optimal growing conditions for a given crop, and the results are awesome.

Iris, Eryngium, Bella Donna Delphinium and Salal bouquet

Lily: What’s the climate like?

Roberto: Both the farms are located in unique micro-climates; the climate is similar to San Diego. The farm in Los Cabos is absolutely beautiful; it can be a challenge to work down there, just due to the stunning geography, the gorgeous weather and the temptation to sip a cervesa and enjoy the view.

Lily: One reason Sun Valley was excited to partner with you is your environmental standards, what’s the story?

Roberto: I am very proud that both these farms are Rainforest Alliance Certified. These are the only Rainforest Alliance Certified farms in all of Mexico. For me it is all about respect, respect for people and respect for the land. I believe respect is not reactive, respect is proactive. This is the way I run my business and the way I raise my family.

A honey bee has a taste...

Lily: I know you visit these farms nearly every week, in the media a lot of attention focused on the drug cartels and the violence around the boarder. How do you deal with this?

Roberto: It’s one of those situations where “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” I have a system, I drive down in my old pick-up truck, I stay with a family friend I have known for years and I usually eat at the same restaurant. I have my routine, and it seems to work. So far so good.

Lily: What’s the future hold?

Roberto: I’m excited about the future. We have a great team of employees; many of them have worked on the farm for years and have come up through the ranks. This leads to a lot of loyalty and strong institutional knowledge, which in turn leads to a smoother operation and a higher quality product. Controlling the production and post-production side of the farm has been great, and being able to send our trucks directly to the Sun Valley Oxnard facility is a perfect system to maintain the optimum cold chain. My office is now at the Oxnard Farm, so it’s fun to really be a part of the Sun Valley team.

The other point is that demand for the flowers we are growing in Baja is rising, so our efforts will continue to grow. It is great to have the backbone of Sun Valley behind our Baja efforts, and it shows in the final product.