HERMOSILLA, MX - After experiencing the success that Rico Farms has seen this year, some of us may hang up our hats and call it a day. But for this family-owned organic company, these achievements are nothing more than motivation to continue on its path of aggressive expansion. The Tapia Family, owners of Rico Farms, are making new moves to expand their operations, as well as the company’s overall production, through new facilities, added hectares, and added product offerings.
"The Tapia Family's drive for constant improvement is never ending,” shares Ben Johnson, President of Bridges Produce, which is the exclusive sales partner of Rico Farms for selling its organic produce in the United States and Canada. “They never feel their work is done and are always pursuing better solutions to any situation whether it is exceeding organic market expectations, improved quality of life for their staff, continuous improvement in food safety defense, improved soil health, or the quality of the produce itself."
This season at Rico Farms’ Hermosillo operation, Agricola Sonorg, the company will begin growing organic cantaloupe, which will be available in the fall November-December and spring April-May seasons and joins Rico Farms’ current melon offerings of watermelon, mini seedless watermelon, honeydew, and orange dew. Beyond that, the company has doubled its number of shade houses, helping Rico Farms to grow more cucumbers, English cucumber, pickling cucumbers, and eggplant; even allowing it to start its cucumber season three weeks earlier in Mid-September.
"Protected crops are the way of the future for many produce items as they allow superior quality produce, better yields, and extended growing seasons," Ben explains.
As its number of crops continues to grow, so will Rico Farms’ workforce. To accommodate that growth and with an eye on even more to come, the company will build a new dining room to accommodate 314 people per shift—1,200 people total. In tandem, Rico Farms is also building a water reservoir with a 45,000-cubic-meter capacity, to irrigate and provide backup in the case of broken water pumps, as well as provide larger capacity, more pumps, and new containers.
Perhaps most exciting, though, is the new biofactory Rico Farms is currently building, designed to ensure the company’s growing practices are creating healthier soil and putting vital nutrients back into their farm. The biofactory will produce more than 20 different organic products, including: bio-fertilizers, extracts for repellents, insecticides, and beneficial fungi and bacteria including Thricoderma, Bacillus subtilis, and more. The facility will include a vermicompost area for the creation of earthworm humus and an on-site microbiological testing lab.
As Rico Farms and Bridges Produce turns to a year filled with massive growth and ambitious undertakings, AndNowUKnow will continue to bring you the latest updates.
