Tomorrow is inevitable; whether it is full of promise or not depends on the actions you take today. Rather than a cautionary tale, let me instead share a promise: You can make an incredible difference through incremental steps.
“Effective social responsibility efforts require a continuous improvement journey, and it’s one Stemilt has been on since our founding in 1964,” West Mathison, President, Stemilt, assured. “We are further along in that journey in a way that I never would have even thought possible.”
One of the strongest strides Stemilt has made in this formative commitment is also one of the most recent in its five-generation-strong, family-owned and operated history. It started when West first shook hands with the Equitable Food Initiative (EFI) in 2016 followed by an alignment of ideas and eventually a pilot in 2019. Some exploration showed an infinite range of potential, and in 2020, the company upheld its legacy as a pioneer in certifying its first ranch in Quincy, Washington. All its owned fields and facilities in Washington followed soon after in 2021, and the pair have only looked forward to endless changemaking.
“We have reduced workplace injuries by 15 percent and have seen some months with zero injuries—that’s with 3,000 people coming to work in ag every day,” West reflected. “I believe it’s a testament to how we have engaged every single one of our Stemilters to manage risk and to develop teamwork and strong communications.”
EFI has directly trained more than 100 Stemilters on the Responsibly Grown, Farmworker Assured standards, and worked with Stemilt to certify five internal trainers who lead ongoing training for its workforce. Overall, Stemilt invests 8,000 hours annually toward EFI and continuous improvement.
“Since first earning the Responsibly Grown, Farmworker Assured certification EFI program five years ago, Stemilt and its incredible team have remained committed to training, development, and process improvement. Over time, I’ve watched them engage workers and empower them to act in the moments that matter most to safety and quality,” LeAnne Ruzzamenti, Director, Marketing and Communications for EFI, shared. “They have also been deeply committed to responsible recruitment, working with partners like Cierto on the ground to ensure workers are treated fairly and properly. It has been a wonder to watch this company rise to meet its mission and produce high-quality team culture and the fruit such a commitment yields.”
She went on to explain how many safety improvement initiatives have come directly from workers through the Stemilt/EFI worker-manager collaborative team, including ensuring water was more accessible in the fields; improved transportation safety; packing house improvements, and more.
Each step was an internal observation—a seedling idea that often took a small amount of nurturing to sprout into an impactful move the company can now celebrate and continue to improve upon.
"I believe it’s a testament to how we have engaged every single one of our Stemilters to manage risk and to develop teamwork and strong communications."
West Mathison, President, Stemilt
Stemilter engagement rate improved 10 percent from 2022 to 2024, based on annual engagement surveys, with the partnership demonstrating EFI’s strength as a worker engagement tool that drives business performance.
“Stemilt isn’t just where we come to work; it’s where we learn, take risks, drive change, and collaborate with each other. Because so much of our time is spent at work, making that environment supportive and empowering benefits not only our careers but our lives outside the office, field, or packing line as well. EFI helps ensure everyone has the tools and experience to succeed, because a great 9-to-5 leads to the best 5-to-9,” West states. “We see our partnership with EFI as a mechanism to bring out the brilliance in our people who are out in the fields and in our processing facilities. The people who are doing the work know what needs to be done, and they often have great ideas for making it better. EFI helps us connect that knowledge and talent with the resources to bring the ideas to life.”
With the average tenure of Stemilters employed year-round being 9.3 years, West’s reflection on how professional quality of life directly impacts personal quality of life hits home on a mathematical level. Stemilt brings 1,600 workers through the H2A program and has a 96 percent return rate, while local seasonal workers are reported at an 80 percent return rate.
Kevin Boyle, Director of Workforce and Organizational Development for EFI, shared that, in his experience, the rate at which organizations learn in general is quickly becoming the key sustainable source of competitive advantage. And it is one he feels Stemilt is on the leading edge of, embracing the “leaders teach” adage across all levels of its staff.
“Every person that I have worked with at Stemilt, from the orchards to the headquarters, values relationships. There is a shared core belief that people are the key to high performance, that they are the problem solvers and should be valued,” Kevin observed, pointing out that more than $800,000 has been paid to Stemilt workers as a bonus through the EFI certification program.
But while each individual is a crucial component of greater impact, there is a grander vision at large that West is quick to name.
“Ending poverty through agriculture is my personal mission. Through programs like EFI, we’re able to bring education and opportunity into the workplace, helping Stemilters grow their skills, shape their own futures, and thrive both on the job and at home,” he stated.
EFI’s training and Responsibly Grown, Farmworker Assured certification program helps strengthen workers’ skills around communication, collaboration, and problem-solving. It also creates a worker-manager collaborative team as a definitive space where ideas can be brought and issues solved—adding an unquantifiable skillset that, much like the work-life balance West observed earlier, cannot help but be taken beyond the workplace into everyday life.
“Stemilt has shown incredible commitment to high standards, not just with its consistently high rate of compliance to EFI’s rigorous certification, but with its commitment to the whole human. The team’s dedication goes beyond any audit, embracing a truly unique and refreshing approach in agriculture to help workers show up and be their best selves,” LeAnne observed.
So, as today winds down, what change does tomorrow hold for you? For Stemilters, it is a dawn of promise entirely of their own making.
“Bringing EFI into our operations has been essential in training our workforce, especially around soft skills like collaborating to find solutions for problems and holding up ideas for doing things better. The changes might be small in nature, but they add up to build engagement, trust, and overall growth of our company and the growth of our people.”
“Through EFI we have embraced a deep culture of continuous improvement. As the season comes to a close, I am focused on how we can do it better next year, and during the season, I am focused on listening to employees to find ways to improve and get better at everything we do.”
“When Stemilt started working with EFI, we saw opportunities for workers to express themselves and look for solutions to the problems we couldn’t see. Since working with EFI, workers are happier because they are listened to, are free to express their opinions, and help us build a safer workplace.”
