LOS ANGELES November 30, 2009 The San Diego County Farm Bureau recently named
grower Henry William Bill Witman its 2009 Farmer of the Year. The Farm Bureau presented the award to Mr. Witman at an evening reception that took place on Nov. 11, 2009 at the California Center for the Arts in Escondido, Calif.
Mr. Witman supplies avocados to Giumarra Agricom International, LLC, based in Escondido, Calif.
We are proud to be associated with Bill Witman not only as a grower and partner, but also as a
friend. It’s dedicated growers like Bill that are the foundation for Nature’s Partner avocados,
says Bruce Dowhan, General Manager of Giumarra Agricom.
Mr. Witman owns Witman Ranch in San Diego, Calif. He was a founding member of the San
Pasqual Agricultural Association, past president of the La Verne Coop Lemon Association and
remains an active member of the University of California, Riverside Chancellors Agricultural
Advisory Council. The Witman family has farmed land in the area for more than 50 years. They
currently grow avocados, lemons and corn.
People look up to Bill and listen when he talks, stated Mike Mellano, Sr. in a press release from the San Diego County Farm Bureau. He can say what people may not particularly want to hear but need to hear, and say it without causing a confrontation.
Mr. Mellano has also been a longtime member of the University of California, Riverside Chancellors Agricultural
Advisory Council. The Farm Bureau named him Farmer of the Year in 1988.
The San Diego County Farm Bureau is a nonprofit trade organization founded in 1913 with a
mission to represent San Diego County Agriculture. It currently has more than 7,000 members.
Source: The Giumarra Companies
