The son of immigrants, Miguel Gomez knows a thing or two about seizing the future.

After growing up watching his father work 60 hours a week as a leafy greens foreman in California’s Salinas Valley while attending night school at a local community college, Gomez is taking a similar path.

He works full-time in sales and operations for vegetable processor Taylor Farms while taking 16 units at California State University, Monterey Bay in pursuit of a bachelor’s degree in agricultural plant and soil sciences.

With his experience, and with a goal of working toward a doctorate in plant pathology, Gomez could be a face of the next generation of agricultural workers – those with humble backgrounds as traditional laborers who are gaining the knowledge and skills necessary to participate in the budding technology revolution.

Gomez urges his peers to be self-motivated, learn good communication and “people” skills and learn how networking works.

“Don’t fear change,” he said March 18 during a virtual conference. “Always raise your hand and say, ‘Here, I’ll do that.’ Above that, you have to be willing to learn.

“You don’t have to get it right” in the beginning, he told about 400 high school students watching on video. “You just have to get it going.”

Gomez made his remarks as a featured speaker during an evening online reception to open the two-day Salinas Valley Ag-Tech Summit, which focused this year on the importance of education for tomorrow’s workforce.

His talk inspired California Food and Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross, who was seen smiling on video as Gomez spoke.

“It is such an exciting future,” Ross told the student. “I can tell by the way you talk that you already know that.”

Focus on future of labor

Hosted by Western Growers and Salinas’ Hartnell College, the annual conference features leaders in agriculture, technology and academia discussing how to best harness emerging technology and markets. Canceled last year because of coronavirus-related restrictions on public gatherings, this year’s eighth conference is being held on Zoom.

The free event is scheduled to resume at 9 a.m. today, March 19, with more discussions on the future of labor. Speakers during today’s session will include Ted Taylor, president of Mission Ranches and Seco Packing; Sebastien Boyer, chief executive officer of FarmWise; and Miles Reiter, CEO of Driscoll’s.

“It’s exciting to have this synergy of ag and technology,” said Raul Rodriguez, Hartnell’s interim superintendent and president. He told of an East Coast colleague’s effort to patent a phone app that detects COVID-19 in the user, and he’s exploring whether Hartnell can pilot the app when it resumes with in-person classes in the fall.

“You can just see the future,” he said.

The focus on workers and technology comes as Western Growers and three West Coast land-grant universities have launched parallel initiatives to automate the harvests of tree fruit and other specialty crops. Walt Duflock, WG’s vice president of technology, has said Hartnell and other community colleges will figure prominently in efforts to train existing workers to use the new technology.

A fixture at events

Gomez has become somewhat of a fixture at industry events, having spoken to the Produce Marketing Association and the Forbes Ag-Tech Summit and at this year’s USDA Outlook Forum in February. He has traveled around the country and occasionally outside the country in his work in sales and operations, according to a biography provided by Western Growers.

He developed a love for agriculture as a boy, when his father took him to do field work and drive tractors during the weekend. His parents immigrated from Jalisco, Mexico, before he was born, and he is a middle child with a younger brother who also works at Taylor Farms and an older sister who is an investor, according to the bio.

Gomez also developed a respect for education, watching his father earn more than 50 units in early-childhood education at Hartnell. His mother volunteered at his elementary school so she could keep an eye on her children while their father was in the fields, the bio explained.

He told conference viewers the skills he developed have enabled him to “expand my horizons” by traveling 550 miles from home to work in the Yuma, Ariz., area during winter lettuce harvest. In addition to sales and operations, Gomez is cross-training with Taylor’s food safety and research and development teams, he said.

“There is never a dull moment at the office, in the processing plant or in the field,” said Gomez, who earned an associate’s degree from Hartnell College in agricultural plant science. To succeed, “one must understand how networking works, be determined, committed and self-motivated, and be a team player,” he said.

Gomez sees a bright future for the Salinas Valley, not only as the world’s “salad bowl” but as a proving ground for future skilled leaders, he said.

“Keep fighting for your dream,” he urged fellow students. “Don’t let it be a dream, let it be a reality. Remember, the dream is free; the hustle is sold separately.”