Growers Express

Sam McKinsey is a second-generation farmer, and grew up on a ranch in the Blanco district of Salinas. His father, Lyle, farmed for The Garin Company and then Admiral Packing, growing lettuce broccoli, beets, beans and green onions. Sam's first W-2 was filed when he was 12 years old, working on his dad's ranch trapping gophers and driving a water truck.

Sam started Sam McKinsey Farms in Greenfield, California in 1980 with 581 acres. He grew his business and joined forces with Mission Ranches which led to his joining Growers Vegetable Express in 1990.

Today Sam is the Vice President of Agricultural Operations for Growers Express. He spends at least four days a week out in the fields, checking out progress on all of the ranches. The other three days are spent at the office and in meetings, but Sam much prefers the freedom of being outside, watching the crops grow. He enjoys calling the shots regarding irrigating, varieties chosen, and deciding the optimum time for the crop to be harvested. He especially loves growing iceberg lettuce, having developed a special knack for it over the years.

Sam farmed side-by-side with his father, Lyle for 32 years, and Lyle was his greatest teacher. Lyle was a perfectionist and was known to say, "You can do it your way or you can do it the right way." Striving for that perfection is what drives Sam today and his goal is to "put the same box up 52 weeks a year" by trying to maintain the crops' integrity and quality in each and every field. Barring weather or other uncontrollable issues, Sam's goal is for the products he packs to be the best they can be, every day of the year.

Sam's wife Tammy works for Fallen Oak Packing, a company responsible for hauling product for Growers Express. His daughter Cassie is in the food safety department for Capurro Farms. Son Brent recently received a national FFA award for GPS technology in agriculture, and he is currently implementing this technology on all of Growers Express ranches, in addition to attending college.

In his free time Sam likes to spend time with his family out on the lake and restoring cars with his son.