Jose “Chuy” Romero
As the youngest son of 22 children, Jose “Chuy” Romero moved from a small town in Jalisco, Mexico to Oxnard, California in 1979 at the age of 14. In 1981, Chuy became a strawberry picker for Reiter Bros., landing his first job at the age of 16, joining eight of his older siblings who had already been working for the company since 1974. Chuy was motivated to move up and became a crew leader (manager of a crew of pickers on a ranch) and in 1989 began working with Gerry Robertson, a ranch manager at the time, who was farming organic strawberries. Just three years later in 1992, Chuy filled an open position as a Supervisor for the Share Growers in charge of helping with maintenance. It was there that he gained a broader base of knowledge working in the fields and learning irrigation systems, driving ranch trucks and understanding how to perform routine field prep and maintenance for the crops. After 13 years of working at Reiter Affiliated Companies (RAC), Chuy became a Share Grower himself and in 1997 Garland Reiter and Gerry Robertson gave Chuy the opportunity to become a full partner within the organization.
“I grow for reiter
because they are the very best
in the berry business”
Growing up around the berry industry gave Chuy the experience and knowledge to move forward with his own business, J&E Berry Farms, and eventually obtain his first 20 acres in strawberries as a partner. Over the years, Chuy acquired more land and in 2009 began farming his first 10 acres of raspberries. To date, Chuy has continued to prosper, farming 140 acres of conventional strawberries, 80 acres of off-cycle strawberries as well as 110 acres of raspberries. Chuy’s entrepreneurial spirit has established himself as a key business partner at RAC where he looks forward to continuing his long-standing relationship, growing and expanding in unison with the company. In his own words… “The sky’s the limit.”
Salvador “Titi” Vasquez jr.
Salvador “Titi” Vasquez Jr. is a third generation farmer who has worked around berries since the age of 16. He was born and raised around the farming environment and grew up with high values of carrying on the family farming tradition. His grandfather started farming strawberries as a Share Grower in 1970 and his father followed those footsteps by starting to farm raspberries in 1983. In 1998, Titi’s father, Chava, became a partner with Reiter Affiliated Companies (RAC) and started his company, Vision Farms.
Third generation farmer
Titi began his career with farming in 2000, by helping his dad on the weekends and filling summer jobs around the ranches. He quickly began learning a variety of tasks such as irrigation, truck driving, taking care of plants and soon became a Ranch Manager for Vision Farms. In 2011, Titi had the opportunity to become a partner with RAC growing red and golden raspberries, which is where he started his own business, “Third Gen. Berry Farms.” He enjoys the fact that he gets to work outdoors and loves the challenges of being a farmer. In Titi’s words, “It's a privilege to be a third generation farmer. Farming is in my blood and it’s my passion. I'm keeping with the tradition my grandfather and father started. I’m a partner with RAC and grow for Driscoll’s because they are the very best in the berry business.”