Gar Tootelian, Inc.: Making A Difference In ‘The Valley’ And Beyond

Greg Musson, Gar Tootelian

Greg Musson, Gar Tootelian, Reedley, CA.

For the Environmental Respect Awards program, sponsored by DuPont Crop Protection with assistance from CropLife® and FCI magazines, the Ambassador of Respect winner for North America was Gar Tootelian, Inc. of Reedley, CA.

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“When I think about our company, my parents, the founders, come to mind,” said Karen Musson, co-owner of Gar Tootelian. “Without my dad, Gar, and his dream, none of this would have been possible. Now winning this award, I know the dream is much bigger than he ever envisioned.”

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When you hear people talk about the leaders at Gar Tootelian, the words “catalyst” and “driver” come up a lot. Located just south of Fresno, CA, the Reedley retailer, one of the oldest in the San Joaquin Valley — the most productive agricultural region in the world — is 100% female-owned. Karen Musson and sister Linda Salwasser, the daughters of Gar and Esther Tootelian, are joined by Karen’s husband, Greg Musson, who is the company’s president.

Active In The Community

The company is incredibly active in what residents simply call “The Valley,” both in community projects and environmental awareness. They manage to intertwine the two, educating people on their growers’ environmental practices, economic contributions and most importantly supplying nearly 50% of the nation’s fruits and vegetables.

All the while supporting education and community: Clovis Medical Center, FFA, 4-H, Fresno Chaffee Zoo, Grizzlies Community Fund, Valley PBS, etc. Indeed, they take care of those who are not so fortunate, says Kym Dildine, director of development, Community Food Bank.

“Getting people who will never be hungry to help fight hunger takes a catalyst,” she said.

Karen and Greg Musson Gar Tootelian Ag Zone Entrance

Karen and Greg Musson, standing outside of the Gar Tootelian’s barn/shed-style entrance called the Ag Zone.

All Karen Musson did was go on the radio and encourage people to join what turned out to be the Food Bank’s largest one-day drive ever. Andy Souza, CEO of the Community Food Bank, was astounded to find 23 $100 bills stuffed in the collection cans. Calling on Gar — tellingly, that’s what Valley folks call the company, just plain “Gar,” and pretty much everybody knows who you mean — helped the Food Bank connect with reputable firms to raise money to feed people.

“We wanted to raise $50,000, and we raised $75,000,” said Souza, casually noting that Gar matched the total. “They provide the catalyst to move forward.”

Focused On The Environment

As for the environment, Gar’s efforts of late have been concentrated on the issue that has been top of mind for every Valley grower, notes Scott Chase, retail account manager, DuPont Crop Protection, who nominated Gar for the ERA Ambassador of Respect award.

“California is in the midst of an historic drought and, as usual, Gar Tootelian is leading the way in utilizing technology to preserve our most valuable resource (water). They are doing this by offering services to make their growers’ irrigation systems more efficient,” he said. “These efficiencies not only preserve water, but also reduce groundwater pumping, energy/electricity consumption, and lost fertilizer and soil amendments.”

Such conservation and sustainability is what Gar’s all about. Consider:

 A new 1-acre $3.5-million fertilizer tank farm with three blenders on cement one foot thick — though it rises to 14 inches on the edges — with two mats of rebar built to withstand earthquakes and contain a spill 10 times the size of the largest tank.

 A ponding basin captures up to 12 inches of rainwater on the 10-acre, entirely paved facility, in a region that gets just 9 inches in an average year.  And, employees cover those 10 acres with six large tricycles.

In addition, 30,000 gallons of water is stored for fire suppression with 24-hour on-site and monitored security.

Training is critical to safety and regulatory compliance, so much so that the state provided them with a $50,000 grant. The company has produced 100-plus instructional videos, and 31 of its Pest Control Advisors (PCAs) have over 1,000 years of combined experience, providing mentoring for younger PCAs.

In addition to PCAs, experts in water, regulatory compliance, and plant nutrition are offered by Gar to help growers comply with Cal-OSHA, EPA, Global Gap, and nitrogen and phosphate management rules.

DuPont’s Chase said all those efforts have certainly not gone unnoticed. “DuPont and Gar Tootelian have had a long and successful partnership over the last five-plus decades and I believe it is because of our shared core values. These core values champion personal integrity and respect for people and the environment above all else,” he said. “Environmental respect is more than having clean shop floors and tight valves. Environmental respect is about promoting the knowledge and technology that benefit the sustainability of an entire region for generations to come. Gar Tootelian is the pinnacle of this type of environmental respect in California.”

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