Addressing any doubts about farming in Mexico by Richard Lentz

A customer in Duncanville  recently wrote this email to Seagate concerned about discovering that Seagate operates farms in Mexico.

Comments:  I much prefer taking olive leaf than going on antibiotics. However, I was shocked to read on your label that this product is actually grown in Mexico; I thought it was from your farm in CA.

We get an occasional comment each year concerning our choice to operate our farms, fishing boats, and factory in Ensenada, Baja California Mexico.  It is important to understand the reasons why Seagate has chosen to do all of our raw material production and processing in Mexico.

Hi Duncanville:

Throughout this blog site, we have made it abundantly clear that Seagate has it operations in Baja California, Mexico located near the city of Ensenada. We have plenty of articles and pictures of our plant, farm and operations in Mexico. The land, water, and air are much cleaner and more pure than the alternatives of operating farms in California. The view in the picture below is from the edge of our farm where we grow artichokes. Notice the drip irrigation lines in the foreground … and a neighboring cowboy passing by for a visit. This is the heart of Baja California where there are no neighbors farming, no GMO’s floating their pollen in the air, no cities, and no pollution. There is perfectly clean well-water flowing underground from the local Sierra mountains to land that is surrounded by desert mountains and sunshine throughout the year.

Mexico certainly has developed a bad  reputation for using unregulated pesticides and chemicals in their massive tomato farms. This is the result of big agricultural operations that are very similar to the massive farming operations in the U.S.  However, in the heart of northern Baja California (100 miles south of San Diego), there is not a more isolated and cleaner spot in the world to be operating a farm.  Small farms like Seagate’s work in an entirely different world.

In addition to the physical advantages, there are the social considerations.  The political climate in the U.S. is presently controlled by interests that would like to open up our borders to any and all immigrants, especially from the countries south of the U.S. that make up Latin America. The reasons for this seem to include building a wider voting bloc for a particular political party. Consider this alternative — Seagate Economics 101 — that there is a company that trains their staff in every aspect of running this company — from administration and accounting, to farming, building and operating heavy machinery.  All of our key people have been with us between 10 and 25 years.  They all own their own cars and houses. As their children reach college age, the company contributes scholarship money towards their school tuition. Even the newest worker on the farm or in the plant earns three to four times the minimum wage with immediate advancement once they learn their skills and take on more responsibility.  There has never been anyone in Seagate’s 30 plus year history of operating in Baja California that has quit in order to look for better opportunities in the U.S.  There is no reason to do so.