Tom Boe

Title: Director of Grower Relations
Location: Loxahatchee, FL
Email: tboe@jjproduce.com
Phone: 561-662-4396
Fax: 561-422-9778

Tom Boe likes to be hands on, but that doesn’t mean he gets his hands dirty every day.  And after a lifetime of being in the dirt, he’s just fine with that now.  “I was born on a farm and that’s all I’ve ever done.  Now it’s the only thing I know how to do,” he says wryly.  Growing up in Nebraska, Tom helped his father raise 10,000 head of hogs, as well as grow corn and soybeans.   Later on, the family expanded their operation to Florida during the winter, growing squash and other vegetables.  “We farmed 14 months out of the year,” he jokes.

Tom has been J&J’s director of farming for several years, working hand in hand with our grower partners all over the South — enough to keep him on a tight schedule.  “Four days out of five I’m traveling,” he says.

Having Tom oversee our partnering farms works well for both parties, he says.  “Our growers are all family farms.  They don’t hire managers to do things, they do it themselves.  They’re on top of it every day.  They own the land.  Their farm has been in the family for years and they stake more than just their reputation on what they’re growing.”

Each farm has its own personality, Tom says.  “Each farm has to do things a little bit differently, depending on the land and resources.  You have to be flexible.”  Because J&J’s operations are so geographically diverse, each region has its own challenges from insects to soil conditions to temperature and rainfall.  “Very seldom things are perfect.  Perfect conditions would be 85 degrees during the day and 65 at night, with rain about ½ inch, two times a week from 4am to 6am.”  Tom helps to share Best Practices among our grower partners.

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