Faces of Semios is our series putting the spotlight on the incredible people behind Semios — the folks out in the field every day, building relationships and helping growers thrive. We sit down with a Semios team member to learn a little more about what drives them, both professionally and personally.
Growing up in a small town outside Wenatchee, Washington, Justin spent his youth surrounded by agriculture, hunting, fishing and camping. At the time, he thought he’d never want to do anything in agriculture after the various odd jobs he did on farms at a young age.
Looking for something different, his early career spanned everything from construction and sales to public service and habitat restoration work. But as fate would have it, Justin was drawn right back to ag.
Now in his seventh year with Semios, Justin serves as the Territory Manager for Washington. He started out as Branch Manager where he developed a strong understanding of both the product and service needs of Washington tree fruit growers. In his current role, his unique field operations experience enables him to bring a practical, hands-on approach when helping tree fruit growers adopt the right tech solutions for their operations.
Keep reading to learn more about Justin’s journey!
Tell us a little about your background. You grew up around agriculture in Wenatchee. How did that shape your career path?
As a kid, I would help the neighbors control pests in and around the orchard. As I got older, I would take care of the farm animals and chores while the family was out of town. Then at 16, I was tasked with helping out at cherry harvest in a friend's orchard, doing everything from picking, driving tractors and ATVs, to labeling bins. While it was all good work experience, I actually thought at a young age that I’d never want to do anything in agriculture.
And so, ever since my first job at 15, I spent years exploring careers in different industries. After doing all that, funnily enough here I am, back in ag, surrounded by great people in an amazing community.
You’ve been with Semios for over seven years now. What has that journey been like, and how are we making a difference for growers?
Like any journey, there have been highs and lows and a few curves along the way, but it’s full steam ahead with a great team!
Where I’ve seen Semios really make a difference is taking a time-consuming task or a challenge that a grower is facing, and making it easier with the automation and insights that we offer. Whether it’s a frost event, irrigation task, pest development or disease presence, Semios is reducing the time it takes to handle or understand it.
One thing that I wish more growers would know about Semios is whatever your challenge is, we probably have a solution for that!
You spend most of your time working in tree fruit in Washington. What makes it unique, and what would be a piece of advice you’d give?
The complexity of the state from border to border and grower to grower is staggering. Between cultivars to soil types and topography, you can’t compare apples to apples and come up with a one-shoe-fits-all approach.
Because of all this complexity, before adopting any ag technology, I’d recommend having a good conversation about the root of the issue that you’re trying to solve before implementing anything. You need to do your research before buying the next shiny new object that promises to save you time and money, so you can make sure it really works for your specific use-case.
Having been around ag your whole life, what do people outside the industry often misunderstand about growers?
People outside the industry often don’t see the love and compassion that growers have for the ground they work. Their land is not an office they clock in and clock out of, rather it’s a responsibility to their neighbors, friends, and future generations to come.
The level of dedication and determination that growers have to grow a commodity for people around the world who they’ll never meet is unmatched compared to any other sector. I still recall an early memory of mine that really shaped my view on farming. When I was waking up to go fishing around 4am in May, I would always be hearing tractors, bird cannons or wind machines working and thinking, “do they ever get a day off?”
It never fails to surprise me to see the stubbornness of growers in defeating all odds and continuing on with a positive attitude despite all the challenges they’re facing in the industry right now. Getting to know growers on a personal level and seeing the passion they have makes working with them very rewarding.
What is your life like outside of work? Is there anything you’re especially passionate about?
My wife and I have been married for 11 years, and we have two great kids. Outside of work, I love hunting and fishing, and I’m passionate about doing conservation work for fish and wildlife habitat enhancement. I currently serve as the finance chair for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation’s Colockum Chapter here in Wenatchee. Over the last 25 years, I’ve volunteered at kids fishing days, a freshwater mussel propagation lab, fish spawning surveys, and big game banquets.
A perfect weekend for me is camping on a lake or up in the mountains with my family and having no real world responsibilities until Monday or Tuesday.
What’s your craziest fishing story?
My wife and I were out on a lake outside of Chelan in a small aluminum boat when bad weather rolled in. It started with rain, then came the wind, thunder, lightning, and even hail. My wife was hiding under an umbrella while I was getting soaked and worried about whether we would make it back to the boat ramp. But the bite turned on and I caught more fish in the 20 minutes that it took us to get to the ramp than I had in the previous four hours of fishing. I’m surprised she still goes fishing with me after that!
What’s something you’ve built or worked on that you’re especially proud of?
It’s a toss up between two very different projects. The first would be the Little Tucannon River restoration project. It was fun, hard work, and I was able to study the benefits and effects for an endangered species the very first year after implementation. The second would be the master closet organization I made in my first house. It was the first true thing I built from scratch for my wife that she was able to enjoy, and I got a couple of new tools out of the deal!
What is the best advice you have received?
If you learned something from a failure, you did not truly fail.
Rapid fire
Justin holding a King Salmon he caught on the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River
Interested in learning how Semios can support your operations? Justin is here to help. Get in touch today >