Costa Farms

Hurricane Helene's devastating impact on individuals and communities - within and beyond our team - has reminded us how vital it is to stand together during times of crisis. In partnership with the Red Cross, we are contributing to relief efforts to help those affected by the hurricane’s destruction. A portion of proceeds from every order on our site (https://hubs.ly/Q02Sppzq0) will support the Red Cross’s critical work in providing shelter, meals, and emergency supplies to those in need. The response to Hurricane Helene has been immense. The Red Cross alone has already provided nearly 23,400 overnight shelter stays, served 83,000+ meals and snacks, distributed 3,100+ emergency relief supplies, and deployed 1,400+ responders delivering life-saving services. Additionally, if you donate more than $20 at https://hubs.ly/Q02SpdgQ0 you'll receive 15% off a plant purchase on https://hubs.ly/Q02Sppzq0! This effort is personal to us, as we stand in solidarity with those affected, both in our community and beyond.

At Costa Farms, we love learning! We believe that our team members and their children deserve to have access to the supplies and resources they need to be successful students. In advancement of this effort, we recently hosted our annual backpack drive, raising funds and assembling school supply packs to be delivered to 2,000 elementary school-aged children of farm workers across our operating units in the United States and the Dominican Republic. We wish these students a very successful academic year and hope that the supplies will support their learning!   Earlier this summer, our interns also assembled 300 school supply packs for our farm workers who will be studying in the Alfalit onsite literacy education program. Thank you to all our team members who donated, volunteered their time, and coordinated the annual backpack events; we appreciate your H3!

Nuestro equipo de ingeniería en La Romana, República Dominicana está contratando; si está interesado, póngase en contacto con Ana Cecilia Fortuna De De la Rosa.

This week at Costa Farms, we celebrated the 12th annual Alfalit program kickoff! This year's theme, "Learning is Wild", was punctuated by a decorative jungle scene and other thematic activities. For the next 24 weeks, a cohort of over 250 farm workers will be learning Spanish and basic arithmetics, as well as conversational English, onsite during their paid work day.   Our 35 team member teacher volunteers met on Wednesday to review teaching best practices, align on strategy and resources, and build their team dynamic through discussion and activities. These team members have generously committed to instructing our students for 3 hours each week throughout the program; the relationships they build during this time are lasting and meaningful.   Here are a few photo highlights from the Alfalit kickoff; we'll be posting more updates on Alfalit as the classes continue, so be sure to stay tuned!

Have you met Elias? From plant puller to VP of Horticulture & Planning, he is a true testament to perseverance, curiosity, and an undying will to improve. Elias immigrated from the small colonial town of Nochistlán de Mejía in the southern region of Zacatecas, Mexico. Upon arrival, he faced a number of personal & professional challenges. “We were six or seven living in a two-bedroom apartment because we couldn’t afford anything different. I often questioned if I made the right decision.” - Elias Elias’ first job on our team was pulling plants. Fast forward 37 years, he became a critical problem solver for our team, accomplishing innovative feats including: - Masterminding recovery of our farms post-Hurricane Irma in 2017 - Driving efficiency through creating our first enterprise resource planning (ERP) system - Creating a new pot shape to increase shipping efficiency and set the industry standard for quality - Mentoring and teaching colleagues, inspiring through instilling a desire to learn We are truly grateful to have such an uplifting role model on our team. Read more about his incredible journey here 💛: https://lnkd.in/gTndZJjZ

We're proud to announce that our internship program has been nominated for the Top 100 of 2024! Please take a moment to check out our highlight reel and cast your vote for this exceptional program 🎉 The Costa Farms internship program is a key initiative in our Love Where You Work culture and operates on 4 pillars: Guidance & Mentorship: Our intern managers are senior leaders with deep experience and expertise in their field; we also pair each intern with a mentor buddy who can broaden their functional scope and offer valuable perspectives about the company. Real-World Experience: Interns complete an individual project related to their field of study; they also team up to tackle a large-scale challenge that the company is facing, and present their ideas to our executives. Opportunities for Development: From live professional workshops to robust digital courses, executive hangouts, and more, Costa Farms interns enjoy access to several professional learning resources. Volunteer & Service: Our interns have helped us to equip our team members in need with school supply packs; some even chose to participate in our HQ Blood Drive, where we provided the top donations for the region that day! Thank you to WayUp and Yello.co for sponsoring National Intern Day (July 25) and the Top 100 List! We look forward to celebrating our interns and the reveal of the top 100 programs for 2024. Until then, we hope you'll keep visiting the provided link to vote for the Costa Farms internship program ✅

Here at Costa Farms, we’re dedicated to the happiness, health, and safety of our team. And one of our secret weapons on our safety team is Neyvi Medina. She’s our full-time Nurse Practitioner, based on site here in Miami with her own on-site clinic. Neyvi helps educate the team on health and wellness topics (as we go into summer, for example, she’s ensuring everyone on the team knows the signs of heat stress so they can rest breaks as they need to prevent heat illness). She provides treatment for any on-the-job injuries that may occur and offers free services like blood pressure checks. She’s also involved with community outreach, such as helping to organize a health fair, blood donation drives, and more.

We're continuing to celebrate Women In Horticulture Week and profiling some of our leaders here at Costa Farms. Jana Uy is a Section Grower for our Research and Development team. That means Jana's responsible for growing and maintaining all of our perennial plant trials in South Carolina, from organizing them to doing the final reporting. This work is invaluable in helping us decide which new varieties we're going to grow in the future. Jana has this advice for other women in the industry: "Don't be afraid to ask questions. Everything -- including a mistake -- can be a learning experience that you can use to fuel your growth. Seek new experiences and opportunities to drive your vision of who you want to be. Tackle every challenge with a smile on your face. Also, be sure to stay hydrated!" Thanks, Jana, for helping Costa Farms bring hot new perennials to home gardeners!

We're celebrating Women In Horticulture Week by highlighting some of the fabulous leaders here at Costa Farms. Michelle Opela, Senior IPM Manager, has been a force within the company for the last 10 years. Michelle leads a team that works with our growers to grow our use of biological pest controls, reducing pesticide use while increasing plant quality. Michelle has this advice for other women in the industry: "Don't undervalue yourself and don’t be afraid to ask for what you need. I think we worry about damaging our relationships by asking for what we see as “too much” but a good manager is going to be happy to know what you want. You also need to be ready to fail. It will not kill you and the more rejection you experience the better you get at asking. Try out different styles and methods of negotiating to find what feels best for you. So work hard -- really hard -- be ready to fail, get back to it, and don’t be afraid to ask." Thanks, Michelle, for making Costa Farms a better -- and greener! -- place to grow and work!

For Women In Horticulture Week so we're highlighting some of the leaders here at Costa Farms. And Tannia Rodriguez, Learning & Organizational Development Manager, is perfect for a shout out because she contributes in so many ways! Among Tannia's responsibilities is implementing the ALFALIT program at our farms. Our partnership with ALFALIT International allows us to teach more than 200 of our team members back math and literacy skills, as well as conversational English to our developing leaders. Tannia is truly helping to change people's lives. She has this advice for other women in the industry: "Know your worth: Understand your value and don't be afraid to assert it. Seek mentorship and networking: Building partnerships will provide you with guidance and opportunities crucial for personal growth. Share your power: There is so much value in being of service to others. It is a way to inspire change in the workplace. Do what you love: Follow your heart and it's desire to fulfill it's vocation in all that you do." Thanks, Tannia, for everything you do for the Costa Farms team!