Vino FarmsDoing Good for its Employees, the Lodi Community and the Earth
By Matt BeardmoreThe Ledbetter family has been farming in Lodi for half a century. Preparing for the next generation to continue the Ledbetter legacy, embracing sustainable farming methods, and supporting their employees and the community are priorities for the Ledbetter’s vineyard management company, Vino Farms LLC.
When Keith Ledbetter and his family, including sons John and Jim, arrived in Lodi in the 1970s, Keith “formed a partnership to develop 1,200 acres of winegrapes,” which led to a joint venture with Prudential and the founding of Vino Farms. Under John’s and Jim’s leadership, the company’s reach expanded to Napa, Monterey, Yolo, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara counties as they helped Lodi become the country’s largest source of premium grapes while continuing “to build the business by developing long-term partnerships with other farmers, investors and businesses.”
John and Jim are no longer involved in the day-to-day operations of the business as Vino Farms’ leadership today includes John’s children – Craig Ledbetter and Kim Ledbetter-Bronson – along with Jim’s children – Marissa, Megan, and Courtney Ledbetter, who are the company’s owners and partners.
Kim Ledbetter-Bronson, who joined Vino Farms in 1998 – eight years before Craig and their cousin Marissa did – told San Joaquin Magazine (where Craig’s wife Suzanne is the publication’s Food and Wine Editor) that people used to tell her that “75 percent of family businesses fail in the third generation.” Vino Farms, though, is thriving under the third generation of Ledbetter leaders. The family also has an eye on the future leadership of the company as succession planning was done in the late 1990s, Craig Ledbetter said. The next generation includes Craig and Suzanne’s 11-year-old son, Kim’s 19- and 22-year-old sons who attend Cal Poly, and Marissa, Megan, and Courtney’s children (they have 9 between them).
Vino Farms manages roughly 20+ varieties of winegrapes on 17,000 acres throughout California, 3,000 of which are owned by the Ledbetter family in Lodi and Sonoma County. The rest of the acreage is either owned in partnership, leased, or farmed by Vino Farms for clients such as wineries and private investors.
“Most of our clients are long term,” said Craig Ledbetter. “When our business started in the early 70s, we developed a joint venture with Prudential that lasted until the late 90s. From then until now, there are still 3 or 4 major investors that all stem out of that original Prudential relationship that purchased properties and we still farm for them.”
As one of the “earliest winegrape growers to adopt sustainable farming practices throughout their operations,” Vino Farms continues to embrace next-gen farming as it has over 2,000 acres powered by solar for irrigation. It also operates autonomous tractors in the Lodi area with plans to expand into other locations as state regulators allow, said Craig Ledbetter.
Vino Farms currently employs more than 300 full-time workers, who all receive full health insurance coverage (employees pay $1 a month, according to Craig Ledbetter), can participate in a 401k program, have access to company vehicles and computers if their job requires those, and receive life insurance policies to protect their families.
Knowing what it is like to work for others and learning how to treat employees (and how not to) are just some of the requirements members of the Ledbetter family must meet if they are to join the family business.
“In our company, there is a requirement that you will graduate from college,” Craig Ledbetter said. “You also have to work outside the family business to learn different skills sets and learn how to be the low man on the totem pole.”
After graduating from Fresno State, Craig Ledbetter was a recruiter in the medical device field and then worked for a data storage company for almost two years. “I wasn’t sure if I was coming home at this time,” he said. “The main reason I did was because the company I was working for wanted me to move to the San Jose area and work out of their office there, but my wife was in college at Fresno State at the time.”
When Craig and Suzanne moved to Lodi in 2006 for Craig to join the family business, Suzanne, a Fresno native, became heavily involved with charitable organizations in her new home, joining the Hutchins Street Square Foundation and also becoming involved with the Lodi Boys and Girls Club, the St. Joseph’s Foundation of San Joaquin, the Lodi Community Foundation, the Lodi Chamber of Commerce’s Young Professionals Committee, among other groups and organizations. In an interview with San Joaquin Magazine, she called John Ledbetter “her biggest mentor.”
John Ledbetter has been involved in countless charitable causes over the years, including being the former president of the Lodi Community Foundation and the Homeless Solutions Committee, former chair of the Hutchins Street Square Foundation, San Joaquin Business Council co-chair, and co-chair of the Hospice of San Joaquin Capital Campaign Fund. John was also named the Lodi Chamber of Commerce’s Outstanding Citizen of the Year in 2018.
“Philanthropy in our family goes back to my grandma a long time ago,” Craig Ledbetter said. “My dad and his brother and sister would see that grandma was always volunteering and helping out where she could. This has carried on. My dad is retired, but he is still very involved in philanthropy. The Lodi community has always been important to us and giving back is a big part of who we are.”
When farming gets into the blood of a family member, it can set a course that affects a lifetime of generations.
The Ledbetter family’s roots in agriculture go back to the 1930s, when Keith Ledbetter’s father-in-law farmed citrus and row crops in Delano, California. Keith joined his father-in-law in farming the property following his Air Force service in World War Two. Years later, Keith landed in Lodi, where he formed a partnership to develop 1,200 acres of winegrapes. It was the 1970s, a perfect time as the renaissance of California wine was just beginning. It was a move that would lead to the founding of Vino Farms and its establishment as a multi-region California winegrape grower.
As Keith looked ahead to retirement, he invited his sons, John and Jim, into the family operation. Over the next two decades, John and Jim would dramatically expand the reach of Vino Farms, branching out from Lodi and Sonoma to Napa, Monterey, Yolo, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo and Barbara counties. The strategy behind farming in these diverse regions was simple and smart: spread the risk. If Mother Nature wasn’t kind to one region one year, there were others to fall back on.
Today, the fourth generation of Ledbetters is ascending into Vino Farms leadership. John’s son Craig and daughter Kim Ledbetter-Bronson work side-by-side with Jim’s daughters, Marissa, Megan and Courtney Ledbetter.
Working together, the family demonstrates grower leadership in their commitment to the well-being of their workers, in their protection of the environment through sustainable farming practices and in their support of the communities where they farm.
Hard work, integrity, innovation, vision, and community and industry leadership are the core values the Ledbetter family live by every day and a reason for their continued success in the winegrape industry.
