Western Growers Reveals Its Latest Award of Honor Recipient

Western Growers has announced it will present Edwin Camp, CEO of D.M. Camp & Sons, with the 2026 Award of Honor at the organization’s 100th Annual Meeting in November. The Award of Honor is Western Growers’ highest recognition of achievement and is given annually to individuals who have contributed extensively to the agricultural community.

Camp was elected to the Western Growers Board of Directors in 1994 and served for 30 years; he was named Chair in 2003. D.M. Camp & Sons have been a member of Western Growers for 52 years. D.M. Camp & Sons is currently celebrating its 90th year in business; over the company’s history Camp and his family farmed dozens of fruit, vegetable, grain and fiber crops. Almonds are the current mainstay for Camp’s operations, alongside four John Deere dealerships in Kern and Los Angeles counties, as well as a John Deere engine distributorship covering five western states.

Camp has been active in many organizations, a few including the National Potato Board, the California Potato Research and Advisory Board, the North Kern Water Storage District Board, the Cal Poly Crop Science Advisory Board, and the Cal Poly School of Agriculture Advisory Board.

After 38 years, Edwin recently retired as President of the Arvin-Edison Water Storage District Board, and after 13 years also recently retired from the Friant Water Authority Board. Currently, Edwin is a delegate on the Great Valley Farm Water Partnership, an organization dedicated to collaboration between Delta and San Joaquin Valley farmers.

“For decades, Edwin Camp has been ‘the man in the arena,’ fighting for our industry, especially in water policy where he has been an ever-present force,” says Western Growers President and CEO Dave Puglia. “His leadership is defined by an intricate knowledge of the complex systems, laws and regulations that define agricultural water supply in California and a steady political sophistication that builds trust and credibility among the state’s diverse water users.”

Camp’s achievements will be celebrated at the Award of Honor Dinner Gala at the 2026 Western Growers Annual Meeting in Maui on Nov. 8-11, 2026.

For more information, visit wga.com.