American and Western Fruit Grower: Ever Evolving [Opinion]
January 7, 2015 
As regular readers can readily see, we’ve got a whole new look for 2015. The redesign of American and Western Fruit Grower makes it look cleaner, more modern, more in keeping up with you, our readers, who so readily adopt new technology when it improves the way you do business.
Change is hard, but it’s also necessary. Winston Churchill, the prime minister of England who helped rally his countrymen during their darkest hour, when it appeared they would be blitzed by the Nazis in World War II, once said change is not only necessary but beneficial. “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often,” he said.
Words of wisdom indeed, but we didn’t change the look just for the sake of change. The practical reasons are detailed by my fellow editor Richard Jones in this month’s “Leading Off” column. But there are deeper, more philosophical reasons.
Another quote I live by is attributed to the playwright George Bernard Shaw: “Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.”
When you hear someone defend a business practice with “That’s the way we’ve always done it,” give it a little thought. It may be the best way, but perhaps not.
As mentioned above, we are seeking to convey our commitment to the adoption of new technology to improve the way we do business, much as you do. A good example of this commitment can be found in our cover story about Ryan Kunde, a Californian who flies a camera mounted on an unmanned aerial vehicle over vineyards to get a bird’s eye view.
Ryan is a winemaker, not a viticulturist, but to me that makes his commitment to the use of UAVs all the more impressive. This young man clearly understands the concept that great wines come not so much from the winery as the vineyard.
But committing to changing technology does not mean losing sight of the past. Indeed, knowing where you came from is absolutely vital in plotting where you want to go.
If anyone can understand that, it’s you. I’ve found that fruit growers have a keen sense of history. It’s because you don’t plant just for tomorrow or for next year, but for at least five years down the road. And if you grow pistachios, it’s longer still.
Take a look at our cover title and you will understand what I mean. It may be new and more modern, but is still rooted in our history, which is rich indeed. We are, after all, celebrating our 135th birthday this year.
Like you, we have certain bedrock values we will never abandon. Our parent company, Meister Media Worldwide, has a “Team Meister Blueprint for Success.” There are seven bullet points, the first of which is “Strive for excellence in all we do.”
I don’t have enough space here to list all seven, but if you’d like the list, shoot me an email. I’d also love to hear what you think of our new look. If you have a suggestion for what we might want to change, let me have it. Change, after all, is a wonderful thing.
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