Agri-Empire is Southern California's premier potato grower, packer, and shipper specializing in fresh red, white, and gold potatoes year round. Our unique location allows us to harvest fresh potatoes throughout the year by taking advantage of Southern California's climate zones.
Company History
James Minor founded the San Jacinto Packing Company in the 1943 with an $800 loan from Citizens National Bank. The San Jacinto Packing Company was one of some fifty other packing companies in Southern California and several hundred-potato growers using these sheds to make a living. During the next seventeen years, many of the smaller sheds were replaced with larger, more modern sheds in order to keep pace with the constantly changing demand from the consumer for better and fancier packaging.
1943
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James Minor founded the San Jacinto Packing Company in the 1943 with an $800 loan from Citizens National Bank.
1958
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In early 1958, the San Jacinto Packing Company was the first in the area to have a completely vertical integrated operation in motion. This included the production of their own Certified Seed Potatoes, growing, harvesting, packaging, and shipping, together with the development of sales outlets in virtually every market in the nation, and their own sales force on the base facilities.
1968
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During the term from 1958 through 1968 more and more land was gradually added and the company produced approximately 30% of all the potatoes in Southern California, south of the Tehachapi Mountains. This production involved close to six thousand acres of land under cultivation in varying degrees of sizes ranging from twenty acres to four hundred acres in a field.
1969
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In 1969 many of the major growers and packers looked for a season and market to ease the strain somewhat, and to provide breathing space and a chance to reduce expenses. As the year drew to a close, there appeared to be little or no change in the market conditions. The final analysis witnesses the collapse of at least three or the major growers and packers.
1970
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The Agri-Empire Corporation was formed in 1970 for tax and estate planning purposes. A large percentage of the stock was distributed to the four children and the grandchildren of Jim Minor. While Jim remained active in the planning and major decisions, his two sons, Larry and Wayne, have taken over the major operations. Larry oversees all of the farming operations and Wayne takes care of the office duties.