With a decades-long legacy of putting people first, the Houchin family and the team at Buttonwillow Warehouse Company (BWC) have grown the family business to span 10 locations from central California to the southern part of the state. The team serves diverse acres: berries, grapes, tree crops, vegetables and more, but the center of every BWC site and team is the same: “the Buttonwillow way.”
“At its core, the Buttonwillow way is integrity and accountability,” says Clay Houchin, second-generation family leadership who currently serves as CEO. “We can all look each other in the eye and know there’s trust there. I know my team is going to do their job to the best of their ability, and they know I’m going to do mine, so we get the outcome that is good for everyone.”
For its service to customers, the business it has built and its advocacy in agriculture, BWC has been named the 2024 Retailer of the Year by the Agricultural Retailers Association. The award is sponsored by Bayer and supported by The Scoop.
“Our industry relies on innovative partners who consistently deliver results, and for over 50 years, BWC has exemplified this commitment to excellence,” says ARA president & CEO Daren Coppock. “Their leadership and tailored services have not only set them apart but have also greatly contributed to the success of local communities. We’re proud to recognize them as an industry leader.”
BWC believes the keys to success lie in three core values: integrity, community and innovation.
Buttonwillow Warehouse Company At A Glance
- Founded by Donald Houchin in 1963
- Main offices in Bakersfield, California
- Core values: integrity,ncommunity and innovation
- Began as a grain elevator and warehouse which grew to add ag retail
- 10 locations across 14 counties
- In the heart of California’s Central Valley along with BWC Agro de Mexico in central Mexico
- All Buttonwillow locations hold ResponsibleAg certification
- 250+ employees
- 45+ crop advisers
- Scholarship program for employee dependents for any post-secondary education: trade school up through a master’s program
Powered By People
With more than 250 employees—45 of which are crop advisers—the BWC team has doubled its sales in the past decade and a half. BWC provides crop advising, custom blending, crop protection, fertilizer and sustainable agriculture practices. Its footprint has grown dramatically since 2000 with new sites for expansion as well as acquisition.
The company was started by Don Houchin in 1963 as a grain elevator and warehouse. The business later diversified into retail by acquiring an existing company as the owners were exiting. During the next 60 years, the BWC business demonstrated the ability to be nimble and transformed over time as farmer needs changed.
For example, Don recalls the the lower Central Valley previously being 95% cotton, which changed dramatically in three years.
Powered by its people, BWC has stayed focused on being close to its customer and strategically positioned to give the best service.
“We have tried to make ourselves as professional as we can,” Don says. “Along the way, we acquired technical people and trained our sales staff, so they are confident to give advice that really works for the farmer.”
As leaders, the Houchins have an open-door policy.
“One of our core advantages is the fact that we are small. The decisions can be made very quickly. There’s not a person that can’t just call and get a decision from me right then. I am blessed that our board of directors, our ownership group, trusts me with that type of power, but it allows us to react when we need to and be there. What we give up in scale, we make up in nimbleness out in the field,” Clay says.
The family side of the family business has informed how employees are encouraged for professional growth and personal development.
For several years, the company has run its Level One training program, which brings in new sales people to work alongside a senior agronomist without the responsibility of selling to a grower. This gives them the geographic-specific knowledge for crop protection, pest threats and more, and it has proven to better them for success.
“The last thing we want to do is put somebody in the field who’s going to make a mistake for our customers,” explains Dave German, central region manager for BWC. “Our reputation is just like anybody else’s. It’s key to our business. It’s a very competitive business that we’re in. Buttonwillow prides themselves on making sure that our people, when they go to the field, that they’re not just merely competent. They are experts in the field.”
Don credits a step-by-step approach to the company’s growth early on, which has created the current status of having more control over its own destiny.
“We’ve been able to grow this business and put the structures in place that a big business has to have and yet temper that with really a personal care for everyone. I’m really proud of that. I think it causes less turnover. It attracts people to us,” Don says.
Safety Remains At The Heart
All Buttonwillow Warehouse Company facilities are certified with ResponsibleAg, and each branch has a safety program with quarterly audits. A minimum score of 95% is expected on the audits, which covers DOT compliance; includes adherence to BWC safety rules; and ensures permits, inventory and records are accurate and up to date.
On the road, BWC vehicles have cameras to track speed, record accidents and capture incidents.
Infrastructure Investment
By prioritizing people, BWC continues to grow including its newest facility built in Kerman, California. Leaders say this was an investment for the company to support the local community, create jobs and have a positive halo effect for the area beyond the core business.
“Community is a huge part of Buttonwillow Warehouse, and it’s not just the community within our team ‘inside the fence,’ but it’s the greater community outside the fence, too,” Clay says. “Everybody has a family, and we want to make sure that person goes home safe. It’s slowing down and doing things right, making sure we’re taking care of our equipment and operating safely. In the greater community, there’s schools, people and houses. We want to be a good steward and a good neighbor within those communities, so we can coexist and have a good future while helping to provide safe and sustainable food for the population.”
As Clay points out, facilities are a depreciating asset and will be in worse condition a year from today.
“We are diligent about investing back in to make sure facilities are safe, environmentally sound, and we are taking care of our people and communities with our facilities and our equipment,” he says.
Knowing farmers do business with whom they enjoy doing business, the team is focused on making it a good experience.
“This is a people business, but first and foremost, it is a business-to-business relationship. If you take care of your employees, they’re going to take care of your customer. So our focus is in making sure that they have a safe and healthy place to work, that we give them the training and the skills to be successful and quite honestly get out of the way. Let them do what they know how to do and take care of the grower,” Clay says.
Being a partner in the field has given the business an advantage.
“Our customers come back because we’re helping make them better. That’s our goal, what we’re trained to do and what we’re licensed to do,” Clay says. “If we’re not living up to that end of the bargain, they may go somewhere else. Farmers are excellent business people. They can tell when they’re getting value out of the relationship. And if they are, we keep them. We try to show we can make their operation better.”
One unique aspect of the family business is they are also stakeholders in the family’s farming operation. Every product or service is first trialed on their own acres to understand usage and placement.
Clay is the third generation on the family farm, Elk Grove Farming Company. He worked his way up as a BWC crop advisor before joining the leadership team.
“We understand how hard it is—the risk and variables Mother Nature throws at you every year. Our approach with the Buttonwillow Warehouse Company is to help them manage those risks, improve yield, improve quality and make sure they’re successful,” Clay says. “My experience has helped inform how to envision ourselves as partners with our growers. We start our day as crop advisors focused on how to make the grower’s operation better. We truly believe if we’re focused on making their business better, we’re going to prosper.”
Another understanding of the dynamics of farming comes down to timing and adjusting when changes need to be made.
“It would be great if you could plan things out months in advance, but when a problem arises, you need to go. So, we’ve tailored our company around that to make sure we’re nimble and react to what our customer needs when and how they need it,” Clay says.
Each branch is set up to serve the crops in their area with advisers tailored toward those crops.
“We are set up to solve nutritional problems and pest problems with the best programs to save them money along the way,” says Mike Bryant, pest control adviser. “Buttonwillow gives us tools we need to achieve what the grower is looking for—if it is equipment, if it is resources like specialists to make more strategic decisions on products. If there’s an emergency, we’re going to be there. We’re going to step up and make sure they have what they need when they need it.”
Farming in this area also brings water management challenges.
As Paul Ross, regional manager, coastal division, says, farmers are under pressure with water all the time. Whether it’s aquifer management or surface water, depending on the region, there are disagreements on what the water allocation should be; how much they are going to use; what they are going to pay for it; and with aquifer water, managing its bicarbonates, calcium and other mineral loads.
“With all of the water regulations and the spray application regulations, we just have to be in constant communication with growers and ensure compliance,” Ross says. “That’s the only way to deal with the regulatory challenges they are facing.”
California is the Tip of the Spear For Regulation
Despite facing the challenges of California’s highly regulated agriculture industry, the goal for BWC is to surpass those standards in how it ensures compliance and exceeds environmental requirements.
On the ResponsibleAg audit questionnaire, California adds 30 questions. The regulations also manifest in greater requirements for certified pest control advisers.
“In the state of California, in order to be a licensed PCA, there are seven PCA categories that you have to pass,” says Dave German, central region manager, Buttonwillow Warehouse Company. “You’re required to have 40 hours of continuing education every two years. Four hours of that is under laws and regulations. We empower our people. We pay for them to go to those classes, to go to any training programs that they want to go to. We encourage them to go to any field days that they can. We probably host our suppliers 10 or 12 different times throughout the year, so that we have regular update meetings with everyone, so that our people are well-trained.”
The level of detail Buttonwillow has applied to stay on top of the regulatory environment has benefited its growers.
“They’re always at the forefront of all the new regulations to make sure we’re following all the rules and everything,” says Bobby Cronk, pest control adviser, Four Star Fruit. “And if we need to do something different, they are the first to propose a trial and help us.”
Spotlight on Technology
Demonstrating value to the customer has been the underlying drum beat in the business and the motivation for technology investments.
To help customers make informed investments in their crops, BWC developed AgriKnowmics, an in-house software application available to customers at no charge. AgriKnowmics is available as a cloud-based platform and in stand-alone versions for iPhone, iPad and laptops.
“We know technology is important to help growers make better decisions,” Bryant says. “They want to know how their crop is progressing, what they have in the soil, what they are able to cut back on, what they need to bump up. We make a lot of adjustments mid-season, backing things out, bumping things up to help improve their yields and quality.”
AgriKnowmics allows partnered laboratories to upload soil, tissue and water analysis results.
“We were looking for a system to interpret soil tissue and water data in a way that was easy for our customers to understand and explain it to their bosses, so they could address the issues that might come up,” says Chuck Moran, technical agronomist. “The AgriKnowmics application is extremely powerful because it allows our crop advisers to relate the greatest needs to their customers, who can then in turn address those needs and increase their yields and profitability.”
With a focus on visual reports highlighting areas for improvement, the software enables the Buttonwillow team to group large sets of samples for program evaluations while also allowing detailed analysis of individual samples. AgriKnowmics compares individual fields over a season or multiple years, leveraging data to create grower-specific standards, BWC standards or UC guidelines.
The technology has helped inform business decisions and how to invest back into the business—for example, at the Paso Robles location, installing a new liquid fertilizer blender for custom blends.
Answering Tomorrow’s Questions Today
“Innovation allows us to do more with less,” Clay says. “Everybody knows we have more people and less resources. In agriculture, we’re being asked by society to do more with less water, less fertilizer and less crop protection. The only way we can do that is with innovation.”
For BWC, he’s focused on short-term success with a long-term view.
“My goal is to leave this company better than I found it and pass that to future generations, so there are still independent family businesses in agriculture,” he says.
What Customers Have To Say
“When we look for a supplier, we’re looking for reliability, competitive pricing and knowledgeable support staff. Buttonwillow checks those boxes for us,”
— Matthew Helm, director of IPM, Monterey Pacific, Paso Robles, California.
“Buttonwillow was our provider for UAN32 last year. We didn’t forecast enough, so we ran out of material on a Sunday. I called our Buttonwillow rep, and by Sunday afternoon, we had product out there, and we didn’t have to shut down operations. It gives me just total confidence in that we can get the job done and that they’ll answer the phone when we call.”
— Levi Jones, pest control adviser/agronomist, Hanson Ranches, Corcoran, California.
“I’m looking for good communication as well as competitive pricing. Buttonwillow helps significantly in the new technologies with chemistry. Buttonwillow’s reps communicate in real time with us—sharing what’s going on in the field or what’s coming out in the chemical world.”
— Kyle Vierra, agronomist, Hanson Ranches, Corcoran, California.
“I talk with my Buttonwillow consultant multiple times a day during the season and during the offseason. Grapes are fast-paced throughout the season, so if we need a product, we’ve got to spray it that night or the next day. They put their blood, sweat and tears into the field, and they feel like an in-house PCA.”
— Bobby Cronk, pest control adviser, Four Star Fruit.
