As the field service specialist, Gabby primarily focuses on irrigation and nitrogen management plan inquiries. She is currently assisting growers to ensure their INMPs and Summary Reports are not only complete, but that they comply with the state waterboard coalition by the March 2021 deadline. Gabby has been learning how to complete compatibility requests submitted by PCAs. Ron Wade has shown her how to test the blends appropriately so they don’t end up with a fertilizer blend that will clog up lines. She also helps with pricing and entering custom blends into CPR. Currently, she is working on a Revive Ultra (a GAR Bennett product) trial out in Kerman on some young almonds. She is looking forward to seeing what the results are as she is anticipating healthier trees where the product was applied.
Gabby is proud to be a part of the agricultural industry. During her early childhood, she spent most of her time with her grandparents who were Hmong refugees that came to the U.S. from Laos in the late 1970’s. They farmed strawberries and other specialty crops. As a native of Fresno, Gabby attended Edison High School and later Fresno State where she majored in biology. While pursuing her undergraduate degree, Gabby worked as a microbiology laboratory technician where she learned about the food safety sector of agriculture. Growers would send in samples of their crops and drinking water to be tested for pathogenic microbes like listeria, salmonella and E. coli. Additionally, she joined the Louise Stoke Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP). During the Spring of 2018, an internship opportunity came up with the USDA-ARS in Parlier. Gabby applied and was given the chance to work with Research Entomologist, Dr. Charles Burks. This internship would be the pivotal moment in Gabby’s life where she would decide to pursue a career in agriculture. After graduating from Fresno State, Gabby continued to work with Dr. Burks for a few years. Once she heard about the opening at GAR Bennett, she reached out to Ralph Rendon. After meeting with him and Pete Lain, Gabby was officially a part of the GB team.
While working for the USDA, Gabby gained invaluable skills and life experiences; one of the most important being time management. She oversaw the mass-rearing of navel orangeworm (NOW), Indian meal moth and almond moth. She learned how to design and apply experimental trials both in the lab and field. Gabby also learned how to use R to set up experimental design and analyze their data. She was given the opportunity to attend conferences and present their team’s research findings at the Orchard Pest and Disease Management conference in Portland, OR. Most of their team’s experiments involved integrated pest management (IPM) where they would test different trap types, pheromone blends for mating disruption, and camera traps that used artificial intelligence to monitor pests.
Gabby’s true joy is spending time outdoors. Whether it’s hiking, fishing or camping, you can typically find her out in the wilderness somewhere. Since the pandemic, she has been working on her green thumb. She loves stopping by Belmont Nursey to see what new plants she can adopt to take home. However, what Gabby enjoys most is spending time with her husband Chris, and two “dog-ters”, Cinderella and Sophie.
Gabby is excited about the range of services GAR Bennett offers because of the merger.
“I’m excited to know that we now offer a broader range of services to our customers. We are making it easier for growers throughout the Central Valley to access services for all their agricultural needs.”
