Stemilt reports measurable gains through EFI partnership

Apple producer Stemilt Growers is reporting safety and labor retention gains as a result of the company’s partnership with the Equitable Food Initiative (EFI). The workforce development and certification organization certified Stemilt in its Responsibly Grown, Farmworker Assured program, which aims to boost operational performance through structured worker engagement.

Six years after earning its first EFI certification, the company conducted a comprehensive review of its internal processes and workforce data to evaluate the long-term impact of EFI’s training and collaborative model. The results show sustained improvements across key business and workforce indicators.

Over the past several seasons, Stemilt strengthened its safety performance, recording multiple months with zero injuries and bringing its overall incident rate below the Washington state OSHA average. In addition, employee engagement scores improved 10 percent between 2022 and 2024, per-person productivity increased by 16 percent since 2021, and handling damage was cut in half over the past year. 

“These indicators are all the intended consequences from our commitment to engaging people in the work and focusing on how to get better,” said West Mathison, president of Stemilt Growers.  

With engagement rising, workforce stability has also strengthened. Stemilt reports a 96 percent return rate among its 1,600 H-2A workers and an 80 percent return rate among local seasonal workers. Year-round employees average 9.3 years of tenure, and more than $800,000 has been paid to workers in bonuses through the EFI certification program.

Better for workers, better for Stemilt

Many improvements originated directly from EFI’s worker-manager collaborative teams.

Employees helped redesign field water access systems, implement dedicated traffic lanes and pedestrian safety measures in facilities, upgrade ergonomics in packhouses, and address ladder and slip-related risks through targeted training and inspections.

“Bringing EFI into our operations has been essential in training our workforce, especially around soft skills, like collaborating to find solutions and holding up ideas for doing things better,” said Brianna Shales, director of marketing at Stemilt Growers. “The changes might be small in nature, but they add up to build engagement, trust, and overall growth of our people.”

“Stemilt has shown incredible commitment to high standards, and not just with their consistently high rate of compliance to EFI’s rigorous certification, but with their commitment to the whole human,” said LeAnne Ruzzamenti, director of marketing & communications at EFI. 

Kevin Boyle, EFI’s director of workforce and organizational development, added, “Every person that I have worked with at Stemilt, from the orchards to the headquarters, values relationships. There is a shared core belief that people are the key to high performance, that they are the problem solvers, and should be valued. That value is having a direct impact across the operation.”

Five years of sustained training, collaborative leadership, and data-driven review demonstrate how structured worker engagement strengthens culture, reduces risk, and delivers measurable business results.

*All images courtesy of Stemilt

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