NEWS IN A NUTSHELL
Blue Diamond
Welcomes New Board Member Dan Mendenhall
From peaches to grapes, the
rich soil of Belle Terre Farms Co.
has a long history of producing
a variety of food crops. Dan
Mendenhall is currently owner/
operator of Belle Terre Farms in
Merced County and has been
farming there for over 20 years.
His wife’s grandfather, Teiichi
Andow, immigrated from Japan
in July of 1910 and established
a 20-acre family farm in 1919.
Despite the challenges of WWII — a son wounded in the
Army 442nd infantry battalion in France and Italy while his
family was interned back in the states — the Andow family
maintained ownership of the farm. Today, Dan has grown
the family farm to 214-acres focused solely on almonds.
Dan Mendenhall assumes the seat vacated by Bob Weimer,
who retired at the 2017 Annual Meeting, and represents
District 7 on the
Blue Diamond
Board of Directors.
While serving on the Livingston Farmers Association
board, his local huller sheller co-op, Dan realized his
experience could bring a valuable perspective to
Blue Diamond
. Before returning to Belle Terre Farms in
1997, his career was set in a corporate environment
where acquisitions and investments in research and
development were part of the business. During his
career, he learned about bringing new products to the
market and global manufacturing. A significant portion
of it was working in finance developing the company
strategic and operating plans.
“I had been immersed in a corporate culture with its
own unique politics, vocabulary and acronyms,” said
Dan. “As in any industry, production agriculture has
its own unique culture, vocabulary and processes,
which my neighbor and friends thoroughly enjoyed
indoctrinating me into.”
Dan’s hope is that corporate experience will enable him
to infuse the grower perspective into
Blue Diamond
and
1 0
A L M O N D F A C T S
