Harris Heritage

Harris Heritage

Harris Family Farms, founded in Chowchilla, California in 1985, grew out of a family farming operation whose origins date back to The Great Depression, when Francis Harris moved his family out from Alabama to the Central Valley to try his hand at farming. Marion Harris, son of Francis, followed his dad into agriculture after serving in World War II. Initially, Marion farmed in Tulare County and later as far away as Arizona, but he eventually brought the family back to its roots, moving everyone to Chowchilla in 1974. Today, while the business is a large, vertically integrated farming operation it is still, at heart, a family venture managed by President and CEO, Russell Harris, the grandson of Francis Harris.

Russell has been supported in his aspirations from the beginning by Anne, his high school sweetheart and loving wife. Their two children, Jason and Alexandra, along with Alexandra’s husband Doug Brunner, have taken active roles in the organization. Unlike modern farming operations, in which owners spend their time behind a desk and rarely visit the ranch, Russell is an active executive who believes the best fertilizer on a farm is his own footsteps.

Mission

The mission of Harris Family Enterprises is to achieve the highest levels of quality, production, and profit for our stakeholders and partners while caring for our people, our associates, and the environment with respect and an eye for the best outcomes for future generations.

Vision

The vision of Harris Family Enterprises is to continue our practice of continuous quality improvement to become the most successful fully-integrated almond company in the world.

Vertical Integration

The hallmark of Harris Family Enterprises is our commitment to managing wisely every aspect of the business. By ensuring that the interdependency of each company and every process is undertaken with broad control over one or more stages in the production and distribution of our products, this competitive strategy allows us to reduce costs, control inputs and outputs, and effectively manage supply chain coordination.

From seedling to finished product distribution, we strive to manage all elements of product quality, cost management, partner relations, and customer satisfaction.

Industry Leaders

Harris Family Enterprises invests in our industry, participating on committees, boards, and advisory councils. We believe that learning from our colleagues and sharing best practices throughout the community of growers and buyers elevates quality and promotes good stewardship.

Looking Forward

Harris Family Enterprises will continue our growth strategies through informed farming decisions and wise partnerships. Our investments in human resources, farming operations, process and transportation technology, ecology stewardship, and marketing will continue to keep us at the forefront of this exciting industry.

We have many developments on the short-term horizon and are excited to announce these additions to our portfolio when the time comes. We invite growers, buyers, and investors to learn more about the unique capabilities of all the companies setting records under the umbrella of Harris Family Investments.