Agricultural community recognizes contributions of Escondido resident David Drucker of Nutrien Ag Solutions

AG: Drucker Gets 2022 Service Award from Farm Bureau

Agriculture is big business in San Diego County.

Ranked 12th of 58 counties in California and 19th among more than 3,000 counties nationwide, according to the Farm Bureau of San Diego County, agriculture is a huge economic engine for San Diego County.

A 2020 report by the county says ag activity produces $1.8 billion in annual production value -- and brings nearly $4.8 billion in value to the local economy. With nearly 225,000 total acres in the county under production, agriculture also means jobs – nearly 17,000 in the San Diego region related to farming needs.

Few working in the field, literally and figuratively, know better or care more about the state of agriculture in San Diego County than Escondido resident David Drucker.

Drucker, the recipient of the 2022 San Diego Farm Bureau Service Award and the 2021 Member of the Year Award from the California Association of Pest Control Advisers, has spent more than three decades working in the agriculture industry.

His ag industry background reaches

even further back if you consider that the 65-year-old grew up in central California often traveling with his grandfather, a produce broker, watching him load crops onto rail cars for delivery to the Midwest and Eastern U.S. markets. Drucker also spent one summer picking grapes that were destined to become raisins at a friend's family vineyard.

“All of that helped me appreciate the different roles we have in agriculture,” Drucker said. “I have tremendous respect for what (farmers) do. When I picked grapes for raisins, I was 10 or 11 and it was one of the most grueling things I'd ever done. That kind of thing grounds you and also helps you understand just how important agriculture is, and those people who support it.”

Since graduating from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with an agriculture science degree in 1982, Drucker for almost 35 years has worked in the crop production services field for Nutrien Ag Solutions (and its predecessors before several mergers), the retail division of Nutrien Ltd., the world's largest crop inputs company.

Drucker is a sales representative for the Nutrien Ag Solutions based in San Marcos where he balances wholesale and retail responsibilities throughout San Diego as well as Riverside and Orange counties. Drucker works with customers that grow turf, row and ornamental crops as well as fruit crops, and supports several container nurseries.

‘Unique Job'

“I have such a unique job that I love,” he said. “I move around to wherever I'm needed. Any day of the week I can be anywhere, and every day I'm doing something different. One day I'm walking in an avocado grove with a grower looking at the crop for potential insect issues or disease, another day I might be at a vineyard walking through it with the owner and providing fertility advice.

“We have our own laboratories, and we can analyze soil for fertility, we can manage plant tissue and because we are licensed crop advisors, we can provide balanced, environmentally friendly fertility programs.”

Drucker said he likes being hands-on with customers and is drawn to community service. “I'm a technical advisor, providing valuable information and products my company can provide to the grower but I also feel it's very important to be engaged with my community,” he said. “The company has allowed me to support the growers while also following my passion. My passion is not only my job but it follows Nutrien Ag core values, and that is the importance of our community.”

Drucker is past president of San Diego Ag in the Classroom, a nonprofit that was launched in 1996 to advance agricultural literacy for students and teachers and promote the teaching of agriculture and the role in plays in our lives.

SDAITC and its partners for more than 25 years have introduced programs and helped obtain grants for schools throughout the county, looking to expose more children to soils, plants, water and animals and teaching the importance of being good stewards of the land.

Drucker's colleagues in the industry say you can find him out in the field, walking with a grower or helping customers to navigate supply chain challenges, providing soil fertility recommendations based on lab results. He has also consulted with legislators about ag issues.

But his passion for encouraging teachers and students to better understand farming and agriculture, teaching them to love plants starting from a young age, and going the extra mile to support those efforts sets him apart.

“I've known David for about 20 years and I've been with him with Ag in the Classroom for about 10 years,” said Fred Ceballos, who has worked in the ag industry for 45 years and is a sales representative for First Step Greenhouses in Temecula. “David has so many contacts in the industry. Whenever we need to source something for fundraising, he's the guy we go to.”

Drucker said Ag in the Classroom is one of the most important ways to promote agriculture in San Diego County and encouraged people to look into it and consider supporting the efforts.

“It's so gratifying seeing a garden program that's flourishing, or watching one they're building from the ground up, just to see how involved everybody gets,” Drucker said. “When you get to see an established school garden and see there are some very savvy students who are starting to get it, making that connection, it is great to see.”

Drucker calls the promotion of agriculture and ag education “critical,” and said that San Diego County's future economic success is directly related to the engagement of students and their connection with farmers and farming.

“No. 1, these students are going to be voters one day, but they are also may be decision makers down the line,” he said. “And we want to make sure everybody has the opportunity to understand the importance of agriculture, what it means in their daily life, that it is all the food they eat, the fiber in the clothing that they wear, the flowers they see everywhere. We want students to understand the importance of all these things in their lives, and how it enhances their lives.”

Drucker has lived in San Diego since 1999, moving here with his wife and their children. He cut his teeth in the wine industry and said he's been enjoying watching San Diego's grape-growing industry continue to flourish as well as output from other types of farming in San Diego.

“For me, I feel like a proud parent representing these crops and working with growers, proud of what they produce and being so careful in what we do,” Drucker said. “There's a lot at stake.”

Drucker said that agriculture is a very regulated industry and he is also proud that Nutrien Ag is “on the cutting edge of better solutions” to challenges at hand.

“At the corporate level, we are investing more so than other companies like ourselves into the future,” he said. “We're working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reducing our carbon footprint to create a more sustainable future. We are unique in that not only do we sell solutions to the grower but we're also putting a huge stake in the ground to be a part of their community and their future, helping them through the various challenges that we all have.

“We are trying to produce solutions for those growers and the technological play that we're bringing is amazing. I am so proud we can share that knowledge with the community.” ■