Kevin Severns grew up splitting his days between citrus groves and a packinghouse. His father managed the Orange Cove-Sanger Citrus Association packing facility. Kevin worked the grove on his family’s ranch near Sanger and helped around the plant. He was 13 when he got his first packinghouse job, cutting and checking fruit for frost damage after the 1973 freeze.
At the time, he had no plans to stay in citrus. Kevin studied airplane mechanics and pictured a career in aviation. Then he met Cindy, started a family, and found himself pulled back.
“Something seeps in and you start to like it,” Kevin laughed.
His wife knows the industry just as well. Cindy grew up in a farming family rooted in stone fruit production and recently retired from a career in teaching. A visit to their home near Sanger tells you everything you need to know about the couple. Surrounding the house is a garden packed with tomatoes, peppers, squash, and an assortment of fruit trees that reflect a lifetime spent nurturing crops.
Forty Years on Both Sides of the Industry
Kevin spent four decades in the packinghouse business. He started as a field man for San Joaquin Citrus, worked his way up to plant manager, and in 2001 came full circle when he returned to Orange Cove-Sanger Citrus as general manager. Growing fruit and packing fruit are different businesses, but each depends entirely on the other. Kevin has worked both sides and developed a rare appreciation for every step required to move citrus from the tree to the consumer.
Over those forty years, he watched the industry transform. Technology improved. Food safety requirements expanded. Consumer preferences shifted. Global competition intensified. Consolidation reshaped the packing sector.
“The reality is that we’re operating in a global marketplace now, and retailers have a lot of control over pricing. We’re constantly competing against imports and other citrus-producing regions around the world.”
California growers meet some of the strictest regulatory standards in the world, on both the retail and government side. Those standards cost real money. Yet California fruit competes on the same shelf with imports produced at a lower price point.
“It’s really difficult to compete with,” Kevin said.
The Equation Facing Growers
Those pressures hit the farm directly. Rising production costs, labor challenges, increasing regulation, and uncertain markets have all made it harder for growers to stay ahead.
Cindy has a favorite saying: “Behind every successful farmer is a wife who works in town.” The line gets a laugh, but it reflects a reality many farm families know well.
“Farming is a gamble,” Kevin said. “Some years are good, and many are not. You just hope the good years make up for the bad.”
New Energy in the Industry
Despite the headwinds, Kevin and Cindy are optimistic.
“There are so many young, intelligent people coming into the industry right now,” Kevin said. “Agriculture is changing rapidly with technology, automation, and AI. Younger people tend to be more adaptable to that pace of change and more willing to question the way things have always been done. I think that creates real opportunities for the industry moving forward.”
Retirement, Redefined
Today, Kevin and Cindy manage their own citrus acreage, growing Star Ruby grapefruit and Cara Cara navels. Retirement simply means a different kind of work.
Kevin served as California Citrus Mutual Board Chair from 2013 to 2016 and remains a longtime member. He believes organizations like CCM matter more now than ever.
“It’s about the collective good,” he said. “You get exposure to issues and viewpoints that you might not otherwise hear. CCM gives growers the opportunity to exchange information, hear different perspectives, and gain a broader understanding of what’s happening across the industry.”
Cindy sees CCM’s role in advocacy as equally important.
“California fruit is the gold standard when it comes to quality and food safety,” she said. “It’s important that we continue telling that story and advocating for our growers.”
For both of them, the greatest value comes down to relationships.
“Having the opportunity to meet with legislators in Sacramento, understand how they think, and build relationships with them is huge,” Kevin said. “Having those conversations can help shift perspectives and make sure agriculture has a seat at the table.”
After a lifetime spent in California citrus from both the grove and the packinghouse, Kevin knows the industry runs on collaboration. Growers, packers, marketers, researchers, and policymakers all play a role. The strength of California citrus depends on every one of them.
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