Cultivating the Future: Students, Tech, and the Power of Exposure at Viva Fresh

In this inspiring close to our Viva Fresh 2025 series, we sit down with Jesse Jones, professor and advisor at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, and graduate student Sabastian Melendez to talk about building bridges between higher education and the produce industry through the Edge Program.

 

We explore:

• Jesse’s journey from the fields to the front of the classroom

• The value of exposing students to real-world produce careers

• Why South Texas is ripe for agricultural investment

• How competitions and hackathons could unlock next-gen solutions

• The industry’s biggest challenges—from outdated systems to tech adoption

• Sabastian’s take on bringing marketing and innovation to a “simple but high-quality” industry

 

It’s a conversation about roots, relevance, and rethinking how we attract the next wave of talent into agriculture.

 

🎧 Sponsored by:

SunFed, IFCO, Monterey Mushrooms, AnaVale Produce Corp, AgroGonzáMex, Agrival by First Produce, Art Mx, Athos, and the Texas International Produce Association (TIPA).

Huge thanks to these partners for making our Viva Fresh 2025 series possible.