Behind the Harvest: Private Equity and Worker Safety at Grimmway Farms

The report details a pattern of labor violations at Grimmway Farms since its 2021 acquisition by Teays River Investments, including disability discrimination, wage theft, and unsafe working conditions. It highlights a 2023 fatal accident involving Rosa Miriam Sanchez and argues that the private equity business model can exacerbate poor working conditions in the US agricultural sector.

• Grimmway Farms holds a dominant position in the US carrot market, controlling between 40-50% of the market share, and together with Bolthouse Farms, controls up to 80% of US carrot production.
• In September 2025, a federal judge found that Grimmway engaged in a pattern of disability discrimination, specifically by illegally denying light duty or other accommodations to injured farmworkers.
• The US Department of Labor ordered Grimmway to pay $427,456 in penalties and back wages following an investigation in Washington state that revealed underpaid US and H2A workers and unsafe transportation and housing.
• Since being acquired by Teays River Investments in 2021, Grimmway has been fined over $145,342 by OSHA for 19 violations, seven of which were classified as "serious."
• A 2023 incident resulted in the death of Rosa Miriam Sanchez, an immigrant from El Salvador, who was run over twice by a truck. CalOSHA interviews indicated that supervisors had been warned about the driver's previous unsafe driving but failed to act.
• The report argues that the private equity model—characterized by purchasing companies to quickly increase profitability before selling—can lead to increased prices for consumers and worsened working conditions for farmworkers.

APA

Private Equity Stakeholder Project (2026). Behind the Harvest: Private Equity and Worker Safety at Grimmway Farms. https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/PESP_Report_Grimmway_Sept2026.pdf

Chicago

Private Equity Stakeholder Project. Behind the Harvest: Private Equity and Worker Safety at Grimmway Farms. 2026. https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/PESP_Report_Grimmway_Sept2026.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Private Equity Stakeholder Project |title=Behind the Harvest: Private Equity and Worker Safety at Grimmway Farms |date=September 2026 |url=https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/PESP_Report_Grimmway_Sept2026.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{privateequitystakeholderproject2026behind, author = {{Private Equity Stakeholder Project}}, title = {{Behind the Harvest: Private Equity and Worker Safety at Grimmway Farms}}, institution = {Private Equity Stakeholder Project}, year = {2026}, month = sep, url = {https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/PESP_Report_Grimmway_Sept2026.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }