January/February 2023 - 6

COVER STORY
Smooth
succession
The next generation begins to take over one
of the oldest pistachio processors
BY CRYSTAL NAY
MANAGING EDITOR
I
t's been a successful 50 years for Keenan Farms,
a pistachio grower and processor in California's
Central Valley that was founded before the industry
began to take shape.
This operation's history began as a real estate trade - a
building in San Francisco for a vineyard in Modesto. But,
without enough equity in the farmland, the owner added
a plot of land in Kettleman City, where new trees had
recently been planted for a Middle Eastern nut tree that
still seemed rather exotic.
" No one really knew much about pistachios, " said
Elizabeth Keenan, marketing and sales manager, and the
farm's third generation.
Processing was developed through trial and error,
using tools from other industries - such as potato peelers
and coffee roasters - to figure out an efficient way to
process pistachios in an era where this crop was just
getting started.
Keenan Farms had its first commercial harvest in
1976, with much of it processed by hand-cranked
6 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2023
Diving in
Now, the third generation of Keenans is beginning to
take the helm. Siblings Elizabeth and Mitchell Keenan
have stepped into their respective roles in the family
business. Both in their 20s, Elizabeth works in sales and
marketing as a manager and will ultimately spearhead
the business's marketing efforts, while Mitchell works as
a manager in processing and will ultimately take the lead
as company president one day. They have already been
directly involved in a recent expansion that increased
production capacity by 50%, and when the next phase of
the expansion is complete, the operation will have doubled
its production.
" We're both learning our respective sides of the business,
and there's definitely some overlap, where we both like to
assist each other or learn new things, " said Mitchell.
tools. Today, the operation is highly automated,
processes over 30 million pounds annually and has an
international presence.
Photos: Matt Hannon
January/February 2023

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