A commitment to industry service, farming innovation, and strategic planning earns Ted Sheely of Lemoore, CA, the 2021 Cotton Grower Cotton Achievement Award.
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A small, unremarkable building sits off the road near Lemoore, CA. No signs. No indications of what it is and why it’s there.
That’s exactly the way Ted Sheely likes it.
That unremarkable building is the center of operations for Sheely’s Azcal Management Company – a most remarkable farming operation encompassing more than 7,000 acres of cotton, pistachios, wine grapes, garbanzos, onions, tomatoes, and wheat seed.
“That’s what I really wanted,” recalls Sheely. “I didn’t want a big sign with my name on it out by the road. So I took one of my business cards, cut the Azcal Management off, and slipped it under the little spot by the doorbell. People know where I am. Just come on in.”
If you do, you’ll find Sheely, who has built this diversified business through hard work, careful planning, a vision for success, an eye to the future, and many years of hands-on service to the cotton industry and a myriad of other local and state ag organizations. And he’s not done yet.
For that service, as well as his impact and contributions to cotton production and marketing in California and across the U.S., Sheely is the recipient of the 2021 Cotton GrowerSM Cotton Achievement Award.
Work Hard. Plan for the Worst. Hope for the Best.
Sheely’s cotton roots run deep. He grew up near Phoenix on a cotton farm that’s still in the family today. He moved to California in 1974, fresh out of the University of Arizona, to work on a farm in the San Joaquin Valley – first as an assistant to a foreman, then foreman, ranch manager, and eventually a partner.
“The man who hired me didn’t graduate from high school, and he’s one of the smartest people I’ve ever known,” says Sheely. “He told me, ‘You’ve got your formal education. Now you get to go to the school of hard knocks.’”
The lessons learned drive his businesses and industry involvement today, especially in a production environment where water – or the lack, thereof – impacts every decision made on what to grow.
“Our 2022 plan is already put together,” he says. “It’s a concrete thing until better water supplies change my mind. We’ll have 1,000 acres more idled in the plan this year than we had last year. We’re planning on not getting any surface water, and we know that our ground water is going to be less than we had last year just because the water level has gone down.”
All Azcal acres are drip irrigated – a major investment in time, equipment, and technology. Sheely says they can put on as little as an inch of water and get it spread around quickly. It’s the kind of system that cotton and pistachios like.
“Managing risk is why cotton is always part of my program,” explains Sheely. “We grew cotton for 15 years before we planted our first pistachios. In cotton – except for this year – you don’t make big returns, but it makes you money year after year.”
Right now, you’ll find about 1,200 acres of cotton on the Azcal operation. Sheely grows both upland and Pima varieties, including 320 acres of organic Pima. With all Pima acres combined, its about a 50/50 acreage split with upland.
“To follow up two years of dealing with COVID issues and restrictions, this year with cotton prices higher than I’ve ever seen has been amazing,” he says. “It’s nice to get one of those once in a while.”
Managing Resources and Technology
To better manage their own water supply, Azcal has its own water company to help keep track of the farm’s multiple deep wells, along with maintenance.
“It keeps us honest,” says Sheely. “We have to do the replacement wells and the repairs, and we know the water is going to cost us about $300 per acre foot, year in and year out. Since water is a driving factor on almost every decision we make, we want to know what’s the risk and the return on investment for the water.”
It’s one of the reasons Sheely was an early participant in the USDA/NASA Ag 20/20 Program, which studied the integration of remote sensing-based tools in precision ag management systems to increase production, efficiency, and improve job quality. He’s also on the board of the Global Farmer Network, a farmer-led, non-profit group that supports free trade and the freedom to choose the tools, technologies, and strategies needed to maximize productivity and profits in a sustainable manner.
“I met Kenneth Hood from Mississippi (2002 Cotton Achievement Award winner) and was so enthralled by what he was doing that I copied his operation,” laughs Sheely. “I went to NASA and to USDA and told them they had a great program in Mississippi, but that they were missing out on California where there are no clouds in the sky through most of the summer. Remote sensing is a positive thing, and you can prove it out here.”
“My office is pretty small, but it was suddenly full of people with pocket protectors and calculators,” he adds. “They were really high tech, and it worked out very well.”
One of Sheely’s sons manages the technology side of the Azcal operation. They have also developed an autonomous tractor to work in their grape vines and are close to having one that will work under the canopies of pistachio and almond trees.
“We’ve tried to be forward thinking,” notes Sheely. “We don’t have inexpensive labor, we don’t have inexpensive water, and we have a lot of restrictions on us to farm in California. We just ask ourselves, ‘What can we do to make things better?’”
Getting Involved
Sheely’s philosophy about industry service is pretty simple: if you don’t get involved, life passes you by. Not much is getting by him.
He’s the current chairman of Cotton Council International, a former chairman of both Cotton Incorporated and Supima, an advisor to the National Cotton Council, co-chair of the NCC’s Pink Bollworm Action Committee, and former California chairman of American Cotton Producers – to name a few. And his list of honors and service within California agriculture and other grower organizations is just as lengthy.
“Ted is not only a recognized conservationist and one of this nation’s most innovative cotton producers, but he has served the U.S. cotton industry in numerous leadership capacities and has provided exceptional leadership on specific Western production challenges such as pink bollworm eradication and irrigation efficiency,” says Gary Adams, National Cotton Council President and CEO. “His embracing of remote sensing-based tools in precision agricultural management systems is unparalleled.”
Sheely’s admiration for the cotton industry is evident. “I can always say how wonderful all of the cotton people that I’ve met and been associated with are,” he says.
And what advice would he share for the next generation of cotton leaders?
“Get involved,” he says. “Somebody has to do this work, and I encourage people to do it. Don’t short your family or your job but take some time for service. It’s important. Everything that touches cotton that you can get involved with, do it!”
Generational Focus
Azcal Management may seem like a highly diversified business operation. But in reality, it’s just a great big family farm.
Sheely and his wife Deborah’s three children are all landowners and part of the cotton business, as are Deborah’s siblings. One of Sheely’s brothers is also invested in the operation, and manages and maintains the original family cotton farm in Arizona.
In all, 13 separate farms operate under the Azcal umbrella.
And then, there are the six granddaughters.
“We’re planning for the next generation,” states Sheely. “You have to put it down in writing – this is what we want to have happen. Things will change, and you can adjust it tomorrow. But if you go along saying it will take care of itself, it usually doesn’t.
“We’ve done hard work to get to where we are,” he continues. “We’ve gotten rid of debt, and we have money in the bank for that time that will inevitably come. I’m big on planning for today, for five years from now, and for the next generation. I’d like for my grandchildren to have an opportunity to be here to farm if they want to.”
