Thomas Avinelis

Thomas Avinelis General Information

Biography

Mr. Thomas Avinelis is a Co-Founder and serves as Co-Managing Director at Agriculture Capital. He also Co-Founded AgriCare, a farm management services, and technical consulting company. He is a key member and developer of our permanent crop strategy, ACM Permanent Crops, LLC, investing in permanent cropland and midstream assets to create a vertically integrated, sustainable farming enterprise that grows, packs, and markets high-value produce. He is one of the foremost experts in the United States on sustainable and organic agriculture at scale. In his career, he has managed over 3,500 acres of sustainable and organic farmland as owner, investor, and operator. Building on his passion for farming, stewardship of the land, and sustainability, he has become an industry leader in both organic and conventional permanent crops. He has led the sourcing, analysis, transaction execution, and post-investment management in permanent cropland since 2003. He harnessed his expertise in table grapes, blueberries, and citrus to grow a world-class marketing enterprise, HomeGrown Farms, into one of the largest organic produce marketing firms in California. He comes to ACM bringing a deep background in agriculture, ranging from roles as pest control advisor to farm manager, research agronomist, crop consultant, and sales manager, to being a director of various farming operations collectively constituting one of the largest blueberry growers in the United States. He has held the office of President of the California Olive Commission and was a founding member of the California Olive Association. He was an executive board member of California Citrus Mutual and currently serves as Vice President of the California Blueberry Association. He was also a member of the USDA Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter Task Force. He has served as a guest speaker for various industry organizations. He has addressed topics such as the development, farming, and cultural practices of blueberries in California, and the growth of both organic citrus and blueberry crops. He has managed both the California State Assembly and legislators in Washington D.C regarding the California blueberry and citrus industries. He has represented the California blueberry industry in California state congressional hearings for the California Blueberry Commission. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Crop Science from California Polytechnic Institute, San Luis Obispo.