Meet Your Partners in Growth Series: Alex Parsons

Alex Parsons, Ag Operations Manager

Alex Parsons, Ag Operations Manager

You know those people who always say “yes” to an opportunity or the unexplored? Now combine that person with a guy who is always smiling, and would give you the shirt off his back, and you have Holloway’s Ag Operations Manager, Alex Parsons.

Even though his immediate tenure with Holloway has been short, his affiliation with Holloway has been almost lifelong. Parsons grew up around agriculture living in the San Joaquin Valley where his parents owned a livestock hauling company started by his grandfather.

Around the age of eight, his family moved to Old River where he met some of his closest friends, including now Holloway’s VP of Ag Products, Daniel Terry when they were playing baseball as kids, and later Jordan Burt, Holloway’s VP of Ag Services. Parsons got into farming at a young age through friends and neighbors who showed him everything they knew, and he ended up loving it. Parsons was passionate about helping on the surrounding farms and being outside as much as possible.

“When I was a kid, I would help with cotton season or whatever needed helping because I just loved being outside with my friends and using my hands,” Parsons said. “I also thought I wanted to be one of the guys I would see in the service trucks driving around, taking care of his guys and the equipment and keeping everything running.”

That passion for “keeping things running” led him to his interest in mechanics. When Parsons was a young teenager, he was mentored by a family friend, Craig, who taught him all about welding and mechanics. He continued to hone these skills throughout his apprenticeship, which lasted through high school and college when Parsons would work with Craig on summer and winter breaks.

Those skills are paramount in his job at Holloway. Parsons and his team are responsible for making sure all the services equipment at Holloway Ag are running in top shape – from grinders to spreaders and everything in between. If something does break down, Parsons is the person who gets it fixed. He also works with the sales team to bring growers onto a development project and show them how the technology works on these advanced machines.

“I love machinery,” Parsons smiles. “I’m honestly just a big kid at heart and get to play with big-boy Tonka toys all day!”

His mechanics skills combined with his degree from Fresno State’s ag program left him well positioned for a career in agriculture. He worked on several commercial farms in Operations before consulting with Holloway in 2019, evaluating the equipment and technology available to farmers.

“Holloway had a position for me in mind and already had ideas of how to best use my skill set,” Parson says. “Jordan [Burt] and I had talked a little over a year ago and the goal was eventually for me to be at Holloway as they grew. It was a long year-and-a-half, but I found my way back!”

What is very exciting for Parsons is that his role as Ag Operations Manager at Holloway is a bit of wet clay. As the services division of Holloway continues to grow and offer more Grave-to-Cradle services to growers, Parsons gets a front-row seat in defining how to best serve customers’ needs.

“This is an ever-changing role because it is always evolving,” Parsons says. “My role for now will be managing our services side and finding the best and most efficient ways to do things, meeting with our sales team and growers, and keeping equipment running and serviceable so we can stay on time to start and complete jobs as efficiently and precise as possible.”

Parsons is very excited about the team and the vision for Holloway for the future and how its services can best support growers in the Central Valley and beyond.

“I’m excited to see what we can do,” Parsons smiles. “We have a good, young group of people who are eager to grow what we currently have and do more. Me, Jordan [Burt], and Daniel [Terry], along with our sales team – we are eager to see what we can do. There’s so much potential in this and what we are doing – it’s insane!”

In addition to managing ag operations at Holloway, Parsons feels it is very important to give back to the community where he lives. He is an advisor for a group called The Dream Builders, which is part of the Jim Burke Ford Education Foundation, a program for high school students to do community service projects. As a Dream Builders alumni, he has a special understanding of the impact of the program on our Local community.

“I love this area, and I love playing outside every day, and I love farming,” Parsons says. “And with Holloway, I feel like I found my family.”