“The future of garlic in Gilroy is
bright. Consumers are thinking
differently about food, looking
for quality and safety. We are
proud to offer both, with an
all-American brand from seed to
harvest, production, and retail.”
Ken Christopher
Executive Vice President
Christopher Ranch
Ken Christopher traces his farming heritage to
Ole Christopher who came to California from Denmark
to work the land. In 1956, Ole’s grandson Don started
Christopher Ranch with 13 acres in Gilroy. Today,
the Ranch is the nation’s largest garlic producer with
5,500 acres and an annual harvest of over 100 million
pounds of garlic. Ken grew up learning the family
business from his grandfather Don and his father
Bill. He earned an MBA from the University of San
Francisco. Now in his early 30s, Ken serves as Executive
Vice President of Christopher Ranch. He focuses on
strategy, administration, and sales operations and is
equally passionate about advances in agriculture and
corporate social responsibility. Ken helps guide the
Ranch’s sustainability efforts, from organic farming,
use of cold storage, and energy effi cient technology, to
production, packaging and recycling upgrades. He has
fl own to Washington DC to build bipartisan congressional
support for the US garlic industry and to testify before
the US International Trade Commission in support of
garlic tariffs. Ken is a steward of his family’s legacy of ag
leadership and local philanthropy. Christopher Ranch
put Gilroy on the map as the Garlic Capitol of the World.
Ken’s family helped launch the Gilroy Garlic Festival
and have been part of its 41-year history of success,
donating tons of fresh garlic every year. Christopher High
School bears the family name in honor of their generous
donations and support over three generations. They also
give to local nonprofi ts that serve at-risk youth. Ken lives
in San Martin. He enjoys exploring other cultures through
travel abroad. At home, he enjoys hiking in the Santa
Cruz Mountains with his two Siberian Huskies.
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