Sunkist® stories, articles & musings

In the foothills outside Sanger, California, surrounded by citrus trees his father once revived from near ruin, Kevin Severns reflects on a lifetime shaped — almost accidentally — by agriculture. His family’s citrus story began long before his own career, though he has spent more than four decades helping to shape the industry from both sides: the grove and the packinghouse.

He spent $110,000 on the land (less than the cost of many homes today), trusting what he’d learned over decades: the grove had strong soil, a slightly warmer microclimate in winter, and the bones of something special.

By 1976, the family moved onto the property full‑time. Kevin grew up working the land — not always by choice. Summer days, weekends, and early mornings were spent pruning and irrigating, and if he stayed out too late, the consequence was a 5 a.m. wake‑up call and a long day in the groves.

“At the time you think it’s punishment,” Kevin says, “but looking back, you realize you’re learning life lessons your dad knew you needed.”

Kevin’s father was the first to step into citrus. Born in Missouri in 1920, he moved to California with little more than determination and a willingness to work. He began as a field worker in Southern California, took a job in a packinghouse, and slowly worked his way up — learning from growers, understanding the crop, and developing an eye for good citrus ground. His lifelong dream was simple but bold: to own an orange grove.

In 1970, he found it. Forty acres. Old, tired, and neglected — but full of potential.

Carrying the Dream Forward

Though he didn’t initially intend to follow his father into agriculture, Kevin’s path evolved naturally. As his father’s health declined, the opportunity to take over the ranch emerged. He and his wife, Cindy — a fourth‑generation ag kid herself — purchased the property in the early 2000s and continued the work his father began.

The grove’s original century‑old trees stood until recently, but modern markets require modern orchards. Kevin has spent years redeveloping the ranch, replacing aging trees with Cara Caras, Star Ruby grapefruit, and young, vigorous plantings that meet today’s size and quality demands.

The work isn’t glamorous. Wind machines break at 2 a.m., irrigation lines blow out, and frost nights require vigilance. But he describes it matter‑of‑factly, the way farmers do: you don’t think about it — you just do it.

His memories of farming alongside his father are vivid: long nights checking furrow irrigation, repairing pumps, cutting suckers with a field worker named Cornelio who didn’t speak English but always shared what little he had. Kevin recalls trying a shriveled red pepper Cornelio handed him, only to spend the next hour under a well pipe trying to cool his mouth.

“Those are the things you don’t forget,” he says. “They shape who you become.”

A Career Intertwined With Citrus

Kevin’s story isn’t confined to the ranch. He has spent most of his professional life in the packinghouse sector — including decades within the Sunkist system. Today he serves in a semi‑retired role with California Citrus Association, after years of representing growers in policy meetings, industry leadership, and advocacy work.

His career has taken him everywhere from Washington, D.C., to Asia, visiting export customers in Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia. He’s spoken before congressional subcommittees about citrus and water, chaired California Citrus Mutual for three years, and worked with growers across generations.

Yet he always returns to the idea that citrus — for all its global reach — is personal.

A Co‑Op Built for Growers

Kevin speaks about Sunkist with a rare combination of affection and reverence. His father spent his career managing Sunkist packinghouses; Kevin has spent most of his own career inside Sunkist-affiliated cooperatives and even sat on its board.

He says the co‑op model feels different because it is different.

“Everything we do is grower money,” he explains. “As a co‑op, we exist to serve growers first. That’s what sets Sunkist apart.”

He’s seen the industry shift — fewer mom‑and‑pop farms, more corporate entities, and a rising challenge for young people to enter agriculture. But he believes Sunkist remains one of the last strongholds where smaller growers can still have a place, thrive, and be represented.

“Corporate agriculture has its strengths,” he says, “but family farms have heart. Sunkist keeps those families in the game.”

Kevin and Cindy raised their two children on the ranch — kids who grew up working the orchard, helping check irrigation, and paying off speeding tickets by laboring in the groves.

The ranch isn’t just a workplace; it’s a hub of family life. Sunrises with coffee. Neighbors who have farmed next door for generations. A community knitted together by working the same land, decade after decade.

“It’s peaceful,” Kevin says. “There’s busy days, sure. But at night, you sit out here, hear the coyotes, see the stars. It’s a life you can’t really describe — you just feel it.”

A Legacy Well Lived

Kevin acknowledges that not everyone gets the opportunity to live this life. That farming takes resilience, sacrifice, and a willingness to keep going even when the market or the weather doesn’t cooperate. But he also says he wouldn’t trade it for anything.

He sees himself not just as a farmer but as a steward — of the land, the industry, and the stories passed down from his father and the generations before him.

“It’s not perfect,” he says. “But it’s pretty cool. And I feel blessed we get to do it.”