Meet the People Behind the Project
Growers Unite staff are experts in the contract grower experience because they’ve lived it themselves. See their stories and learn how they use their personal experiences to support those still struggling in the contract growing system.
Craig Watts
Program DirectorCraig is a former contract chicken grower for poultry giant Perdue. He made headlines when he teamed up with Compassion in World Farming USA to expose animal issues rampant throughout the company's operations. Craig's story has been featured in the New York Times and on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.
Craig is outspoken about the power of giant meat companies, giving testimony on Capitol Hill and sharing his story on the Farm Aid stage with musicians Dave Matthews, John Mellencamp, Neil Young, and Willie Nelson. Craig has received the “2022 Spirit of Farm Aid” award and was named Whistleblower Insider's "2015 Whistleblower of the Year."
Michael Diaz
Michael is a former contract grower for big poultry integrators Pilgrim’s Pride and Amicks. Personal experience gives Michael insight into how corporations make profits by financially trapping contract farmers. As part of Growers Unite, Michael educates farmers and communities about the harms of corporate farming.
Michael aims to help farmers still trapped in the contract grower system so they can find ways to help themselves financially and adopt socially responsible agricultural practices. As a high school teacher, Michael is an able and experienced educator and is passionate about the fight for change in an industry controlled by giants.
Michael is married with four boys and lives in South Carolina. Prior to getting into education, farming, and activism, Michael was a contractor overseeing residential and commercial projects from start to finish.
Susie Crutchfield
Susie and her husband Mitchell, were contract growers for Tyson for 25 years, until the demands of the poultry integrator pushed them out of business in 2012. As part of Growers Unite, Susie educates farmers about the harms of the integrated model by providing personal stories of oppression, debt, and her fight to save her family from the clutches of big corporate integrators.
Susie grew up in a farm family and currently owns Granny Creek Farm with Mitchell in Arkansas; they are still fighting to keep their farm alive. They sell timber from the farm currently and hope to add cattle soon.
Susie and Mitchell are both passionate about helping others trapped by big poultry because they know what it's like to have their lives disrupted by the impacts of vertical integration in industrial agriculture