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Who We Are

Apple Leaf LLC was founded in 2003 out of a need to provide services and unbiased information to help growers manage their production and satisfy markets and consumer demands.

Integrity and objectiveness of our data are at the core of our business. We are a private firm with no affiliation or ties to agriculture product-based companies. Our goal is to provide our clients with unbiased, real-time information to aid in their ability to manage pests and commodities.

Rob Koch - Founder and Senior Program Manager
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Rob has over 15 years of experience as an Apple Leaf Project Manager, Integrated Pest Management scout, and Food Safety Project Lead.  He has worked with fresh and processed fruits, vegetables, hops, and herbs in many settings over his years with Apple Leaf.  Rob has also worked with conservation districts, including International Governments, Federal Agencies, Private Businesses, and NGOs related to agriculture, resource conservation, endangered species, and wildlife/fisheries. He is both a consultant and auditor for non-GFSI (LIVE, Salmon Safety, NOP-Organic Standards, FSMA, and Tesco, PRIMUS Non-GFSI), GFSI (SQF, BRC, GlobalGAP and PRIMUSGFS) and HACCP, food safety training, risk assessment development, food security and the like. Rob has advanced Lead Auditor and HACCP training, a background in policy writing, and has consulted with both organic and conventional crops including specialty, greenhouse, Christmas trees, row crops, permaculture, agriculture production.

 

Rob graduated from Iowa State University in Ames Iowa in 1995 with a Bachelor's in Science. In 2004, he graduated from Bard Center for Environmental Policy, in Annandale-on-the-Hudson, New York, with a Master's in Science.  His thesis focused on the measurement of Integrated Pest Management tools used for 22 different commodities.

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