Congratulations to our very own Tim Trudel for being selected by Pacific Business News for its 40 Under 40 Class of 2023!
PBN’s 40 Under 40 recognizes outstanding young business professionals in Hawaii who have demonstrated excellence in business, contributed to the overall success of their company, and are strongly involved in the community.
As an agronomic research specialist for Bayer on Maui, Tim is passionate about leveraging technology and innovative efforts to help to address real-world challenges – such as climate change, water scarcity, pest problems and plant diseases – and promote a more sustainable future for agriculture in the islands and beyond.
Among his many accomplishments, Tim has greatly improved stewardship of the company’s farms by using a range of digital tools, including GPS technologies and satellite imagery, to collect and analyze real-time data from our fields. In turn, this information supports our long-range forecasting, crop production planning, and precision planting decisions that help ensure our crops are planted in optimal locations and our farms are operating in an efficient and sustainable manner.
“Bayer encourages us to take care of our planet and be stewards of the land, both in our work and in our personal lives,” explains Tim. “I love that I get to share my passion for sustainability in the work I do here on our Maui farms.”
One notable project in which Tim is engaged involves collaborating with engineers to test a new planter technology, part of a larger initiative encompassing deployment of six planters in Chile, Mexico and Hawaii. Tim's expertise and contributions in nursery planting have been instrumental to the project's success, and the work conducted locally has influenced the creation of a new version of the machine's software. As a result of his efforts, Tim was listed on a patent for a seed plate based on the work conducted in Hawaii.
Tim is also a strong supporter of the environment and community. For several years, he has been at the helm of the Bayer Planet Impact Environment Team on Maui, a volunteer-based group dedicated to environmental sustainability and cultural preservation. Under Tim's guidance, the team has contributed some 1,028 volunteer hours over a three-year period to help restore a fallow gulch area to native habitats, planted over 2,000 native species including wiliwili, koa, and ‘a‘ali‘i, and installed approximately 1,300 feet of irrigation line using recycled R1 water from Bayer’s Maui farm. This project successfully restored the gulch to its native habitat, helping to prevent erosion and safeguard downstream sea life. Using recycled water also helps the area thrive without burdening the island's freshwater supply.
Tim is also driving Bayer’s statewide tree planting initiative in Hawaii, volunteers with local school activities, leads Bayer’s participation in the Adopt-A-Highway public service program on Maui, and participates in a restoration project to remove invasive plants from the Keālia Pond National Wildlife Refuge and help protect habitat for native birds and Hawaiian plants – among many other volunteer endeavors.
Bayer Hawaii’s Tree Planting Efforts on Maui
“It’s wonderful to be recognized for my work and volunteer activities, but none of that is done by me alone,” shares Tim. “I’m proud of the teams I work with at Bayer - on our Maui farms and globally - and the amazing things we accomplish when we work together with a shared goal, vision, and love for the land. Thank you to Pacific Business News for this honor.”
Tim and his fellow honorees will be formally honored at PBN’s 40 Under 40 Awards Dinner on August 24, 2023. Congratulations to all!
