Western Growers Assurance Trust Fund

“The Western Growers Assurance Trust Board of Trustees and the Western Growers Compensation Committee review certain parts of Form 990. The organization's CFO works closely with the outside tax firm it engages to prepare and review the Form 990 return prior to submitting a draft to the Trustees or the Western Growers Compensation Committee.”

“The Board is charged with monitoring proposed or ongoing transactions for conflicts of interest and addressing any potential or actual conflicts. Pursuant to the Conflicts of Interest Policy, an annual conflict of interest questionnaire, aimed at determining any family and business relationships and transactions or other transactions that may pose a potential conflict, is distributed to all covered persons (i.e., board members, officers and executive leadership or key employees). Covered persons are required to disclose real or potential conflicts at the time when such conflicts arise. When someone becomes a covered person and annually thereafter, each covered person is required to sign a statement affirming that he/she: (1) has received a copy of the Conflicts or Interest Policy; (2) has read the Policy and understands said Policy; and (3) agrees to comply with all requirements of the Policy, including completing the conflicts of interest acknowledgement and disclosure form. The Board of Trustees has directed In-house counsel to review the completed forms to assess whether any persons with actual or potential conflicts are informed via written communication. The procedures for addressing any conflict of interest includes, but is not limited to, the following: (1) the conflicting interest is fully disclosed to the Board; (2) the interested person responds to factual questions related to the substance of the transaction or arrangement being considered, after which he/she shall leave the meeting; (3) the person with the conflict of interest is excluded from the discussion and approval of such transaction; (4) alternatives to the proposed transaction are investigated, competitive bids or comparable valuations are obtained; and (6) the transaction or action must be approved by a majority of disinterested persons.”

“The Board appoints a Compensation Committee, comprised solely of independent directors, none of which have a conflict of interest with respect to the compensation arrangement, to be accountable for setting reasonable compensation packages for the CEO, and reviewing the reasonableness of management's rationale and basis for the other officers or key employees. The Compensation Committee reviews and approves the annual performance goals and criteria to be used in determining merit increases and variable compensation criteria for officers and key employees. The Compensation Committee also hires a qualified independent compensation and benefits specialist (independent expert) to review, analyze and provide benchmarking data for the total compensation and benefits packages of officers and key employees. Appropriate comparability data is obtained from the independent experts, i.e., total economic benefits paid by similarly situated organizations (both taxable and tax-exempt) for similar job responsibilities. ALL DELIBERATIONS AND DECISIONS ARE DOCUMENTED IN THE COMMITTEE'S MEETING MINUTES INCLUDING THE TERMS OF THE TRANSACTION AND DATE APPROVED, THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE PRESENT FOR DELIBERATORS AND WHO VOTES, AND THE DESCRIPTION OF THE COMPARABILITY DATA AND HOW OBTAINED. THESE PROCEDURES ARE CARRIED OUT PERIODICALLY AND WERE PERFORMED. THE PRESIDENT/CEO'S 2013 COMPENSATION WAS APPROVED AT A BOARD MEETING ON JULY 24, 2013.”

“While federal tax laws do not mandate that the organization's governing documents, conflict of interest policy and financial statements be made available for public inspection, the organization makes these documents available upon request.”

“Change in actuarial plan benefit obligations $ (7,475,920)”