Do you know where your almonds come from? Part 2
LAST YEAR HARVEST
I decided to wait until I knew the results of the 2023 almond harvest before finishing part 2 of this article. I was sad to hear the 2023 harvest was the most difficult in the 40 years Micheal has cultivated almonds. Worms, disease, and inclement weather were on the menu for almond farmers. Micheal, from Hopkins AG Management, has also seen thousands of almond trees pulled out. The members of the local agriculture group he meets with regularly, hope they can survive until 2025. The winter has been cold, and thatâs good, as is the amount of rain. The blessing would be to experience good weather between February 10th and May 1st to support the bloom and almond forming.
CHALLENGES FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF A GROWER
When I talked to Michael last year, I asked him what challenges he saw in growing almonds. You see, Micheal explained that farmers wear eternal rose-colored glasses. Almond farmers have been doing excellent for 10-20 years, and you can expect to be uncomfortable for a year or two. Farmers will keep going whatever happens; thatâs what they do!
CHALLENGE #1 NATURE
The biggest challenge is Mother Nature; you need to deal with whatever she hands you. Michael told me that in 40 years of farming, he has never seen so many wild weather extremes.
A critical aspect of many fruit and nut trees is the âchillâ time needed to stay dormant during the cold season. This pertains to the accumulation of time below 45F. This allows the trees to conserve energy and protect themselves from more frigid weather. Several hundred chill hours are required for proper almond bud development, good yield, and higher-quality nuts. As weather patterns may not offer enough chill time, some almond types may not reach the required amount. Micheal told me that some types of almonds are developed to require less chill time. However, they may not want to be the ones you want to buy.
The navel orangeworm and the peach twig borer moths are common pests almond farmers must deal with and spray. They can lay eggs in the open almond husk, and their larvae eat the nut as they grow. As part of integrated pest management, Hodgkin’s management will do a sanitary tree shake at the end of the harvest season to ensure any remaining almonds are on the ground, which makes it less appealing for the larvae to develop.
Almond orchards are irrigated by water coming from wells and/or city districts. Alex tells me most farmers have access to wells. Since underground water is shared between multiple farmers, and droughts decrease the level, knowing how much is available (water table level) is crucial. When almond trees harbor almonds, skipping an irrigation will result in almonds developing some gum and sticking to the tree. Alex tells me it is important to know your water allocation for the year, which helps you decide if you need to irrigate less instead of skipping whole irrigation. The last two years of rain helped replenish the groundwater. However, the conversation now turns to what will happen in the next years of possible droughts.
CHALLENGE #2 GOVERNMENT
Talking about water and drought, Michael mentions the California aqueduct built in 1970, which was supposed to deliver water year-round in the delta area. This never happened. I can still read articles about this project, which left farmers unhappy about the whole deal.
CHALLENGE #3 LABOR
Since the 40-hour week implementation, having employees paid 1 1/2 times over the 40-hour mark makes things difficult for farmers. Michael has excellent employees who have worked for him for decades and want to work over 40 hours. However, management cannot pay them the 1 ½ time for 40-50 hours or two times if over 50 hours. They now need to find part-time workers. Finding a workforce can be challenging. Alex mentioned that they lost one person a couple of years ago, and it took two months to fill the position, which increased the workload for the employees left. The management leans on a work management company to hire employees, and as such, you do need to pay a premium for their help.
CHALLENGE #4 COSTS OF PRODUCTION
As I was hearing numbers out of Michealâs mouth this year, it was apparent the cost of production was still high, and the profit margin was lower than it used to be to produce almonds. When profit is squeezed so tight, farmers have issues with acquiring loans or mortgages from banks versus their potential earnings for the season to come, or trees still growing not at their full potential, and this is in the face of increasing interest rates. Cost increases are seen at the fertilizer, chemicals, and electricity (needed to pump water to irrigate) levels, so even seasoned farmers see their ROI decrease tremendously. Last year saw the almond cost per pound decrease to its lowest in 20 years; I have seen almond prices from $1.5/pound to less. It’s a far cry from the $4/pound seen a decade ago when farmers could get for their almonds.
For any new farmers to survive, Michael said they need another source of revenue or to be very wealthy. Do you think managing 3000 acres of land makes for a good profit? Think again: Micheal told me they canât compete with corporations on the production cost per acre. As a reminder, one acre is about the size of one football field.
Alex (management worker) tells me he doesnât see small farmers anymore, as you need thousands of acres to make it these days. He mentions farmers will need to adapt to different crops and find ways to make it work. Alex calculated how much it takes to break even with a $1.45/pound almond price (2023); you must produce 1400 pounds of almond/acre. It adds up fast; they fertilize twice a year through the water line around the annual bloom and after harvest. Since the price of fertilizer and chemicals have increased 100%, for example, the cost for fertilizer in 2023 was $100/acre, twice what it was in prior years. So, if you have 120 acres, you just spent $120,000.
When asked about automation, Alex discussed an edger used to prune their trees. With a mechanical edger, it takes two days instead of four to five days with workers. However, mechanization does have its costs. Alex told me an edger can cost $500,000. Since it is too expensive, they find a service that will do it for them.
When I talked to Micheal about the mechanization of agriculture, he told me many innovations make their life easier. We talked about drones and he was happy to report that he does use his nephewâs drone here and there, to keep an eye on the lands he manages. Michealâs nephew Nick told me they did look into a sprayer drone, but at the time, the battery life wasnât enough to warrant the price tag.
ALMOND INDUSTRY CHALLENGES
One problem commonly reported is the strain on the stateâs water resources during intense drought episodes, as almonds require a lot of water.
California almond growers rely heavily on honeybees to pollinate their crops. However, their population has declined in recent years due to habitat loss and pesticide use.
I have been reading about stolen almond shipments. To add insult to injury, I read about beehive theft while on almond farms this year. Thieves load the hives, repaint the bee boxes, hide the beekeeper’s name, and write another company name over it.
There are concerns about the use of pesticides, and particularly their impact on local ecosystems.
In terms of the workforce, labor and working issues in the almond industry have been reported, as well as meager wages for farm workers and lack of access to healthcare.
If you wonder, the current almonds’ low costs come from oversupply and exporting issues caused by shipping holdups created during the pandemic. Alex used to see shipments going to China, and now he has seen some going to India. Alex told me that maybe India will dictate the price of almonds.
In summary, California produces 80% of the worldâs almonds. It is an important part of Californiaâs agricultural economy, and its sustainability is facing many challenges. The good news is that the Almond Board of California has been there for almond farmers for decades. Read on!
THE ALMOND BOARD OF CALIFORNIA (ABC)
When I talked to Micheal, he mentioned that ABC is doing an incredible job helping the almond farming industry. The Board is a non-profit organization founded in 1950, and one of its essential mission is to advance the demand for almonds globally through strategic marketing, innovation, and regulatory advocacy. By investing in research and development, the ABC aims to improve almond farming practices, ensuring that production is economically, environmentally, and socially responsible.
ABC supports 7,600 almond growers and many others involved in the industry. Ninety percent of the farms are family-owned and operated. Some are operated by thirdâand fourth-generation farmers planning to pass the business down to their children. Interestingly, 70% of almond farms are less than 100 acres. In comparison, the average farm size in the US in 2022 was 446 acres.
Ingrained is the community involvement of their members, reported to be up to 80% of their members.
Their website is a wealth of information, such as the latest news, scientific research, business at the local, state, federal, and global levels, industry directory, grower information, orchard maintenance, tools and resources, food safety and quality, almond magazine, nutritional values of almond and more.
The board’s efforts in working toward responsible and sustainable farming include the following goals for 2025:
1-Continue reducing the water usage achieved in the last two decades to reach an additional 20% reduction.
2-Commitment to increase environmentally friendly pest management tools by 25% to protect orchards, employees, and the communities. For example, using beneficial insects, habitat removal, mating disruption, and applying pesticides if necessary.
3-Reach zero waste in the orchard using discarded almond hulls, not only in already known venues but also through innovation. Promising areas include recycled plastics, fuel, beer, and more.
4-Adressing the dust created while harvesting almonds through short and long-term steps, committing farmers to reduce dust harvest by 50%. The almond harvest is done by shaking the tree to get the almonds to fall on the ground, which creates dust that is described as a nuisance in local communities.
FUTUR
I was surprised to see long rows of down almond trees on my way to my meeting point; however, as Alex pointed out, the trees are uprooted when they have done their lives or do not produce as they should. Some farmers uproot the trees but keep the land open, selling their water use to Los Angeles. Once ripped off the ground, the trees can be sent to be burned. However, Alex told me there are now financial incentives ($600 per acre) to have them chipped in place and used as mulch to be integrated into the ground, which is more environmentally friendly. On an interesting note, he told me that not far from where they are, one area covering 1000 acres pulled all their almonds last year.
Michael thinks we will see a decrease of 150,000 acres of almonds cultivated by 2025. Alex told me he sees fewer small farmers since the production costs are so high they canât keep up. At this point, he says farmers need several thousand acres of almonds to survive. Last year, Alex saw local farmers replacing their almonds with pistachios. This echoes the 2022 number of acres of almonds cultivated in California, tabulating that 30,000 acres were not cultivated anymore or were in distress. This is the first time we have seen decreased cultivated acreage in decades.
Michael, at the tender age of 76 years and still working longer than your average person, is now replacing his almond trees with pistachios. He is doing so as a legacy to his children and grandchildren. He made this decision for them as the next generation does not have the farming experience he has acquired over the last 40 years. He mentioned that pistachios produce for extended periods and live 50 to 75 years compared to 20 to 25 years for almonds. They are also less expensive to produce. In 2022, pistachios were the #6 California crop, with a market value of 1.86 billion dollars.
Not only will we see small farmers not surviving, but large corporations will also not be immune to these issues. As of February 19th, 2024, a sizeable almond farm, Trinitas LLC, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Northern California. Even with enough water availability, through riparian rights, they couldnât survive the rising interest rates and the low cost of almonds. This means they will be liquidating their agricultural land. They own close to 8000 acres, and there are questions about who will buy so much land. The issue is they had a lot of young almond trees, not producing enough to counteract their maintenance, fertilizer, and spraying costs.
CLOSING PARAGRAPH
The Almond Bureau is relentlessly helping almond farmers improve and mitigate their challenges. We will see changes; however, the bearing acreage of almonds in California was at least 1,350,000 in 2022, so I am not worried about my almond croissant yet!
When I asked Michael what he would like the public to know, he mentioned the following: It is not because you have a lot of land that you are rich. Also, farmers do not like spraying orchards for various ailments. Without spending money on spraying, their profit margin would be much better. However, Michael told me that all the materials used these days are safer and less dangerous for people since he started.
With so many factors impacting the landscape of almond growing, Alex told me he sees changes coming. Obviously, Michael is taking steps to leave a surviving legacy to his children. Michael cares about his children’s future; he wants his offspring to be as successful as yours. I like to remember that farmers do what they do, and whatever happens, they will continue putting food on our tables.
The almond industry is experiencing rough years. Will farms with diversified crops or mature almond tree orchards survive this wave? Will only larger farms survive? What do you think? Join the conversation and comment below.
References for both almond articles upon demands.