Almond growers enjoy record harvest
| Friday, Sep 19 2008 03:13 PM
Last Updated Friday, Mar 27 2009 05:58 PM
WHAT'S GROWN HERE?
2007 Kern County Agricultural Crop Report
Commodity, value and 2006 ranking
1. Milk, market and manufacturing,$692,173,000; 3
2. Grapes, all,$579,378,000; 2
3. Citrus, all,$449,962,000; 5
4. Almonds, including byproducts,$441,532,000; 1
5. Carrots, fresh and processing,$315,849,000; 4
6. Pistachios,$274,440,000; 7
7. Hay, alfalfa,$225,386,000; 8
8. Cattle and calves,$219,247,000; 6
9. Cotton, including processed cottonseed,$161,685,000; 9
10. Silage and forage,$61,219,000; 11
Images
Barry Braun stands next to a shock wave shaker in his 500-acre almond field just north of Shafter.
A shock wave shaker shakes almonds loose in a field just north of Shafter.
As a mechanical shaker worked its way along rows of almond trees near Wasco, grabbing each trunk and giving it a violent shake, Barry Braun nodded his head in satisfaction. Each rattle sent thousands of almonds raining to the ground.
“I think it’ll be a good year,” said Braun, who with brother-in-law Sam Franz grows about 500 acres of almonds on the Roger Franz & Sons orchards. This year the cooperative where they send their nuts for hulling and shelling will produce approximately 50 million tons of nuts, exceeding last year’s take by 10 million, Franz said.
For the 2008 season, the 6,000 or so almond growers in California are expected to haul in a record 1.5 billion-pound harvest, according to the USDA. It will be the third consecutive record.
But as growers and handlers process this year’s huge crop, there are potential ripples ahead — from consumption to pollination to water — that could disrupt the remarkable rise of California’s most valuable nut.
‘CONDITIONS WERE RIPE’
A near-perfect pollination window arrived in late February as stormy weather held off, allowing bees to buzz about their pollination business. It was the beginning of an “almost ideal growing season” as the mild spring turned to a fair summer, Central California Almond Growers Association president Mike Kelly said.
One day in mid-August, the association’s Kerman plant, which handles almonds from more than 400 growers, processed eight million pounds — an “unbelievable volume,” Kelly said.
In addition to good weather, growers planed thousands of acres of new almond trees in recent years, which has contributed to bigger harvests. Over the past decade, total almond tree acreage in California leapt to 660,000 acres, a 43 percent increase.
Add to that 45,000 acres of new plantings next year, said Dave Baker, member relations director for Blue Diamond Growers.
Baker, a 34-year industry veteran, said he expects a bigger crop in coming years based on the new acreage.
“Not next year. But coming down the road,” he said.
The world market for almonds expanded with bigger harvests. Today nearly 70 percent of California’s crop is shipped abroad; Western Europe and Asia are the biggest buyers, and will likely continue to be so with the lower value of the U.S. dollar.
Baker doesn’t expect a drop in demand.
“Look back at any bumper crop years over the last decade. When we do have a bumper, then consumption grows worldwide,” Baker said.
Nevertheless, some in the industry are “a bit nervous about the size of this crop,” said Paramount Farming Co. president Joe MacIlvaine.
The price-per-pound for almonds has dropped by one-third from 2005, but so far hasn’t affected growers who are producing more almonds than ever.
“It’s not outstanding, because there are so many pounds per acre, but we’re doing OK,” said Scott Hunter, a committee member of the Almond Board of California who manages his 1,500-acre family farm in Livingston.
VALUABLE HULLS
The hulling and shelling side of the industry is riding high, too.
Outside the Golden Empire Shelling plant near Buttonwillow, almond hulls and shells were piled four stories high in late August.
To get to the almond nut, two layers must be removed: the hull is a pliable green casing wrapped around a second, harder shell.
Both layers are removed in the hulling and shelling process, but they aren’t discarded — the almond casings are valuable byproduct.
The price of livestock food has been driven up as farms shift to growing more corn for ethanol fuel. In turn, carbohydrate-rich almond hulls that are used to supplement dairy cows’ feed have also risen in value. Coupled with larger crops, the 100 or so almond hulling and shelling processors in California are enjoying hull prices that are higher than ever.
Golden Empire managing partner John Wynn offered free hulling and shelling to growers this season in part to attract business to the new plant, but mainly because he could afford it: After a decade of steady hull returns, prices doubled this year, at one point topping $200 per ton.
In its first season, the state-of-the-art, $11-million plant will handle about 18 million pounds of almonds; at peak capacity, the USDA-rated “high quality” plant will process 80 million pounds of almonds in a season.
CONCERNS PERSIST
Despite the top haul, concerns about water and pollination remain.
“Water is number one. By an order of magnitude. Far second is pollination,” said Paramount’s MacIlvaine, who noted that unlike row crops, “you can’t turn it on and off with trees.”
On the west side of the Central Valley, where growers depend on water from the Sacramento Delta, supply has been cut in half, threatening more than 200,000 acres of almond trees.
Fears about a honeybee shortage in California didn’t materialize this season.
Whatever it causing the nationwide colony collapse disorder is very complex and is probably due to a combination of bacterial infection, viruses, or man-made problems, according to David Haviland, entomology farm adviser with the UC Cooperative Extension program, Kern County.
“The bottom line is no one knows what’s causing it,” said Haviland, who described the research into CCD as “still in its infancy.”
The health of the colonies for next season’s pollination period won’t be known until late winter when bees come out of hibernation, he said.
For growers, who face a new challenge each season, this record harvest could support new equipment, financing for a planting round, or a nest egg for a down year.
Under the canopy of his orchard, Barry Braun raised his arms to demonstrate how almond limbs react after a shaker passes.
“They just lift up, it’s just a great thing to see. You just think they’re praising the Lord for having the load released,” Braun said.
