West Coast Nut - February 2024

WEST COAST NUT FEBRUARY 2024 ISSUE SPOTLIGHT:

EXPLORING COST-CUTTING STRATEGIES IN ORCHARD MANAGEMENT SEE PAGE 20

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IN THIS ISSUE:

ALMOND PRICES, BEE POPULATIONS EXPECTED TO REBOUND IN 2024 SEE PAGE 50

START THE SEASON OFF RIGHT SEE PAGE 48

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Award Winning Editorial By the Industry, For the Industry Publisher: Jason Scott Email: jason@jcsmarketinginc.com Editor: Marni Katz Email: marni@jcsmarketinginc.com Associate Editor: Cecilia Parsons Email: cecilia@jcsmarketinginc.com Production: design@jcsmarketinginc.com Tel: 559.352.4456 Fax: 559.472.3113 Web: www.wcngg.com

Contributing Writers & Industry Support Almond Board of California Contributing Writer

Mitch Lies Contributing Writer

Vicky Boyd Contributing Writer

Catherine Merlo Contributing Writer

Lori Fairchild Contributing Writer

Franz Niederholzer UCCE Farm Advisor, Colusa and Sutter/Yuba Counties

Roger A. Isom President/CEO, Western Agricultural Processors Association

Steve Pastis Contributing Writer

Marni Katz Editor

Kristin Platts Digital Content Writer

Rich Kreps CCA, SSp., Contributing Writer

Julia Stover-Blackburn Director, Fruit and Nut Research and Information Center, Dept. of Plant Sciences, UC Davis

UC Cooperative Extension Advisory Board Surendra K. Dara Director, North Willamette Research and Extension Center Kevin Day County Director/UCCE Pomology Farm Advisor, Tulare/Kings Counties Elizabeth Fichtner UCCE Farm Advisor, Tulare County

Katherine Jarvis-Shean UCCE Area Orchard Systems Advisor, Yolo and Solano Steven Koike Tri-Cal Diagnostics Jhalendra Rijal UCCE Integrated Pest Management Advisor, Stanislaus County Mohammad Yaghmour UCCE Area Orchard Systems Advisor, Kern County

View our ePublication on the web at www.wcngg.com

The articles, research, industry updates, company profiles, and advertisements in this publication are the professional opinions of writers and advertisers.

West Coast Nut does not assume any responsibility for the opinions given in the publication.

IN THIS ISSUE 4 8

Rain on Walnut’s Parade Almond Processor's Dedication to Food Safety Part of Statewide Effort

12 What to Do with Less Chill Accumulation this Year 16 Long-Term Pruning an Expense that Doesn’t Help Yield, Studies Show

20 Exploring Cost-Cutting Strategies in Orchard Management 24 There Still May Be Time for Adjustments if a Fall Nutrition Program Was Abandoned

28 Fruit and Nut Research and Information Center: DecisionMaking Tools

32 View from the Top: Moving into the Hot Seat 36 Pilot Projects Fail, So CDPR Moves Forward with Statewide Advance Notification Proposal

40 From the Orchard: Mitch Moreda is Focused on Closing the Gap Between Retail and Grower Almond Prices

48 Start the Season Off Right 50 Almond Prices, Bee Populations Expected to Rebound in 2024 54 From the Board: What’s New with Pollinator Stewardship 58 Northern Almond View: February 2024 62 Almond Industry Looks to Boost Grower Returns by Growing Demand and Reducing Trade Barriers

64 Considerations When Replanting an Almond Orchard 68 Top 5: Five Things to Know About Irrigation System Automation

72 MyAgNite Brings National Focus to California Agriculture 74 Technology and the Paradox of Rising Input Costs and Declining Commodity Prices

SPOTLIGHT: Exploring Cost-Cutting Strategies in Orchard Management Growers describe the changes in irrigation practices, nutrition, insect and disease management and pruning that are currently being implemented to maintain orchard health amid shrinking returns.

See page 20

February 2024

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3

UC Cooperative Extension farm advisors in the Sacramento Valley made farm calls to diagnose black nut drop about a month before harvest (photo by C. Reyes.)

Often, blight and bacterial apical necrosis, or BAN, are found together on the same nut, causing black nuts and premature drop (photo by Jamie Ott, UCCE.)

Rain on Walnut’s Parade Blight, BAN proved more problematic in 2023 than past few years, with grower finances playing into the picture.

By VICKY BOYD | Contributing Writer

W

alnut blight and brown apical necrosis (BAN) are perennial disease problems in some parts of the state, particularly in conducive microclimates in the Sacramento Valley.

But near-record rains, including unexpected midseason storms, and cost-cutting by many walnut growers in 2023 increased disease prevalence and associated yield and quality issues in parts of the state.

To help reduce walnut disease incidence in 2024, university experts recommend timely bactericide and fungicide applications, good spray coverage, rotating effective modes of action, disease monitoring and adjusting sprinklers to avoid leaf wetting.

“I think going into next season with the predictions of an El Niño weather year, growers who saw blight in their nuts in June should know the disease pressure is high, and they’ll be more inclined to spray,” said Clarissa Reyes, UCCE orchard systems advisor for Yuba and Sutter counties.

The bacterial infection blight can reduce yield as infected nuts drop prematurely. It also may open the nut up to mold infections. BAN, caused by a fungal complex, can lead to kernel mold and reduced nut quality and yield.

Frequently, pathologists isolate both the 4

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February 2024

blight bacterium (Xanthomonas juglandis) and mold organisms from infected walnuts.

“All of it depends on the weather,” said UC Davis Plant Pathology Professor Themis Michailides. “If the weather is wet, you’ll get the blight, which is the bacterial disease. Then later on, you get what we call BAN, which is brown apical necrosis.”

Reyes and other Sacramento Valley advisors began receiving calls about black nut drop about a month before the 2023 harvest. Callers also noted dark spots on the stylar end (the end opposite the stem) of walnut hulls and

black lesions on the sides of the hulls.

The advisors collected samples and sent them to Michailides to confirm their initial diagnoses of BAN for the stylar end lesions and blight for the side lesions.

Reyes and Michailides blamed several factors for the unusually high amount of the two diseases. “There was very low disease pressure in the two years that I’ve been around in 2021 and 2022, and people weren’t in the habit of spraying with the low prices,” Reyes

Continued on Page 6

Brown apical necrosis, or BAN, is caused by a host of fungi. Symptoms begin as brown spots or marks at the stylar end of the walnut hull and may eventually grow and coalesce, ultimately infecting internal tissue (photo by T. Michailides.)

Defending Your Orchard From the Risk of Fungicide Resistance Every orchard grower understands the challenge of controlling fungal diseases. Although fungicide applications are the most effective strategy for disease management, the rise of fungicide resistance poses a significant risk to efficacy.

Growers are often unaware they have a fungicide resistance issue until devastating diseases like blossom blight/brown rot, jacket rot and hull rot have caused substantial and irreversible damage to their crops. To protect tree nut health and maximize yield, growers should consider implementing proactive strategies to address fungicide resistance.

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Effects on Tree Nut Growers Fungicide resistance poses a serious threat to growers’ bottom lines.

Understanding Fungicide Resistance Fungicide resistance, as defined by the Fungicide Resistance Action Committee (FRAC), is an acquired reduction in sensitivity of fungi to specific fungicides. The key challenge is the genetic variability of fungal populations, which leads to fungicide resistance in certain fungi within the population. Without a proactive approach, those resistant fungi can rapidly reproduce, causing widespread fungicide resistance across the orchard.

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10%-23%

PREHARVEST LOSSES

10%-20% POSTHARVEST LOSSES With studies indicating potential preharvest losses ranging from 10% to 23% and postharvest losses of 10% to 20%, the stakes are high for growers across the industry.1 Implementing a proactive plan at the beginning of the growing season can give tree nut growers peace of mind when diseases, such as blossom blight/ brown rot, jacket rot and hull rot, occur in their orchards.

Steinberg, G., and S. J. Gurr. 2020. Fungi, fungicide discovery and global food security. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fgb.2020.103476

1

Symptoms of bacterial disease walnut blight appear on the sides of hulls as patchy dark spots with soft margins or as black lesions with hard margins (photo by C. Reyes.)

Continued from Page 4 said. “This [past] winter was pretty wet, and I don’t think that was too much of a surprise, but I think the summer rains were definitely not expected.”

She was referring to June storms as well as to remnants of Hurricane Hillary, which brought rains to parts of the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys the latter part of August.

While BAN started developing beforehand, Michailides said the late-season precipitation increased the mold incidence and late-season blight. He said he saw similar occurrences in 2022 when late rains promoted severe mold problems.

Part of the challenge with blight and BAN management is growers must apply disease sprays ahead of rains to obtain the best results and help protect plant tissue. With continuing low walnut prices, Reyes said some growers are reluctant to gamble on storms that may break up before they reach the region.

Some growers also may have cut corners by spraying every other row, but good spray coverage is crucial to maximize the amount of bactericide or fungicide that reaches the target.

While Scott Drobny, a PCA for Nutrien Ag Solutions based in Hamilton City, Calif., definitely saw more blight and BAN in 2023, he said the more difficult part of the equation was 6

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February 2024

grower finances.

“With the price of walnuts being so low and the price of inputs still being slightly inflated from COVID-19 and supply chain issues, farmers had a really tough time picking their poison, so to speak,” he said. “A lot of the time, they’d go after their No. 1 pest in each orchard. Maybe it’s disease in one orchard and weeds or insects in another.

So, with the price of walnuts being so low and people struggling to make any money at the end of the year, consultants end up managing expectations.”

As such, he said he would have conversations with growers about potential economic damage and the amount they were willing to accept.

“Economics are a big part of farming and a big part of my job as a crop consultant,” he said. “We have economic thresholds and maybe we can tolerate a little bit of damage here and there.”

Nevertheless, Drobny said the mild 2023 growing season helped produce significantly better-quality walnuts overall than in 2022, when a late summer heat spell caused widespread kernel damage.

patchy dark spots with soft margins or as black lesions with hard margins.

The bacterium can infect any green walnut tissue, predisposing nuts to insect and disease damage and lower-quality nuts.

Like any disease, he said blight only develops if all three parts of the disease triangle are present: pathogen, environment and host. In the case of blight, it needs the X. arboricola pathogen; free moisture from rain, sprinklers or dew; and unprotected green tissue.

The blight pathogen overwinters in outer bud scales as well as twig canker infections. Inside the dormant bud, inner leaf tissue and flowers are pathogen free. As the shoots grow through the infected bud scales in the spring, rain or other water may splash or blow the bacteria onto developing green tissue.

Blight sprays, which coincide with early shoot emergence, provide a protective layer of bactericide on the tissue surface. Because not all walnut shoots emerge at the same time, Extension recommends the first blight spray be made when 20% to 40% of shoots are elongating and before leaves expand, commonly referred to as the “prayer” Walnut Blight stage. Depending on the year, location Walnut blight is caused by the Xanand variety, this typically starts in thomonas arboricola pv juglandis bacterium, April. which is present in nearly all orchards The second spray should be applied 7 at some level, Michailides said. Sympto 10 days later to protect later-opening toms appear on the sides of hulls as buds. Based on conditions, up to six

applications may be needed to control blight.

UC Riverside Plant Pathology Professor Jim Adaskaveg conducts annual bactericide and fungicide screenings to determine efficacy, rates, timing and whether resistance is developing. His work has identified widespread copper resistance from overuse in the Sacramento Valley with scattered pockets in the San Joaquin Valley.

The EPA registered kasugamycin, marketed as Kasumin, in 2018 to help manage walnut blight as well as a handful of other bacterial diseases in other crops. It is a unique bactericide that is not used for animals or humans.

Based on Adaskaveg’s trials, copper, mancozeb and kasugamycin are the three most effective conventional bactericides for walnut blight. To prolong their usefulness, he recommended rotating effective modes of action and tank mixing the newly registered product with mancozeb or copper.

“Kasugamycin-mancozeb mixtures applied in our research trials were often

the most effective of all treatments evaluated,” he wrote in the report. Kasumin has a relatively short residual, prompting the 7- to 10-day spray interval.

He recommended using copper-mancozeb last in the rotation since they provide the longest-lasting residuals of both active ingredients.

Results from the 2022 UC efficacy trials, the last year for which data is available, can be found at https:// cfn-fungicides.ucr.edu/efficacy-tables/ walnut.

Initially, blight bacteria are the primary source of inoculum, and typical hot, dry summer conditions significantly reduce additional infections.

But if conducive conditions continue, as they did in 2023 with June and August rains, secondary inoculum can lead to late-season blight and inoculum buildup in the orchard.

Brown Apical Necrosis or BAN

BAN symptoms begin as brown spots or marks at the stylar end of the walnut hull and may eventually grow

and coalesce, ultimately infecting internal tissue. The disease is caused by a host of fungi that include Alternaria, Fusarium, Aspergillus niger, Botryosphaeria and Phomopsis.

Of those, work by Michailides’ lab found Alternaria, Fusarium and A. niger were predominately responsible for kernel mold. Michailides’ research also found secondary walnut blight infections that do not penetrate the kernel or result in nut drop can still create an entryway for pests, including Fusarium and Alternaria mold species.

In field trials, Michailides found applying Merivon (fluxapyroxad and pyraclostrobin) or Rhyme (flutriafol) fungicide two to three weeks before hull split followed by a second at early hull split significantly reduced kernel mold damage. The results proved true for both early and late walnut cultivars.

Comments about this article? We want to hear from you. Feel free to email us at article@jcsmarketinginc.com

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7

Almond Processor's Dedication to Food Safety Part of Statewide Effort

By MITCH LIES | Contributing Writer A Treehouse box situated on one of the company’s new, fully automated, state-of-the-art packing lines (all photos courtesy Treehouse California Almonds.)

Workers wash in a handwashing station at Treehouse California Almonds processing facility in Earlimart, Calif.

E

fforts to ensure the safety of California almonds, viewed as a critical function for the long-term health of the industry, are being played out at the state level through initiatives from the Almond Board of California and at individual farms and processors across the state.

One such huller/processor with a long history of attention to food safety, Treehouse California Almonds of Earlimart, Calif. heightened its emphasis 8

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February 2024

on food safety two years back, bringing on Lizzette Casas as director of food safety and quality and adding staff to its quality assurance program.

Casas, who holds a degree from UC Berkeley in molecular and cell biology and who has worked in the almond industry for 15 years, has since helped Treehouse improve on what she said was already a robust food safety program.

“Treehouse, and the almond industry in general, has been at the forefront of making progressive changes in food safety,” Casas said. “They brought me on two years ago to put even more of an emphasis on food safety.”

Prior to Casas’ arrival, the Quality Assurance manager at Treehouse was wearing a couple of different hats. In addition to managing the company’s food safety and quality program, Brian Ball was helping manage the operation’s facilities expansion, which over time became a sizable commitment given the company’s handle has essentially doubled over the last five years.

“The management at that point thought, ‘We really need to create two positions because capital projects are very important, expansion is very important, but we need someone who’s solely dedicated at the director level to take care of food safety and quality,’” Casas said.

Next, Treehouse doubled its food safety and quality staff, giving Casas the workforce she deemed necessary to ensure proper steps were taken to address food safety at all points of the process.

Casas now has staff monitoring the food processing lines, ensuring workers wash hands and other good manufacturing practices (GMP) are being followed, including that employees are participating in the captive footwear program, which involves leaving work shoes at the plant each night; their bump caps are clean to ensure the caps aren’t introducing any foreign material

Continued on Page 10

“Treehouse, and the almond industry in

general, has been at the forefront of making progressive changes in food safety.

– Lizzette Casas, Treehouse

”

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Continued from Page 8 to the lines; equipment is operating properly on the pasteurization line and proper documentation is occurring; and that the positive air pressure filters are being monitored to ensure they are removing any contaminants brought into the plant.

Casas also has employees dedicated to reviewing all laboratory documentation before almonds are shipped as a final step in making sure almonds are safe for consumers. And finally, there are employees responsible for reviewing audits from suppliers and customers and reviewing corrective actions to ensure the company continues to focus on improvement, which Treehouse views as a critical part of its overall growth strategy, Casas said.

Starts in the Orchard

On its website, Treehouse declares that food safety is the foundation of its operation, citing its “diligent process supervision” as a cornerstone of that effort. And Treehouse notes its food safety commitment starts in the orchard where its growers focus on good agricultural practices (GAPs) to help ensure almonds are of the highest grade and standards.

“Our close relationships with these growers allow for unparalleled supply chain transparency and traceability of almonds down to the exact grower and field,” according to its website.

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February 2024

Treehouse California Almonds of Earlimart, Calif. heightened its emphasis on food safety two years back, bringing on Lizzette Casas as director of food safety and quality and adding staff to its quality assurance program.

“We have really strong partnerships with our growers, and two of our largest growers are actually part owners of the company,” Casas said. “So, there is a lot of transparency there, and there is also an expectation that they practice good agricultural practices and integrated pest management to make sure that their quality is up to our standards.

“We are constantly talking to them, checking in with them and just making sure that their programs are up to par with what we need and what our customers expect, and that whatever is brought into the facility is as safe as it could possibly be,” Casas said.

Meeting customer expectations has provided a major incentive for Treehouse’s dedication to food safety over the years, Casas said.

“Treehouse has a history of working with really big consumer-branded customers,” Casas said, “and the demands of these customers have kept Treehouse on that leading edge of food safety and quality.”

Even the company’s huller, which handles roughly 60% of the company’s output, is certified under GMPs, and huller-manager Dan Lawson has been through training in GMP, HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points) and BRCGS, a third-party certification service with global standards for food safety.

Food safety is also top-of-mind with any new facility expansion at Treehouse, Casas said, in part because Ball, the company’s former QA manager, is heading capital projects.

“It’s been a blessing for me because his background is in food safety, and now he is helping with equipment design and equipment installation and he has food safety at the forefront of his mind,” Casas said. This, coupled with support and a focus on food safety and quality from Treehouse COO Carl Tristao, makes for equipment design and instal-

“ When one nut goes down, it affects

the entire industry, and that is not something you want your brand to be associated with.

– Lizzette Casas, Treehouse California Almonds

lations that are best-in-class for sanitation and hygiene, she said. For example, Treehouse recently added a new stateof-the-art sanitation room, and all new lines are equipped with Cleaning-inPlace mechanisms, which are sanitation systems that can be closely monitored and controlled because cleaning is conducted without dismantling equipment, making sanitation more effective and less prone to error.

“It really is a team effort, and the safety of our customers is the most important thing for all of us,” Casas said.

Broader Focus

”

Treehouse’s dedication to food safety is part of a broader focus by the California almond industry to ensure safe product, a focus that includes the dedication of resources at the Almond Board of California (ABC). Among its initiatives, ABC educates growers on good agricultural practices in orchards and works with hullers, shellers and handlers on addressing food safety from harvest through processing.

“ABC has been at the forefront of food safety with mandatory pasteur-

ization in place since 2007,” said Tim Birmingham, ABC’s director of quality assurance and industry services. “Additional programs such as Pathogen Environmental Monitoring are also employed to help mitigate post-process contamination issues. And finally, ABC has provided guidelines detailing conditions for maximizing almond quality and shelf life.”

From its headquarters in Earlimart, Treehouse California Almonds takes pride in knowing it is doing its part to ensure California almonds are safe and of the highest quality. As Casas put it, “When one nut goes down, it affects the entire industry, and that is not something you want your brand to be associated with. So, we want to do our part.”

Comments about this article? We want to hear from you. Feel free to email us at article@jcsmarketinginc.com

February 2024

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11

What to Do with Less Chill Accumulation this Year

By CECILIA PARSONS | Associate Editor Recent work in pistachio production has found that various rest-breaking agents affect the carbohydrate mobilization to the buds before bud break (photo by C. Parsons.)

A

fter the big chill year of 2023, California pistachio growers experienced a warm December and mostly warm January, sparking some concern that this ‘off ’ year for pistachio production may only deliver marginal chill. Whether or not to assist trees in coping with a warmer winter period is up for discussion at press time.

Formerly, chill hours were calculated using the number of hours equal to or less than 45 degrees F accumulated over the dormant season. UC research notes not all “chill” is effective. When chill hours alternate with temperatures above 45 degrees F, a canceling effect can occur for some of that chill, and there is no way to measure this cancellation with the chill hour model.

The newer Dynamic Model is a way to compensate for temperature fluctuations. The model calculates chilling accumulation as “chill portions” using a range of temperatures from ~35 to 55 degrees F and accounts for chill cancellation by fluctuating warm temperatures. Calculation of chill portions

12

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February 2024

begins September 1 instead of November 1.

Jordan Hazell, research manager for the crop management platform Semios, said in mid-January this season’s rate of chill portion accumulation has been notably less than the previous three years, aligning more with the pace of accumulation experienced during the chill season leading to the 2020 cropping season at this stage. He said compared to the chill season leading to the 2023 crop, all regions in this chill season have accumulated less chill portions thus far with the most prominent differences in accumulation being observed throughout San Joaquin County as well as the east side of the valley through Stanislaus, Merced and Madera counties.

Hazell said although more growers are familiar with chill hour utilization, chill portions are a more accurate indicator when it comes to predicting when to anticipate the effects of insufficient chill on budbreak and leaf-out in pistachios. It tends to better represent

the nuances related to how the tree experiences borderline-optimal chill conditions.

UCCE Advisor Emeritus Bob Beede noted in his December Orchard Notes that fewer chill portions were recorded in December 2023 than the preceding December. The goal is to achieve 62 to 65 chill portions by about March 2. He said a summary from Advanced Nut Crop Sciences using still-active CIMIS stations showed 18% to 23% fewer hours below 45 degrees F than last year as of December 11.

Plant Scientist Gurreet Brar at Fresno State said the question of adequate chill has not been answered through research; however, the pistachio trees going into an off year are depleted for carbohydrate reserves, and a low-chill or marginal-chill year might adversely affect bloom and yield.

California Pistachio Research Board-funded research conducted

by UC Davis Plant Sciences Professor

Continued on Page 14

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Leafless orchards in their winter stage. Dormancy is their “rest period” (photo by C. Parsons.)

Continued from Page 12 Maciej Zwieniecki on seasonal dynamics of non-structural carbohydrates in pistachio trees found a strong correlation between yield and nonstructural carbohydrates in pistachio trees. In his 2020 report, he noted there is a strong incentive to develop techniques that 14

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February 2024

allow trees to accumulate high levels of NSC prior to entering dormancy.

Rest-Breaking Agents

Brar said pistachio trees going into an off year are depleted for carbohydrate reserves, and a low-chill or marginal-chill year might adversely affect bloom and yield; therefore,

applying a rest-breaking agent (RBA) might improve bloom synchrony, nut set and yield. He explained in California pistachio production, it is generally understood rest or endodormancy is completed roughly around mid-February. This is followed by a period of quiescence or ecodormancy, which is a period when the trees complete their rest/dormant period (a physiological requirement) and just wait for favorable environmental conditions so bloom can happen.

Hazell said there are multiple options being marketed when it comes to mitigating the effects of poor chill conditions. Those application-based options include hormone analogs, various nitrogen cocktails, hydrogen cyanamide (Dormex®), and use of kaolin clay.

Brar noted other known RBAs include ethephon, GA3, GA4, GA7, nitrate, garlic extract and horticultural oils. Historically, some of these chemicals were initially used for other purposes and were later discovered to have dormancy management potential.

For instance, horticultural oils are the RBAs most used on pistachio in both California and Iran. In California, they remain licensed only for scale insect control.

Various RBAs affect the carbohydrate mobilization to the buds before bud break. RBAs might also cause better bloom synchrony between male and female cultivars as well as cause early bloom due to mobilization of some nutrient elements into buds and enhance pre-bloom bud respiration.

Brar said recent work at Fresno State suggested RBAs, like horticultural oils, provide significant results when applied around 55 or more chill portion accumulation. Dormex® application around 55 to 58 chill portion accumulation also resulted in significantly higher yield and split in-shell percentage in pistachios. In the trials, oil applications at 50 chill portions or less did not affect bloom time, synchrony or yield. However, the trials showed that timing also depends on other factors including location. Previous work

by UC scientists suggested in central San Joaquin Valley locations, second week of February is usually the time to

Chill portion accumulation between September 1 and January 4 for the 2023 crop (left), 2024 crop (middle) and the difference between both seasons (right) (photo Powered by Semios®.)

decide. However, Brar noted every site and every year has slightly different chill accumulation patterns and many years the calendar timing coincides with the 55 chill portion accumulation.

In other years, the 55 chill portion accumulation does not occur until later in February or even March.

Brar said making an application based on chill portion accumulation milestones may be a better strategy than using a calendar date.

Aside from RBAs, another strategy to lower tree canopy temperatures and enhance chill accumulation in pistachio orchards entails use of a cover crop. Brar’s CPRB-funded research showed a cover crop in the orchard consistently advanced bloom in both male and female trees. A cover crop also advanced bud swell and full bloom stages around five to six days earlier than control plots.

He noted cover crops create a buffer between the soil and air, reducing the heat exchange.

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February 2024

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15

Long-Term Pruning an Expense that Doesn’t Help Yield, Studies Show

By KRISTIN PLATTS | Digital Content Writer

D

oes pruning bearing almond trees benefit yield? Decades of UC research says it doesn’t. That’s according to UCCE Farm Advisor Roger Duncan who has studied multiple trials on the subject and conducted his own study over the course of more than two decades. The bottom line, he said, is pruning doesn’t improve yield in the short term and does not maintain yield in the long term any better than unpruned trees.

Duncan said he first started paying attention to the idea of not pruning after following studies done in the 80s and 90s and was skeptical at first. The first study he watched, a 21-year trial in Arbuckle, Calif., showed the yield of the pruned trees was not significantly 16

West Coast Nut

February 2024

Mature orchards may still need to be pruned to remove damaged or diseased branches as well as branches that get in the way of orchard equipment or are a hazard to equipment operators.

There are reasons for pruning, but yield is not one of them.

"

– Roger Duncan, UCCE different than that of the non-pruned trees and showed a reduced yield. Similar trials that have been replicated since showed the same results.

“I was not wholly convinced when I started, but now I’m convinced,” he said. “At some point, you have to believe the numbers.”

Those numbers included the evidence of slightly lower yields in annual-

ly pruned trees compared to unpruned trees across multiple trials done by different people in multiple areas of the state. Then you factor in the labor savings of not pruning.

When an 11-year trial was repeated in Kern County, it showed the same results, Duncan said. That trial was

Continued on Page 18

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Continued from Page 16 conducted on a different soil type than the initial studies: a sandy loam with vigorous soil and a vigorous orchard.

“There was really, statistically speaking, no difference. But again, the trend was just slightly higher yields in the unpruned trees,” he said. “So, why spend the money to not make a difference?”

Duncan’s own 21-year trial in Stanislaus County, which he finished in 2019, mirrored the others. Again, it showed there was no benefit at all in terms of yield. And that seems to be a trend worldwide, he said, citing pruning studies in Spain and Australia.

“It’s really consistent information that pruning almond trees definitely doesn’t improve yield in the short term, but the bigger surprise is it doesn’t improve the longevity of the orchard either,” he said.

The results of Duncan’s trial concluded at average almond prices and labor costs, conventional training and annual pruning would have reduced cumulative net income by up to $14,000 per acre over 19 years. That included pruning, stacking and shredding costs plus slightly lower cumulative yield.

It was that potential to help growers save money that drew Duncan to conduct his study.

“We’re always trying to save money or improve efficiencies in our farming operations, especially under the current financial pressures almond growers are facing, and it was a curiosity for me. I saw information coming from other

’

parts of the state and I thought our growers here need to see this,” he said.

Other evidence across the trials also showed the vigor of the tree made no difference in the need to prune as far as yield is concerned, he said.

“I think some people feel maybe it works in a lower-vigor situation, but not at a high-vigor situation, but that’s not true either,” he said.

He added they also tested plantings at various tree spacings, from 10-foot spacing down the row all the way up to 22-foot spacing and found the same thing to be true. In fact, closely spaced trees require less pruning because the trees stay smaller through competition.

Smaller trees have fewer problems with scaffold failure.

Evidence across the trials also showed the vigor of the tree made no difference in the need to prune as far as yield is concerned.

Many Still Pruning

There may be other reasons a grower chooses to prune. New trees should be trained for one to three years to establish a strong tree architecture.

Occasionally, branches that get in the way of orchard equipment or are a hazard to equipment operators need to be removed in mature orchards. The same is true for broken or diseased limbs.

Some growers may want to remove dead branches to reduce the number of sticks at harvest. And for some, the aesthetics of an orchard is important, with trees seen as an extension of one’s front yard. After all, a pruned orchard looks nice and clean. For others, it might be because the rejuvenation seen after pruning gives growers a sense of yield improvement.

Duncan was surprised by the number of growers he saw who were still choosing to prune after this past harvest season.

“I was expecting this year in particular that most growers would skip it, but I saw many that did not,” he said.

Mel Machado, Vice President of Member Relations at Blue Diamond, said he was flabbergasted by the amount of pruning he was seeing after harvest. Machado, who grows almonds in Oakdale, Calif., said in times of fiscal adversity, pruning is the first thing that goes out the window.

“To me, it’s a no brainer, if I’m struggling to find pennies, that’s an easy call,

­

­ ­

­

­

­

­

Duncan’s trial concluded that at the average almond prices and labor costs, conventional training and annual pruning would have reduced cumulative net income by up to $14,000 per acre over 19 years, which included pruning, stacking and shredding costs plus slightly lower cumulative yield.

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February 2024

problems with fungal canker diseases after pruning.

“So, I guess that’s another positive to not pruning; you’re reducing access of these fungal pathogens into the tree,” he said.

Again, he said pruning does have a fundamental role in training scaffolds in the first couple of years of a tree’s life, but it will not improve yield in the long term.

“There are reasons for pruning, but yield is not one of them,” Duncan said.

Duncan’s write up on his study can be found at https://www.sjvtandv.com/ blog/tight-budget-consider-not-pruning-bearing-almond-orchards.

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take that money and put it toward pest management,” he said.

He agrees that pruning is necessary for training young trees in the first several years of an orchard’s life and said he can even understand pruning all the way up to about the seventh year in extremely vigorous trees, but beyond that, he said it just doesn’t make sense from a budget standpoint.

“If you’re under five, six years old, yeah, there are reasons to prune,” he said, “but a 15- to 20-year-old orchard, what are you doing?”

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UCCE recommends to growers who do choose to prune to try to maintain as much fruit wood as possible by limiting pruning to taking out dead and diseased wood and branches that are in the way. And if you do choose to continue pruning, there are a couple of important protocols to keep in mind.

Watching the weather before pruning is probably the most important thing to consider, according to Duncan, who said if you are going to prune, be sure not to do it ahead of a rain event, especially if you’re going to make big cuts to scaffolds on young trees. He said they have been seeing a lot of

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19

EXPLORING COST-CUTTING STRATEGIES IN ORCHARD MANAGEMENT

By CECILIA PARSONS | Associate Editor

No big blanket cuts should be made, but decisions should be made on leaf tissue analysis. In high-yielding orchards, the potential for saving on nutrition is small. In older orchards, more savings could be realized with delayed or omitted applications.

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February 2024

D

ecisions to cut out completely or modify orchard management practices are being made to save on input costs.

Almond growers and researchers said that depending on the unique characteristics of an orchard, that modification or elimination of certain cultural practices won’t necessarily adversely affect crop production.

Asked what they stopped doing in their orchards or what they now do differently, panelists described the changes in irrigation practices, nutrition, insect and disease management and pruning. Garrett Bowman with Bowman Management said business goals drive those decisions. Bowman, who is also an almond grower, said cuts should resemble ‘minimal invasive surgery’ with a short recovery period.

“Small cuts as needed, but use research,” he advised.

Automation, Nutrition Costs, Savings

Automation of irrigation systems allows for reduced labor and energy costs. Off-peak hours can be used along with more frequent, short-duration irrigations.

Soil moisture sensors and plant sensors can help with making good irrigation decisions, Bowman said.

Money can be saved by only placing plant stress sensors on pollinators. A consistent maintenance schedule for irrigation systems to endure distribution uniformity is not a place to cut.

When it comes to nutrition decisions, Bowman said to avoid the ‘just in case’ thinking. No big blanket cuts should be made, but decisions should be made on leaf tissue analysis. In high-yielding orchards, the potential for saving on nutrition is small. In older orchards, more savings could be realized with delayed or omitted applications.

Brandon Rebiero of Gold Leaf

Farms in Modesto suggested cuts be made in defense practices but not with offense.

There is also the ‘pride factor’ in farming, he noted. Growers with orchards along main roads may care a little more about how the orchard looks to passersby.

Rebiero said there may be some ‘flaws’ in standard nutrition applications. With potassium, the standard 500 lbs. SOP may be needed with a 2,500-pound crop but may not be efficient with a smaller crop. He said liquid in-season applications that can be adjusted to the crop size can save on K costs. That decision can save money if there is a crop loss due to frost. Some postharvest nutrition sprays can be eliminated if leaf tissue samples show adequate levels.

2023 was a terrible year for navel orangeworm damage, Rebiero said, but he pointed out an interesting report from processors who have organic blocks. Those blocks had some of the

lowest NOW damage rates, he said, and he attributed it to thorough orchard sanitation including hand poling. Rebiero said mating disruption is highly effective in controlling NOW and can allow for skipping a spray application.

With chemical control of NOW, there is an economic threshold. Rebiero said a 2,000-pound crop at current prices can take 5% damage and lose 500 pounds, equating to the cost of a NOW spray.

Take Risks with Defense

You can take more risks with defense, Rebiero said, but don’t sacrifice yield. He said they spray borders as much as they can and advised speaking with neighbors about their NOW control (or lack of it). Orchard history is the best indicator of NOW damage, he said. May sprays can be cut, he said, but you must watch traps for trends.

Continued on Page 22

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“If I get within 500 pounds, I’m happy.

Don’t underestimate your ability to estimate yields.”

– Garrett Bowman, Bowman Management Continued from Page 21 Some ‘flaws’ in standard nutrition applications were noted by panelists. The standard K application may be needed with a 2,500-pound crop, but if the estimate comes in lower, in-season applications that can be adjusted to the crop size can save on potassium costs.

Mating disruption is highly effective in controlling NOW and can allow for skipping a spray application.

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Panel moderator Sebastian Saa noted rollout of a voluntary neighborhood NOW control program in 2023 was intended to connect neighboring growers and PCAs interested in or currently using NOW mating disruption. The goal is to help growers and PCAs create larger orchard blocks better suited to the mating disruption system.

Pruning is a practice that does not pay, most panelists agreed. Although a high percentage of growers do prune their mature trees, research has shown this orchard practice does not enhance production.

UCCE Farm Advisor Roger Duncan, a panelist on a session on Optimizing Critical Orchard Practices at The Almond Conference, said his research over the last 20 years has shown pruning reduces yield in almonds.

Pruning is defined as a dwarfing process that reduces sunlight capture, fruit bearing area and root growth. It is a yield-reducing practice.

It is best to train very young trees for good structure and then abandon pruning except for safety purposes, equipment access and removal of broken and dead branches.

A grower’s reason to prune should justify the expense and potential yield loss, Duncan said.

With orchard spacing, Duncan said the best configuration is still up for debate, but he pointed out some

benefits to tighter spacing: less need for pruning, easier to shake at harvest with fewer mummies and less shaker damage and better spray coverage is achieved.

Orchard weed control, Rebiero said, is “pretty versus practical.” A mowing program can keep a minimal amount ground cover and save on chemical control costs. Labor, Rebiero said, is a non-issue with mechanical weed control.

As for use of cover crops in orchards, Bowman said he has not seen a lot of water savings in his orchards, but it does help with soil compaction. He has not seen any change in water use of fertility with cover crop planting.

UCCE orchard systems advisor Franz Niederholzer added his observations on spray applications. Early is better than late with timing spray applications.

“When money is tight, make sure the material is all going on the tree.” At 100 to 200 gallons per minute, 2 mph will provide the best coverage.

He also noted harvest should not begin before 100% hull split. Shaking too early can damage trees and cause long-term disease issues. Postharvest N applications can be eliminated, Niederholzer said, if leaf tissue levels are adequate. Those decisions are best made with crop size estimates to know how much N has been removed at harvest.

Crop Estimation is an Art

Estimating crop yield is an art, Bowman said, and more research is needed to improve accuracy. Orchard history can help with estimation, he said. Some years, he said he can be about 50% off on his crop estimation. Bowman said he has tried several estimation methods he found to be inaccurate. Now, he said, he goes through the portfolio in March and May, doing a low, medium and high assessment and using the middle range as a forecast.

“If I get within 500 pounds, I’m happy,” he said. “Don’t underestimate your ability to estimate yields.”

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THERE STILL MAY BE TIME FOR ADJUSTMENTS IF A FALL NUTRITION PROGRAM WAS ABANDONED

By CECILIA PARSONS | Associate Editor

Postharvest N applications may have been skipped if mid-July leaf levels were adequate.

W

ere some postharvest nutrition applications in your almond orchards abandoned last fall? Depending on what was skipped, there may be consequences to production and tree health going forward if nutrition adjustments are not made during the next growing season.

Crop advisor John Post with Ag-

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February 2024

ricultural Advisors said there are still chances in February and even later in the growing season to catch up with applications of micronutrients like boron and zinc as well as with potassium and nitrogen. He said if leaf samples show nutrition levels trending down over time, efforts should be made to correct before deficiency occurs.

Rich Kreps, crop advisor with Ultra Gro, said catching up late with nutrition can help make things like fruit set and yield better, but yield has already been affected if nutrition was skipped in late summer and early fall.

“You can help size and stick a crop,

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Boron deficiency of the flower, determined by harvest hull sample analysis, can decrease fruit set in a couple different ways.

Continued from Page 24 but damage has already been done as bud differentiation mostly happened in late summer,” Kreps said.

Boron Deficiency Effects

Post explained there are two different deficiencies with B: one with the plant and the other with the flower bud.

There are generally sufficient B supplies in the tree, but a deficiency in the flower bud is common and can cause yield consequences. In-season leaf tissue analysis can show if the tree is deficient.

Post said if B levels are below 150 ppb, fertigation with B in the fall or in the spring can help correct the deficiency in the tree. A foliar application of B can be done from postharvest to flowering to help with deficiency of the flower.

Post said B deficiency of the flower, determined by harvest hull sample analysis, can decrease fruit set in a couple of different ways. First, it can lower pollen viability and germination and reduce the rate of pollen tube development. B deficiency can also decrease 26

West Coast Nut

February 2024

Experts say sensitivity to a lack of N in walnuts will vary from orchard to orchard.

the transport of sugars to the flower, which can decrease the attractiveness of pollen to bees. He noted there is research that shows B applications postharvest to the bud and all the way up until the popcorn stage can greatly increase fruit set.

Some almond growing regions like

the west side of the Sacramento Valley have high levels of B in groundwater.

But, Post noted, even if B levels in the leaf samples are slightly toxic, there can still be deficiency in the flowers.

Effect of Zinc, Potassium Deficiency Z deficiency can decrease the pro-

‘THERE IS RESEARCH THAT SHOWS

[BORON] APPLICATIONS POSTHARVEST TO THE BUD AND ALL THE WAY UP UNTIL THE POPCORN STAGE CAN GREATLY INCREASE FRUIT SET.’

soil type. Doll said high-cation-exchange-capacity (CEC) soils can prevent K from being available to the plant. In low CEC soils, the opposite is true and results in higher K uptake. In this situation, more K can leach below the rootzone.

Katherine Jarvis-Shean, UCCE orchard systems advisor in Sacramento, Solano and Yolo counties, noted in Sacramento Valley Walnut News that sensitivity to a lack of N will vary from orchard to orchard. Forcing deficiency on young trees impacts growth of future nut-bearing branches, delaying future yield potential. Older trees will have more tissue in which N may have been stored from previous years, so will be more resilient to decreased N applications, making them better candidates for decreased N applications during cost-cutting times.

duction of carbohydrates in the tree, late postharvest N applications can be Post said. Z deficiency is becoming skipped if mid-July leaf levels are ademore of an issue recently because some quate. Trials conducted at the Nickels newer rootstocks are not as efficient in Soil Lab in Colusa County found no mining Z, and some varieties, namenegative impact on production when ly Independence, seem to need more skipping postharvest N within orzinc. The decrease in carbohydrate chards. In this trial, Almond Doctor production, Post explained, is importDavid Doll reported trees had leaf N ant because this micronutrient assists values of 2.55% or greater mid-July. with several enzymatic processes, Doll reported K fertility managewhich can lead to defoliation and shoot ment is different than that of N. This death. Small, curled leaves are a sign nutrient moves into the root through of Z deficiency, which plays a role in diffusion and mass flow. This means Comments about this article? We want auxin formation and helps produce it must be within the active root zone to hear from you. Feel free to email us at normal-sized leaves, shoots and fruit. Z to be utilized by the tree. K is a cation article@jcsmarketinginc.com is critical for carbohydrate production and will respond differently based on that leads to nut fill and stress responses that can avoid other quality issues.

It’s worthwhile to correct a deficiency, but for orchards that are not deficient, a spray is probably not worth the investment this year.

K is best applied dry in the fall also as winter rains can help it move through the soil. Spring feeding is more of a ‘Band-Aid,’ Post said. If a K deficiency is present, and not corrected with a fall application, it should be added to the first irrigation and slowly applied throughout the growing season. Post said K is very important in increasing the concentration of carbohydrates to the fruit. In K-deficient situations, a decrease in nut size is evident.

Potassium also activates enzymes and plays a major role in water relations and Navel Orangeworm Mating Disruption plant resistance to pests and diseases.

Getting the job done year after year!

N is not always applied postharvest unless there was a heavy crop that removed more N than normal or leaf samples have shown a deficiency. If a small shot of N was not done postharvest, Post said at beginning of leaf-out, it should be applied with first irrigation with a goal of replenishing by mid-June.

Research done by UCCE Farm Advisor Franz Niederholzer suggests

MIST NOW

February 2024

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27

FRUIT AND NUT RESEARCH AND INFORMATION CENTER: DECISION-MAKING TOOLS

By JULIA STOVER-BLACKBURN | Director, Fruit and Nut Research and Information Center, Dept. of Plant Sciences, UC Davis

T

he Fruit and Nut Research and Information Center (FNRIC), part of the UC Davis Plant Sciences department, is a hub of information for fruit and nut growers, researchers and industry members. Apart from sharing general knowledge and updates on research projects, FNRIC provides practical decision-making tools tailored to support California growers. These tools are built on research conducted by scientists from UC Davis and UC ANR

and are designed to help growers make informed management decisions.

One of the most widely used decision-making tools provided by FNRIC is the chilling accumulation model.

Proper development of many fruits and nuts relies on sufficient chilling temperatures during winter. If these trees don’t receive enough chilling hours, buds may struggle to break dormancy, leading to physiological issues like delayed bloom, reduced fruit set and

diminished fruit quality.

Traditionally, growers and industry professionals have monitored the local accumulation of chilling hours from November onward. This tracking helps gauge orchard management needs and make comparisons with previous years’ weather conditions and crop loads. The FNRIC chilling accumulation model can be found at fruitsandnuts.ucdavis. edu/chill-calculator.

In addition to the chilling accumulation model, the FNRIC offers other weather-related models to assist growers in decision-making. Two examples are the almond hull split prediction model and the pistachio bloom forecast.

These models use current and historical weather data to forecast the timing of

Continued on Page 30

A screenshot of the FNRIC chill accumulation model (fruitsandnuts.ucdavis.edu/chill-calculator).

Chill hours below 45 degrees F as collected by the Davis CIMIS station are graphed. Data from the 2023-24 season are compared to data from the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons.

28

West Coast Nut

February 2024

One of the most widely used decisionmaking tools provided

by FNRIC is the chilling accumulation model.

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A screenshot of the FNRIC Nitrogen and Potassium Prediction Model for Pistachio (fruitsandnuts. ucdavis.edu/nitrogen-prediction). Pre-season recommended distribution percentages for nitrogen and potassium are graphed for April/May, June, July and August.

crucial physiological stages, aiding growers in planning management and harvest.

Beyond weather-related models, FNRIC offers a range of crucial decision-making tools, including a nitrogen and potassium prediction model for pistachio growers. The model incorporates pre-season recommendations and individual user data from mid-season leaf samples to allow growers to make informed decisions about the timing and quantity of fertilizer applications.

One of the newest decision-making tools offered by FNRIC is the almond rootstock database and comparison tool. This tool was developed as an aid for growers in making informed decisions about which rootstocks to choose for their orchards. By allowing them to filter options based on critical factors relevant to their planting site, the tool simplifies the decision-making process. Whether growers prioritize anchorage to enhance stability or need to address concerns related to phytophthora, this tool equips them with essential information to guide their planting decisions.

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‘Beyond weatherrelated models, FNRIC offers a range of crucial decisionmaking tools, including a nitrogen and potassium prediction model for pistachio growers.’

A screenshot of the FNRIC Almond Rootstock Database (fruitsandnuts.ucdavis.edu/rootstocks).

Rootstock data pages are listed alphabetically and can be filtered by qualities of interest.

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West Coast Nut

February 2024

A screenshot of the FNRIC Almond Rootstock Comparison Tool (fruitsandnuts.ucdavis.edu/rootstocks/rootstock-comparison). Data for up to three rootstocks can be compared side by side.

tion, pest management, harvesting and much more. Learn from UC pomology experts through lectures, lab exercises and field demonstrations during our five-day class, followed by an optional four-day field trip. The field tour will take you through fruit and nut breeding, growing and processing facilities in the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys. The first week of the course will be held March 11-15, 2024 at Foundation Plant Sciences and the Teaching Orchards on the UC Davis campus. The following week, the field tour will be held for an additional fee on March 1821, 2024. Scholarship applications close in mid-January. For more information, scan the QR code or email fruitsandnuts@ucdavis.edu.

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View from the Top Moving into the Hot Seat New California Farm Bureau President Shannon Douglass is ready to tackle the state’s biggest ag challenges.

By CATHERINE MERLO | Contributing Writer

I

t’s been a busy few weeks for Shannon Douglass. Since being elected president of the California Farm Bureau Federation in early December, she has been getting used to what she calls “a new normal.”

“I already had pretty crazy days before,” she said via Zoom.

On this mid-December day, she’s been up since 5 a.m., returning emails and texts and juggling meetings while sorting calves and handling work at the diversified farm she and her husband, Kelly Douglass, operate near the Glenn County town of Orland. By 9 a.m., she was sitting at CFBF’s office in Sacramento, 100 miles south of Douglass Ranch.

By 4:30 that afternoon, she planned to head back to Orland for dinner with her husband and their 12-year-old son.

Hectic as it’s been, “it’s a blessing the Farm Bureau’s elections happen in the wintertime when farming is calmer,” she said.

Elected at CFBF’s 105th annual meeting, held Dec. 1-6 in Reno, Nev., Douglass succeeds Jamie Johansson, who served for the past six years as the organization’s president. Douglass comes to the top role with a clear view of the responsibilities and challenges of leading California’s diverse agricultural industry and CFBF’s 29,000 members.

Although she wasn’t raised on a farm, this California native had an early interest in agriculture and participated in 4-H and Future Farmers of America as a teenager. She later earned ag-related bachelor’s and master’s degrees from California State University, Chico. In 32

West Coast Nut

February 2024

New statewide Farm Bureau President Shannon Douglass is a walnut grower in northern California (photo courtesy California Farm Bureau Federation.)

2003, soon after college, Douglass and her husband, whose family had once operated a dairy, launched their own Douglass Ranch. Slowly, she said, they built the operation, “getting very creative in finding property to graze cattle” and grow other crops. Today, they raise cattle and grow walnuts, corn and forage crops.

In the years after college, she supplemented her on-farm role by working for the Association of Pest Control Advisors, CSU Chico and CalAgJobs. She served as a director for the Glenn County Farm Bureau. She was chair of the California Farm Bureau’s Young Farmers and Douglass visits Washington, D.C. as part Ranchers State Committee. Douglass of the leadership training she’s pursued graduated from the Leadership Farm over the years (photo courtesy Shannon Bureau program and the California Douglass.)

Agricultural Leadership Program. She also participated in the American Farm Bureau Federation Leadership Partners the state, often for different reasons in Advocacy Leadership program. She is and challenges. It depends on the area a former director of the Glenn County they’re in. A ton of our members, priResource Conservation District. Moremarily in the Central Valley, are facing over, Douglass served three two-year challenges with SGMA [the Sustainable terms as first vice president of the CFBF Groundwater Management Act] and before her recent election to statewide adopting those plans. We’ve got others Farm Bureau president. farther north where there’s the possiWest Coast Nut recently spoke with bility finally for some increased water Douglass about her plans for her storage, which would be wonderful. two-year term leading CFBF, how the Further south, they face some different organization is making a difference for issues with Colorado River water. We’re farmers, and the challenges she sees for thankful CFBF has a fantastic staff the nation’s No. 1 ag state. working on water issues on the advocacy as well as legal side.

Q. What will be your top three There’s also a lot of interest on the priorities as CFBF president? labor front, and what we might do, and Water, of course, is tremendously important to our members up and down Continued on Page 34

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Continued from Page 32 looking at federal possibilities. That’s critically important to our members.

The flip side is the technology piece and how that’s going to be incorporated.

Last year, the CFBF worked with drones and how to better utilize them on farms.

The insurance issue is still really challenging for our members, where they can and can’t get insurance, particularly in our fire-prone areas.

Q. How will your experience as a walnut grower influence your CFBF role?

All our life experiences are important to bring to the table. The diversity of experiences is helpful because these are complex problems. I haven’t done a ton of work in the international trade space. It’s our experiences on the home front, the battles we’ve faced and the challenges we’ve overcome that will help frame the decisions we’ll make. Those

Douglass at the California Farm Bureau’s annual meeting in December 2023, where she was elected president of the statewide organization (photo courtesy California Farm Bureau Federation.)

struggles help provide a more complete balanced picture. Part of the driving force is understanding the challenges our farmers are facing.

Q. In 2013, you founded CalAgJobs, an online listing for California ag employers and job seekers.

Why? In what way has it helped farmers and other ag businesses?

I was kind of accidental into that space. I knew people, and I had people calling me, saying, “Do you know someone we could hire for this job?” A lot of people needed to reach ag people, and there wasn’t a great way to do that.

Traditional job boards were so generic and not so strong in the ag space. We need people with that ag background and experience. It’s been a cost-effective way for people to find the agriculturalists they need in a variety of roles. I still own it in partnership, but I’m only lightly involved now. Doing work for CFBF makes it quite difficult for me to do other work.

Q. What does it say that CFBF has elected a woman to serve as its president for the first time since it was founded in 1919?

There have been a lot of women involved in agriculture, on farms and in agribusiness, for a long time. Some outside of ag believe farming is something only men do. But those in the ag industry know women have been involved for a long time. There were very important women before me who were the trailblazers decades ago, even making sure there was that seat at the table. This just

34

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February 2024

“It’s hard to ignore the regulatory challenge we face in California,” says Douglass, here on her farm near Orland (photo by Jim Morris.)

reflects the changing face of agriculture.

The last census numbers showed over 30% of farms in the country are owned or managed by women. That number’s been increasing. I’m just glad to be one of them.

Q. What are some examples of how CFBF has really made a difference for farmers, ranchers and other ag businesses in the last three or four years?

One that’s fairly fresh was the work we did to help defeat Proposition 15 in 2020. That initiative would have allowed reassessment and higher property taxes on a variety of business properties, including agricultural structures and improvements. If it had passed, Prop 15 would have resulted in an incredible increase in the tax burden for farms and ranches across California.

We’ve also worked a lot on the insurance front to help expand farmers’ access so they are eligible for FAIR Plan insurance coverage in high-risk properties that no one is insuring. We were able to make some changes through SB 11 that expanded the ability of farmers, wineries, vineyards and others to access and navigate the state-run Fair Plan. There’s been tremendous change in the insurance industry in California because of the fires of the last few years.

If you can’t get insurance on your house, your farm or your business, it drastically reduces your ability to do business.

Q. What are the biggest challenges facing California agriculture?

It’s really hard to ignore the regu-

latory challenge we face in California.

A 2018 study from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo showed that, in the previous 10 years, regulatory costs for produce growers on the Central Coast had increased by 795%. The study said that, since 2006, new state and federal rules have imposed significantly higher regulatory burdens on growers, specifically related to food safety, water quality, labor wages, air quality, and worker health and safety.

SGMA has brought additional regulations. All these bring more paperwork.

Whether you’re hiring someone or you’re having to do it, it’s a tremendous burden our farmers face. It’s tough to do business in California with those regulatory challenges, not to mention things like our fuel bills and other things that are more expensive than in some of our competing states.

Q. What do you see as opportunities?

allows us to grow such an abundance and diversity of food. We have this incredible access to ports, so important in trade. I often think about our forefathers who trailblazed this state. It was not an easy thing to do. There is still some element of that grit among many Californians, a genetic piece from those who were willing to make that trek to this new frontier and take on the challenges. We’re the type of people who are ready for challenges. We’re going to find ways to do things a little differently and perhaps better. Farm Bureau is going to be a huge part of helping our farmers in the years to come. I strongly feel that, while there are huge challenges ahead, the future is very bright for California farmers.

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Pilot Projects Fail, So CDPR Moves Forward with Statewide Advance Notification Proposal

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owing to continued pressure from the environmental justice community and anti-pesticide activists, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR) is now proposing a statewide approach to their effort to provide advance notification to the public on pesticide applications. This is despite pilot projects in four counties that failed

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February 2024

to demonstrate an outcry from the public that reside in the immediate areas where the pesticides are being applied.

The proposed regulation will require all agricultural use Notice of Intents (NOIs) to be electronically submitted to the County Ag Commissioner (CAC) via the Cal Ag Permits system (www.CalAgPermits.org). In addition, the proposed action will require all NOIs for soil fumigation to be electronically submitted to the local CAC 48 hours before the intended start of the application. The amendments will also add specificity to the information required for an NOI and will require specific information from an NOI required for the use of a restricted material requiring a permit for the production of an agricultural commodity to be electronically submitted to CDPR via www.calagpermits.org, at least 48 hours in advance of the intended start of a soil fumigation and at least 24 hours in advance of the intended start of a non-soil fumigant application. The proposed regulations also required CDPR to provide specific NOI information to the public upon receipt or as soon as practicable.

This is where the issue begins. We all know CDPR’s charge is to regulate pesticides. In their own words1, “California’s approach is based on a strong scientific foundation.

The State has built the most comprehensive state pesticide regulation program in the nation. Our task is to ensure that pesticides are used safely. Our standards are uncompromising, like our commitment to protect people and the environment. CDPR is not only the premier state agency for pesticide regulation in the U.S. but has built a reputation for world-class science and regulatory decision-making that makes them the acknowledged peer of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) and Health Canada.” Few would disagree with this claim. But if this is true, what is the need for this regulation? Would CDPR ever register or allow the use of a product that will negatively impact a farmworker, nearby resident or innocent bystander? Why isn’t CDPR standing up and defending their own existing regulatory process and the protections it put in place?

In December, CDPR held a public hearing in Clovis, Calif. for the proposed regulation. It was a travesty, and in my humble opinion did nothing more than check the box that CDPR can claim they held a public hearing.

But let’s be abundantly clear: This was extremely disappointing and a missed opportunity. More than 50 people attended the public hearing in Clovis.

CDPR began the hearing by stating they were not making any presentation, would not answer any questions and would only take public testimony limited to two minutes per person. For the next two hours, environmental justice advocates, farmworkers and anti-pesticide groups ripped CDPR with unfounded claims and outlandish accusations against farmers and the use of pesticides. Commenters claimed pesticides caused valley fever and asthma without one single reference or shred of evidence to support these claims. Another claimed the fallowed lands in western Fresno County were

a result of pesticide applications that were so invasive they have contaminated the land so much it can no longer be farmed. Again, without any reference or support. Another claimed pesticide use in Fresno County was “fading her clothes” within four or five days of purchase. Each advocate kept on claiming they were being exposed to toxic levels of pesticides that were the cause of cancer and every ill heath effect they had.

And CDPR said nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Never once during the hearing did CDPR explain their robust pesticide registration process which, by the way, is the toughest in the world. Nor did they ever defend themselves. As a representative of the California Cotton Ginners and Growers Association and the Western agricultural Processors Association, I was in attendance and spoke in opposition to the proposed regulation. At the beginning, I stated, “DPR is doing a disservice to the people in attendance here tonight and to all

parties involved. DPR must explain the lengthy and robust process that every single pesticide goes through to become registered. The restrictions on the labels come after years of testing and thorough review by the scientists at DPR and EPA. I do not believe DPR would allow the use of any pesticide that would cause harm to any farmworker, resident or innocent bystander.

So why is this regulation needed if the necessary precautions to ensure a safe environment are already in place? It is a question CDPR needs to stand up and answer.”

References Pesticide Info: What You Should Know About Pesticides – How Does California Regulate Pesticide Use?, CDPR publication, https://www.cdpr. ca.gov/docs/dept/factshts/main2.pdf.

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From the Orchard Mitch Moreda is Focused on Closing the Gap Between Retail and Grower Almond Prices Moreda grew up on an almond farm but decided to pursue a career on the processing side of the industry.

By LORI FAIRCHILD | Contributing Writer

M

itch Moreda, in-shell marketing manager and grower representative for almond processor RPAC LLC, grew up in the almond orchards on his family farm. But when it came time to choose a career path, Moreda decided to work on the other side of the shell in marketing and processing.

While he still keeps a foot in the family farm, helping when needed, his main focus now is on getting the best price he can for the almonds growers entrust RPAC to sell. Moreda, in his Almond Leadership Presentation for the Almond Board of California, recently was a voice for growers shedding light on the disparity between retail prices and grower prices, which is large and only continues to grow, playing a role in making it difficult for almond growers to continue to turn a profit.

Moreda may not spend every day tending the orchards, but his roots as a grower and his current position on the marketing side of the industry give him a unique perspective. We asked him to share his thoughts on the current and future state of the almond industry with West Coast Nut.

Q. Tell us a little bit about your family history in farming and how you got into growing nuts.

Actually, the same year I was born, 1996, is when my parents first planted their almonds. So, growing up, that’s all I knew for a long time. We do all our own farming. It has been such a big part of my life from the beginning.

Continued on Page 42

40

West Coast Nut

February 2024

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Continued from Page 40 Both sides of my grandparents were actually dairymen. My family was the only one that planted almonds. So, generations of farmers, but just in different industries.

Q. What led your parents to get into the almond industry?

They wanted to do their own thing, and they saw the investment and opportunity. So, they took the risk back then. I think it was like 80 cents a pound back then, so it’s a lot different than what it is today. I know farming practices and much more have changed drastically and just continue to become better and better over time.

Q. How did you decide that this is what you wanted to do?

Growing up farming you tend to adopt the lifestyle and become passionate about it. Initially, it was to study plant science and to attain my PCA license as I did. From there, just meeting people and being more interested in other things within the realm of almonds and agriculture, I found myself after college gravitating toward the marketing side. So, I came from the background of a grower to now helping market almonds with RPAC and the Parreira family out of Los Banos.

I’ve been in the trade and sales side of things for four years now.

Q. How is that different than being on the growing side and are you still involved on the growing side with your family?

I’m still involved, but much less now due to my career with RPAC. I’ll help out when I can, but I’m definitely not on the ground every day like I used to be.

What I do now is more buyer and grower relations and knowing what the market’s doing, market trends and price discovery. It’s less of just trying to figure out how to be a good farmer, producing and being out in the field.

It’s more about being the best we can be from the beginning of the process to loading product onto a ship. Internationally, I handle our in-shell products, 42

West Coast Nut

February 2024

Mitch Moreda, in-shell marketing manager and grower representative for almond processor RPAC LLC, presented information about almond retail pricing as part of the Almond Leadership Program. Moreda says retail prices don’t represent the value that almonds provide to American consumers and growers there is a disparity between prices paid at retail and what growers receive (all photos courtesy M. Moreda.)

which mainly go into India and China.

There is a lot of customer management involved. Making sure we do business with good people we trust and produce a high-quality product for them. It is in everyone’s interest to maintain a good business relationship going both ways.

Q. Having been on both sides of the industry, how do you think the almond industry has evolved?

I think growers are more in tune with what it takes to have high-quality, high-production and long-lived orchards. We now have better cultural practices, nutrient and irrigation management, and knowing what the trees need.

Q. What things keep you up at night about the almond industry?

Luckily, we do not have customer defaults often, but this is a well-known

risk in the industry and definitely keeps me up at night. Defaults are probably the biggest fear of processors as they can issue extensive costs to the business, so we need to know we are working with people that want to uphold contracts and be true to their word even when times are rough in the market. That would be the biggest thing for processors because once you ship those almonds out and they’re on the other side of the world, it can be pretty difficult.

Other than having dreams of strip spraying and having a tree limb smacking me in the face jolting me awake, I think another thing that keeps me awake giving me and my team an internal drive is trying to do the best we can to keep our growers happy.

That’s what we strive to do because it’s a competitive landscape and our competition is extensive and they’re doing

their best as well. So, just to bring back good grower returns for our growers showing that we put in the work.

Q. What are you most hopeful about for the future as far as growing and moving almonds?

I think the next 5 to 10 years have a really good outlook for almonds. I think the price will get back to a stable and profitable level. Almonds are probably the most marketable nut in the world, and we produce them better than any other place in the world. I think it is a great industry, and it will bounce back, and I’m looking forward to those times.

Q. Talk a little bit about the water situation in California.

I’m not a water expert, but obviously, water is one of our biggest assets.

We need it, and there’s a lot of politics involved in it. It is the biggest factor in how many almonds we can produce and how much some of these growers are paying for their water. Hopefully, that all turns out well, but I think it will always be an issue one way or another.

Q. What do you think needs to happen to put the almond industry in the best possible direction for the future?

which is suppressing demand and the price, but if you look at it the other way, if we were able to reach better trade agreements internationally as we can see Australia has with China and India, for example, we could see a substantial increase in demand. If we got support on that end, that would open up the floodgates to bring more demand for fair prices, and that would help get rid of some of the supply and bring supply and demand back to stability.

Also, the dollar has been so strong for quite a while now, and eventually, if the dollar starts to weaken to

Continued on Page 44

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Continued from Page 43 something more normal, it could give international markets more buying power. That would be extremely beneficial because 80% of our almonds are exported.

Also, almonds coming out. It’s sad for growers that have to take them out, but it’s also healthy for the market just to bring that supply back down to make it profitable for the long term.

And the Almond Board just marketing and getting better with their strategy of where they’re marketing, where they’re spending their dollars to get their best return on investment.

That’s just getting better and better, and I think we’ll hit markets that were untapped and have great potential to increase the demand and get things back to where they need to be.

Q. Talk to us a little bit from a marketing perspective about what the Almond Board is doing and how that helps.

They help fund a lot of research studies and promote almonds in different markets of the world, and they al-

locate money to different markets, and they figure out where would be the best return on investment. And right now, it seems like India is kind of the big talking point. India is amazing in how many almonds they can consume over there. And if you look at it in a perpound basis, it’s far below what the U.S. consumes. So, if India were to spend a bit more money on almonds with their 1.4 billion people, their consumption rate could see a substantial increase.

Q. What do you think are the biggest assets of the almond industry?

Around 80% of the world’s almonds come from California. We have the best growing climate for almonds, and the almond itself is probably the most marketable nut because it can be produced into such a large variety of items from flour to snacking. They’re in everything.

They’re in every aisle of the grocery store. They have a long shelf life, about two years, and it’s just a healthy nut. So,

50

the nut has so many things going for it.

Q. What kind of advice would you give to other young people interested in getting into the almond industry?

Depends on what they want to do.

Being a grower is a large, long-term investment, a lot of ups and downs. And depends on what part of the industry, just as a whole.

People are passionate about this industry, either farming or on the processing and marketing side. I feel like it’s an extremely small-knit community and just meeting people and being a team player for the almond industry as a whole. People respect that and people are really passionate about it, and you should respect that.

And just learn. Whether it’s farming or in marketing or processing, everyone is trying to adapt and become better, and that’s what’s fun about it. I believe your time would be wasted in life if you’re not improving and adapt-

ing and looking to take on the challenges ahead. I believe the challenges are going to become greater and greater, so instead of thinking of it as a big burden and being a cynic, maybe look at it as another feat to accomplish to become stronger.

Q. Talk a little bit about those changes you’ve seen in the past decade or so.

Irrigation efficiencies. Back in the day, they used to do larger irrigations less frequently, and now we do more frequent irrigations with less volume to “spoon feed” the trees. My family adopted drip irrigation from a solid set system, so we are better able to spoon feed and irrigate immediately after the almonds are shook and on the ground to mitigate stressing the trees.

And on the marketing side? Luckily, I’m with a team who has many years of experience. When things go wrong, they can go really wrong,

Continued on Page 46

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you coming into the industry?

Continued from Page 45 which is why we are always on high alert to avoid any of the pitfalls learned throughout the many years. Knowing who and who not to do business with is crucial and takes experience. As a processor, we are known to be proactive on improvements and keep up with the new technologies to create a better product.

Q. On the farming side, lowdust harvesters and self-driving tractors are great innovations, but what are the recent innovations on the processing side?

Electronic sorting has made leaps and bounds within the last 10 years.

We’re able to process to a high specification with electronic sorters. The technologies that keep coming out to be more efficient in sorting out almonds have been really great.

Q. Who would you say was the biggest influence or mentor for

Initially, it was Dirk Ulrich, who is an independent PCA/CCA and very well-known in the area. He’s extremely experienced and well-versed, especially with almonds. I appreciate his passion and attitude working with his growers. That’s how I initially got interested and went on my route to study plant science and ag business at Cal Poly and attained my PCA license.

After Cal Poly, it’d be Paul Ewing, who I work under now at RPAC. Paul has been in the processing and sales/ marketing side for over 20 years, and I am extremely grateful for his mentorship and expertise.

Q. Looking toward the future, do you see anything technology-wise coming down the pike that’s going to make a difference either in the grower area or in processing?

Regarding farming, I think it’s exciting what GUSS has accomplished by having driverless spray rigs and continuing that route of automation

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because it seems extremely efficient to not have a body there operating. The liability of having someone working is not as efficient, and having more things like that is revolutionary.

For the processing side, we’re very efficient at this point, but we are always looking for improvements.

Q. What advice do you have for growers looking to process and market their nuts?

It’s always been a competitive landscape for processors but especially in today’s environment. I think growers are seeing the differences of who they’re shipping their nuts to in times like this where it’s much more difficult.

I would just recommend growers to work with strong performers and those they can trust who have been consistent through ups and downs.

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Start the Season Off Right

Fertilize with confidence when chill is inadequate and water is decent.

By RICH KREPS | CCA, SSp., Contributing Writer

C

old and wet. We need quite a bit of both when we are talking about tree nuts. The time under 45 degrees F accumulating chill hours is our way of measuring the tree’s ability to shut down for a bit and rest. That manna from heaven in the way of water when it’s raining recharges our soils, aquifers and deep moisture. As that barometer drops and clouds roll in, our hope transforms into reality when the

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West Coast Nut

February 2024

rain arrives. If it’s cold at the same time, we get the double whammy. But what if it’s not?

I was just fortunate enough to take a break in Hawaii on Kauai. It’s one of the most beautiful places and has two main climates. The temperature is almost always perfect with minimal swings sitting in the middle of the pacific on the equator. Kawaikini is a dome volcano that has grown from the ocean floor and sticks up 5200 feet above sea level and creates quite a rain shadow. Any given year it can be the wettest point on earth. But after all that rain falls the leeward side of the island is what they call the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. It is fairly dry and more barren of the Jurassic Park vegetation you see on the north. My observation that is supposed to relate to this article is the fact that proper moisture and temperature allow vegetation to flourish. Trees, bushes, ferns and vines just don’t ever shut down. Being tropical, there is a constant supply of moisture and minerals in that environment.

Let’s relate that to chill. When decent moisture comes in winter, and sunny days that don’t get cold enough, our trees don’t exactly take a winter nap. The leaves may fall off with shorter days, but the roots continue to flush and search for nutrients in warmer soils. Energy deficits begin.

Aboveground, we try to calculate our chill accumulation by degree days at specific levels. That ambient temperature is just fine with limited solar radiation. However, when we have bluebird days and the sun is bright and warm, our bud wood, stems, branches and trunks warm up a bit. This sends confusing physiological signals to the trees. Think about skiing in 25-degree (F) weather where the sun is still shining. It’s cold outside, but our faces still burn. Our trees aren’t getting the total chill that ambient temperature models predict. Soils can heat up as well. I’m going to ask you to prove it to yourself. Go buy a thermal gun from your favorite hardware store.

It should only cost you about $20 to $30 but it’s a cool tool to have. The next bright sunny day go out into your orchard at 1:00 p.m. Shoot the thermal gun at the shaded side of your trees and then at the full sun side. Do this for 20 to 30 trees

and the trend will present itself. I’ve seen as much as 6- to 9-degree (F) differences. Now go back to your models. 45 degrees F gets you a one for one point in chill hours. At 45 to 55 degrees F, you get half that. If you are 9 degrees F warmer on half the tree (the sunny side), you may go from 50% less to almost no chill at all based off the model.

Now for the water. When we do get it, anaerobic conditions can hinder phosphorus conversion from the ‘poly’ form to the ‘ortho’ form. Other nutrients can get pushed through the root zone. If the roots are still flushing like they were in December this year in many areas, that root ball is depleting the available nutrients in the immediate area. We must feed the trees.

I’m sure this warrants an eye roll from a grower hearing this from a fertilizer salesman, but it seems logical to me.

Our trees start out at the highest on the nutrient curves with nitrogen and phosphorus in the early spring. They take a lot of that N up in the postharvest period. With our almond budgets reduced the last two years and even pistachio prices coming down, we tend to cut nutrition. Walnuts have been suffering for a while. With a little rebound coming in two of those crops, we need to think about feeding early. If we start the year off with a nutritional deficit, we have already affected our yields. Feed them an orthophosphate early. Keep them happy and with enough energy to optimize bloom. Set yourself up for success and don’t shoot yourself in the foot early.

In years like this that may not have adequate chill but still decent water, start your season off right. Don’t skimp on the early P. When the vegetative buds start to swell, add some N. I recommend we never add more than 13 units. If trees can only absorb 10 units per week, with a 70% NUE that should be the rate. Balance your P and Ca numbers based on required ratios. Ca is almost 1:1 with N, and cells need it for division and cell wall strength. I like to add some magnesium at about three-quarters leaf -out to ramp up the chlorophyll levels. You can do this every week through April.

Keep them pushing hard and give yourself the best chance at

optimizing yield. With small shots more often, I find in my calculations after April I’ve actually used less and have better results. When prices dip, yield must be maximized. If both drop, next winter will seem longer, darker and colder.

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February 2024

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49

“ONE OF THE CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO BEE HEALTH AND BEE LOSS IS BEEKEEPERS ARE HAVING A REALLY DIFFICULT TIME FINDING FORAGE FOR OUR BEES IN THE OFF-SEASON THAT PROVIDES THEM WITH ADEQUATE NUTRITION.” –PHILIP RUSSELL, CALIFORNIA STATE BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION No reduction in bee colonies is expected this year, according to Brittney Goodrich, assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Management at UC Davis (all photos courtesy Farmers Communication Exchange.)

ALMOND PRICES, BEE POPULATIONS EXPECTED TO REBOUND IN 2024

By STEVE PASTIS | Contributing Writer

B

ee populations fluctuate more dramatically every year and bee losses have gone up dramatically over the past 10 years,” said Philip Russell, president of the California State Beekeepers Association. “We don’t necessarily have a shortage of bees when it comes to satisfying California’s almond pollination needs, but there is always a shortage of ‘good-quality’ bees.

Prices are expected to remain high for high-quality pollinators.”

No reduction in bee colonies is expected this year, according to Brittney Goodrich, assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Management at UC Davis. She 50

West Coast Nut

February 2024

said there were about 2.6 million bee colonies available for almond growers last year and expects 2.7 million colonies will be available to meet the demand in 2024.

A yearly increase in bee colonies is rare, however, even a small one. Beekeepers have lost about 30% of their colonies in the U.S. every year since 2006, according to several studies.

“Beekeepers have a hard time keeping bees alive,” said Goodrich. “The varroa mite is the main pest but there are also a lot of other issues, such as lack of proper nutrition.”

“One of the contributing factors to bee health and bee loss is beekeepers

are having a really difficult time finding forage for our bees in the off-season that provides them with adequate nutrition,” agreed Russell.

“Beekeepers are continually losing access to lands that were previously available to use for foraging our bees.

This is the result of many factors including drought and urban sprawl.

But also, there seems to be a movement against commercial bees, and it is becoming increasingly more difficult to find landowners who will allow bees on their lands to forage.

“Beekeepers coming in from out of state are also faced with high freight and other logistical costs that can limit the availability of bees,” he said. “Here in California, beekeepers are facing several challenges including pesticide exposure and difficulties in controlling pests like the varroa mite.

Many of us are also losing hives to theft and bears.

“All of these factors force the beekeeper to increase the amount of nutritional substitutes and medicinal treatments into the bees,” he continued. “These challenges also increase the amount of times the bees have to be moved to find natural resources at specific times of the year. More inputs and more moving means more costs to the

Continued on Page 52

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Planting a bee-friendly cover crop that will bloom before the almond trees do is recommended each season for maintaining pollinator health.

storage facilities will become increasingly important in protecting bee populations. More and more beekeepers have been moving their colonies into boxes they store in warehouses to protect them from the weather, and from the varroa mite.

“If outdoor temperatures become warm enough during the winter months (above 50 degrees F), bees will break cluster and venture out of the hive to perform cleansing flights,” according to an article from the Bee Informed Partnership (BIP). “This can reduce colony size over time since a portion of the bees who leave will not return. Those bees will also not be replaced until the queen begins laying again the following spring.”

Storing bees indoors also limits the damage caused by the varroa mite, according to BIP. Colonies kept in indoor storage facilities stop producing eggs, larvae, and pupae until they are returned to warmer conditions. Varroa mites are unable to reproduce during the bees’ “broodless period” and are much more vulnerable to chemical control treatments.

The Almond Market

Continued from Page 50 beekeeper that must be passed along to all pollination customers including the almond industry.”

“Almond trees bloom a couple of months a year, then there’s nothing there,” said Goodrich. “It’s hard to feed bees.”

The most common food substitutes when there is no pollen or nectar

available are pollen patties and sugar, according to Goodrich.

“Obviously, these food substitutes aren’t as good as the real thing: getting their food from a variety of flowers,” she said.

Indoor Storage of Bees

Goodrich believes high-tech indoor

“The almond industry has certainly been struggling with almond prices,” said Goodrich, “but I don’t expect that to last. We are marketing almonds all over the world. Tariffs have been dropped from key countries. As the supply chain works itself out, more almonds will be shipped out of the U.S. Hopefully, we’ll see some higher almond prices going forward.”

There are ways a grower can lower

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February 2024

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expenses, but not all of them are good ideas in the long term. Goodrich said almond growers have the option of substituting less effective bee colonies in their orchards or placing fewer colonies per acre.

“You can find cost savings there,” she said, “but you’re really in this with your beekeeper for the long haul. You should really work to maintain that relationship. Keep your beekeeper happy and you will keep them for a long time.”

Instead, Goodrich advised growers to “pay part of the pollination fee up front” and explained sometimes a beekeeper will give you a discount.

She also recommended “planting a bee-friendly cover crop that will bloom before the almond trees do.”

not to spray when bees are in the orchards and especially when bloom is occurring. They recommend application of any pesticide including fungicides should be done late in the afternoon or preferably at night. I tell growers even if they were applying water, if it is during the day, all they are doing is knocking the bees out of the trees which doesn’t help the bees, the beekeeper or the grower. These practices are up to the individual growers, but we would encourage any actions that can limit pesticide exposure to bees.”

One thing that can make a difference for an almond grower interested in ensuring they have top-quality bees for pollination by making flower cover crops available is to participate in the ‘Seeds for Bees’ program, according to Assistance from the Russell.

Almond Industry “The Seeds for Bees program pro“The almond industry is already vides almond growers with free seeds doing a lot to help,” said Russell. “The that can be planted in their orchards in almond industry has promoted best advance of harvest,” he said. “Bees can Antles_WCN_Ad1C_101920.pdf 1 10/19/20 11:47 PMinto the orchard early and management practices regarding what be brought

C O N T R O L L E D

the flowering cover crops give them top quality forage prior to, during and after bloom, which can be extremely beneficial to bee performance.

“This is a program sponsored by Project Apis m,” he added. “If you haven’t already talked to Josette Lewis at the Almond Board about this program, we would encourage you to do so. This really is a win-win program for both almond growers and beekeepers.

“The almond industry is also helpful in the fight against groups who are attacking the commercially managed honeybee industry. None of us want native bees or other pollinators to be hurt, but without the beekeeping industry, the entire food chain is threatened.

These are the bees that need protecting right now for the security of our future.”

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53

A WORD FROM THE BOARD: ALMOND BOARD OF CALIFORNIA

WHAT’S NEW WITH POLLINATOR STEWARDSHIP

GROWER RESOURCES AND AN UPDATE ON ENDANGERED SPECIES

By ALMOND BOARD OF CALIFORNIA | Contributing Writer

Two pending Endangered Species Act listings for pollinators in almonds may be decided in 2024 and could impact a grower’s management practices (all photos courtesy Almond Board of California.)

D

uring tough economic times like the almond industry has experienced over the last two years, finding ways to add value to your operation can be a proactive way to make the best of the situation.

Establishing pollinator habitat, for example, is a value proposition California almond growers can do that helps boost the health and longevity of orchards and provides vital support to honeybees.

The opportunity for growers to get

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February 2024

involved in this initiative is greater than ever. California almond growers are eligible to receive free cover crop seed through the Seeds for Bees program through Project Apis.m. Additionally, growers have two cost-sharing opportunities they can engage in. Both the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) have programs in conjunction with Pollinator Partnership, each with over $1 million of funds available to growers.

“Growers recognize the value of pollinators,” said Josette Lewis, chief scientific officer at ABC. “They pay a lot of money for those bees, and they’ve really responded to the opportunity to demonstrate that value. In just a few years, we’ve seen a threefold increase in the planting of pollinator specific cover crops.”

“Research sponsored by the Almond

Continued on Page 56

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Pollen and flower viability are both dependent on the availability of nutrients to these reproductive organs. As the amount of viable pollen and receptive flowers decrease, so does nut set and yield.

The longer your almond flowers and pollen stay fresh, the better your chances for a heavy crop. Providing foliar nutrition at pink bud and bloom timings ensures that the pollen and flowers have the resources they need to be better able to handle desiccation and temperature stresses, maximize viability and pollination, and set more flowers, providing the yields you need to remain profitable.

The right nutrients applied during the pink bud and bloom timings can make all the difference. Vigor-Cal-Bor-Moly, a sugarcomplexed calcium foliar combined with boron and molybdenum, is an excellent fit for pink bud and bloom time sprays to improve nut set and quality. Supplemental boron ensures successful germination and pollen tube development—also known as nut set. Molybdenum improves pollen count and pollen viability, is a key component of nitrogen metabolizing enzymes and others, and facilitates stress responses, vascular development, and growth.

Symspray, Agro-K’s seaweed product, when applied during pink bud and bloom can further reduce the effects of environmental stress on the flowers and pollen, extending bloom duration and increasing pollen receptivity.

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Continued from Page 54 Board of California (ABC) at UC Davis shows honeybees are healthier coming out of orchards that have a blooming cover crop,” said Lewis. “It provides more diverse nutrition before and after bloom if there is a pollinator-specific cover crop in between those tree rows.”

Beekeepers also favor orchards that provide additional forage for bees, sometimes with a slightly reduced cost of service or providing better-quality hives. Groundwater recharge, soil quality, water retention and beneficial insects for biocontrol are also advantages growers have gleaned from pollinator habitat in and around their orchards.

And the value doesn’t stop at the grower level. Almond processors are beginning to see more buyer preferences with how the tree nut is grown in relation to pollinator stewardship, allowing handlers to position themselves differently on the market. Some handlers are even providing financial incentives to growers who implement these practices.

Endangered Species Causing Threat

With over 373,000 almond acres certified under Bee Friendly Farming, ABC supports these efforts among growers by reducing entry barriers or obstacles they may face. One of those obstacles on the agenda for 2024 is listings under the state and federal Endangered Species Act (ESA).

The almond industry is facing two listings that will affect

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West Coast Nut

February 2024

the way growers can conduct their business that may impact endangered pollinators. At the state level, four native bumblebees are being considered by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife under the ESA, while the monarch butterfly is being considered at the federal level.

So, how does this impact growers? If these considerations go forward, it will affect pesticide registrations and how products can be used by growers to control problematic pests.

Additionally, growers who have implemented a pollinator habitat can be up for legal risk if the habitat or pollinators are accidentally harmed through normal farming practices, despite the voluntary investments made by growers to support these species.

“We tend to get blamed, oftentimes unfairly, for a lot of issues going on in the world of pollinators, so it becomes an important reputation management concern for our industry, and one where we don’t want consumers to pause in purchasing almonds if they think we’re not doing right by pollinators because as we’ve seen, the data shows you guys are really stepping up and doing a lot,” Lewis noted.

Collaborating to Protect the Industry

To protect growers who have added habitat, ABC has teamed up with other ag groups to safeguard those operations. Most notably, the Almond Alliance has joined ABC in actively engaging on these issues to prove “grower practices can actually be a net benefit to our species, our ecosystem and to the health of our resources,” said Aubrey Bettencourt, president and CEO of the Almond Alliance.

Bimonthly over the last year, Lewis and Bettencourt have met with ag partners and state and federal Fish and Wildlife Services to develop realistic goals and ensure the listings are “not written in an overly robust or regulatory way that would limit our ability to continue to support the species,” Bettencourt said.

One of the solutions they will be putting forward is a Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances, or CCAA, in conjunction with the state equivalent, a Voluntary Local Program. Under these federal and state programs, the almond industry would be acknowledged for voluntarily contributions to protect monarch and native bees and, in exchange, growers can receive protection from legal action from normal farming operations. A CCAA must be completed before the species is listed, which could happen by September 2024. The coalition of ag groups, led by the almond industry, anticipates submitting their application on behalf of the industry over the coming months.

Parallel to these efforts, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is in the process of reevaluation of how they factor endangered species listings into the pesticide registration process. Lawsuits require EPA to move more quickly to account for endangered species.

“Depending on how the listings of the monarch and the bumblebees are done, that gets taken into consideration in the new ESA review process,” Bettencourt said.

Since this new process at the EPA is on the same timeline as the endangered species listings, the Alliance is pushing to allow for more authority from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Joint Efforts

The Almond Alliance has partnered with industry groups to protect growers who have planted pollinator forage if ESA listings for bees or monarch butterflies are created.

Service, which will be an added benefit to the almond industry in the long run.

“Interestingly enough, the Fish and Wildlife Authority has the ability to acknowledge a process that EPA is

doing, but EPA unfortunately does not have the ability to acknowledge when Fish and Wildlife does something like a CCAA or Safe Harbor,” Bettencourt said.

Positively, ABC and the Alliance are optimistic for these outcomes because possibly for the first time ever, agencies and growers are working together to write these initiatives. Unlike most regulations placed on growers, the Alliance does not foresee state and federal agencies senselessly restricting growers and their habitat efforts and that’s likely because of the good rapport already built by the almond industry.

And, to the benefit of the industry, these listings are happening at the same time.

“For the first time ever, we have the right alignment of financing, both public and private,” Bettencourt concluded.

“We have the right alignment of actors, both state and federal. We actually have a really common goal.”

Comments about this article? We want to hear from you. Feel free to email us at article@jcsmarketinginc.com

400 S 200 E, EMERY, UT 84522 | (435) 286-2222 | (800) 846-2817 CALL ERNIE AT (661) 304-2676

February 2024

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57

Northern Almond View: February 2024

By FRANZ NIEDERHOLZER | UCCE Farm Advisor, Colusa and Sutter/Yuba Counties

Irrigation water should go on when the wet-bulb, not ambient air temperature, reaches the critical temperature (all photos by F. Niederholzer.)

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W

ell, here we go into the 2024 almond growing season. With soft pricing (from what I’ve heard) along with other economic challenges (interest rates, rising costs, etc.), this very well could be another tough year for many growers and/or operations. Careful focus on the key issues of orchard production will give growers and their advising PCAs and CCAs the best shot at a decent to good year.

Since growers can’t control market price, producing a large, quality crop seems to be the best way forward. The goal is the most efficient production of a large, quality crop that delivers the best net return to growers. Maximum net returns, not maximum production, is the goal.

Weather for the late winter and early spring is forecast to be warmer and wetter than average up and down the Central Valley. That should be good news for reservoirs, surface water allocations and irrigation water quality in many parts of the state. But, if it’s a wet and warm late winter/early spring, disease risk for nut growers will be up, especially almond growers given almond bloom timing. We’ll see how the weather turns out (the forecast I read was written in late December 2023), but it’s a good idea to be prepared. With any luck, the warmer weather forecast will mean a lack of cold temperatures that hit the Sacramento Valley growers particularly hard in 2022 and again in 2023.

damage occurs. If frost is in the forecast, the warmest orchards will be those with short vegetation (no more than 2” tall) with moist and dark top soil (top 12” of soil) that will absorb heat from the sun during the day and release it at night. If the cold snap extends for several days and the soil surface dries and lightens in color, it’s a good idea to give a short shot of irrigation water to rewet the top 12” of soil.

Frost can also lead to bacterial blast damage, most importantly at bloom.

Bees

Rent bees not boxes. If it’s a wet bloom, as forecast, the difference between a poor or good crop could be one afternoon of good bee activity. Hive strength is key to that activity. Stronger hives are more active and fly at slightly cooler temperatures. A 12-frame hive collects more pollen (visits more flowers) than three four-frame hives. If hive strength (for example, average number of frames of bees per hive) is not stipulated in the pollination contract, the

grower can’t be certain of the needed bee activity during bloom. This could hurt nut set and overall yield.

Growers and beekeepers should also communicate regarding hive placement and practices to support bee health. Under good conditions, placing bees farther than a quarter of a mile apart risks reducing nut set and crop yield in areas furthest from hives. Hives should be placed in sunny locations so the hives warm quickly as the sun rises, encouraging earlier foraging. Hives should not be directly sprayed by any application (fungicide, herbicide, etc.) and, wherever possible, fungicide spraying should be delayed until later in the afternoon when pollen has been stripped from the flowers so spray doesn’t move to the hive with pollen. At bloom, the only products in the spray tank should be fungicides. Adjuvants, insecticides and/ or nutrients in a bloom spray risk harming bees and hive health. Maintaining the best possible bee/hive health is

Continued on Page 60

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Almonds • Pecans • Pistachios • Walnuts

Irrigation

Contact a mobile water lab (see contact info in the credits) to inspect your irrigation systems and direct attention to areas of the system that need to be maintained. This helps both water and nutrient distribution in the orchard.

Frost

Irrigation water should go on when the wet-bulb, not ambient air temperature, reaches the critical temperature. If the air is dry (low dew point), turning on the sprinklers can result in evaporation of irrigation water and further cooling of the orchard. When this happens, the wet-bulb temperature is the limit to evaporative cooling, and this why it’s so important to start sprinklers before the wet-bulb temperature reaches the critical point where freeze

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A wet and warm late winter/early spring may mean disease risk for nut growers will be up, especially almond growers given almond bloom timing.

Continued from Page 59 needed for a successful crop, especially with the expected weather this year.

Pests

By now, sanitation shaking and poling should be finished or almost finished. However, worms can survive in mummies on the orchard floor, so the job isn’t done until mummies are destroyed. The downed mummy nuts should be windrowed and shredded

by March 1. Many growers gather and shred mummies as part of frost protection programs (the warmest orchards are those with orchard floor vegetation 2” tall or less.) Blowing/windrowing downed nuts ahead of frost protection mowing gets mummy destruction in the bargain if the mowers move slow enough to destroy all nuts in the row.

Also, missing or worn flail knives risk missing some mummies. Specialized, heavy-duty mowers designed for sanitation/mummy destruction are commercially available from Rears and Vrismo.

A forecast of warm, wet weather could mean a very tough bloom disease period. Under those conditions, UC recommends two fungicide sprays, one 60

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at pink bud and one at full bloom. Not all fungicides effectively control all diseases at bloom. While brown rot is always a concern, anthracnose can infect flowers if bloom is warm, while cooler temperatures and moisture promote the diseases that contribute to jacket rot. While two bloom sprays are best during wet bloom, experienced advisors tell me that one good bloom spray should avoid severe disease infection if the proper materials, rates and application practices are followed. This is not a recommendation but offered as a justification of applying one solid spray instead of skipping bloom sprays due to budget limits.

With a wet bloom in the forecast and tight economics, the temptation to trim costs could contribute to increased risk of fungicide resistance. Here’s a quick review of the UC guidelines for fungicide resistance management (“Rules”).

Rotate chemistries; Use labeled rates; Limit the use of single-site chemistries to one to two times/year; Educate yourself about fungicides and their use; and Start strong with a multi-site, pre-mix or tank-mix fungicide(s) in the first spray of a program to reduce the fungal population as the season begins (same

general concept as orchard sanitation).

Finally, how and when a spray goes on impacts the results. The best fungicide selection, use rate and spray timing won’t deliver the control you pay for and expect if a good spray job is not done. Sprayers should be calibrated to deliver uniform coverage throughout the canopy. If it’s too wet to get into the orchard, a properly timed (ahead of rain) aerial application beats an afterthe-storm spray by ground rig. Once half the flowers are open, slowing spray movement in the canopy, every-other-row spraying delivers every-other-row disease control. Spray every row to get the best control.

In a wet spring, phytophthora infections (root and crown rot plus aerial phytophthora) can impact orchard health.

While protection practices aren’t effective until March when the canopy begins to fill, allowing foliar spray uptake or xylem flow for mobile materials, it’s good to put on the calendar to discuss with your PCA (or growers).

Bacterial blast can damage flowers if cold temperatures occur at bloom. If a Section 18 is approved for Kasumin®, that material is the best management tool available, providing good control

for a week or so. Copper resistance is widespread in the pest bacteria (Pseudomonas syringae) population, so use of a copper-containing product for blast control can give false hope and probably little else. Adding mancozeb to copper may help overcome the copper resistance but be careful due to copper phytotoxicity. Applications of biologicals, such as Botector®, Actinovate®, etc., at four, three two and one week from frost can provide some protection to flowers although not labeled for blast control/protection. Frost protection should reduce blast damage as frost encourages bacterial infection.

Considering weed control in a tight budget year, Dr. Brad Hanson, UCCE weed specialist, recommends several approaches. I’m paraphrasing here: 1) If you are going to cut weed management, young orchards are the last place to do it. Weeds compete for water and nutrients as well as interfere with irrigation (microsprinkler coverage) when steady growth is the goal for young orchards. Weedy tree rows in young orchards also provide cover for voles (meadow mice). Voles can kill young trees by girdling the trunks just below ground level. Weed-free tree rows let predators (hawks and owls) see voles and so help control this rodent pest. 2) Scout the orchard to find out the weeds present and consider where/how those weeds strongly impact the orchard and operations. For example, are there weeds that interfere with sprinkler irrigation coverage? If so, kill the weeds before they get tall enough to deflect water stream and before seeds develop. Early control can reduce/eliminate the cost of hand crews to remove dead weeds interfering with water and nutrient distribution plus reduce seed numbers for next year. 3) Shorten/narrow weed strips but allow for a single mower pass. The tree rows are the critical area to protect from weed competition. 4) Lower your standards a little for how clean the orchard should look if weed competition is managed and interference with irrigation and harvest is acceptable.

Resources Climate forecast: cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/ Mobile irrigation labs: tehamacountyrcd.org/mobile-irrigation-lab sutterrcd.specialdistrict.org/mobile-irrigation-lab-367e01c yolorcd.org/what-we-do/bilingual-mobile-irrigation-lab/ https://www.northwestkernrcd.org/ Frost protection with table of critical temperatures: sacvalleyorchards.com/almonds/horticulture/frost-protection-2/ Beehive strength/stocking: almondpollination.ucdavis.edu/ thealmonddoctor.com/honeybee_hives_for_almond_orchards/ scientificbeekeeping.com/determining-the-relative-value-of-hives-for-almond-pollination/ Fungicide Timing and Efficacy: ipm.ucanr.edu/agriculture/ (scroll to the page bottom to see the link to the free pub.)

Weed ID: ipm.ucanr.edu/agriculture/almond/Weed-PhotoGallery-with-common-and-scientific-names/ Monitoring for scale in walnuts: ipm.ucanr.edu/agriculture/walnut/dormant-monitoring/ Dormant/delayed dormant practices in pistachio: ipm.ucanr.edu/agriculture/pistachio/dormancy-to-delayed-dormancy/ Comments about this article? We want to hear from you. Feel free to email us at article@jcsmarketinginc.com

Nutrition

Other than an early (pink bud stage) boron foliar fertilizer, no nutrients are needed at this time of year. An early bloom boron spray is an option if a fall boron spray was not applied.

Increases of 100 to 300 pounds of crop/acre from a single spray of 2 lbs Solubor/acre (0.4 lb actual boron/acre) are documented when hull levels are low to adequate and irrigation and fertility supplied to grow the additional crop. Boron spray timing is tricky at bloom. Boron applied at pink bud increases fruit set while the same spray at full bloom reduces fruit set (fall boron spraying avoids these issues.)

What about other nut crops? Walnuts and pistachio are dormant in February, allowing orchard sanitation for navel orangeworm and certain disease (in pistachios) to continue until bud swell.

It is also a good time to monitor walnuts for scale (walnut, San Jose, Italian pear and/or frosted scale) to determine if a delayed dormant treatment is needed. Scale control is part of Botryosphaeria management.

It’s too early to tell how the season will shape up, but here’s hoping for full reservoirs and better prices as the season gets rolling.

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Almond Industry Looks to Boost Grower Returns by Growing Demand and Reducing Trade Barriers

By MARNI KATZ | Editor

I

mproving grower returns for almonds comes down to a simply supply and demand equation. While there is no easy way for the supply side to figure itself out, the industry is looking at ways to boost the demand side for high quality, healthy, sustainably grown almonds, opening up new international markets and reducing trade barriers that can hinder that demand.

Boosting Global Demand

The Almond industry has identified 10 markets around the globe that it is working to boost demand for California almonds. Capitalizing on a stewardship and consumer health story that continues to provide promotable benefits, the Almond Board of California is targeting these messages to cut through the chatter and boost global consumption. ABC has unveiled new campaigns in India, Germany and Mexico to help grow global demand and is investing in Project Thea to reevaluate its global marketing programs and uncover additional international opportunities.

“We are talking about new markets and new and different ways to bring information about almonds to consumers,” Emily Fleishman, Almond Board of California’s VP of Global Marketing, told an Almond Conference audience.

There is plenty of good news to share as part of this global marketing effort.

Research in the past year suggests that almonds can be a healthy addition to a weight loss diet and could help improve prediabetic blood sugars. Another new study on almonds and exercise recovery has formed the basis of a “Prime” advertising campaign featuring Deion 62

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Sanders. Fleishman that the Prime campaign appears to be paying off with regained sales among Gen Z consumers and she hoped it and other targeted efforts cumulatively would help reverse recent sales declines among Gen Z and Boomer generation consumers.

And with CEOs of major global corporations stating that sustainability within the next two decades will be fully baked into their business plans, almonds are well positioned with CASP data to integrate into that business plan with messaging about almond growers’ environmental stewardship practices.

The California Almond Sustainability (now Stewardship) Program over the past two decades has built a strong stewardship story, said ABC’s Danielle Veenstra, senior manager of global stewardship and management. About 1 million acres of almond orchards have the right type of soil for groundwater recharge, and as more growers adapt their practices to recharge groundwater aquifers they are well positioned to be part of the groundwater solution.

Similarly, with whole orchard recycling becoming more commonplace in California almond orchards, those orchards are positioned to be part of a climate smart future. Whole orchard recycling allows trees to store significant amounts of carbon in the soil. In addition, Veenstra said, almonds have a very low carbon footprint for a protein source and the industry continues to work to make it a zero-waste product.

With so many good stories to tell, the challenge before the industry is how to cut through the noise and chatter and get that message through to con-

sumers and retail and industrial buyers.

Influencers are helping to tell the story through social media channels and targeted advertising is also getting the message out. At the same time, Fleishman said key markets such as India are exploding with new products beyond just eating almonds out of hand. Shipments to India have tripled in recent years moving it from the third largest to the No. 1 export market.

With shipments in 2022 of 331 million pounds, that potential is just beginning to be fully tapped.

Removing Trade Barriers

On the trade side, panelists at another Almond Conference session said one of the quickest ways to instantly boost grower returns is to remove trade barriers that impact international channels for California almonds.

Panelists said collaborative solutions to trade barriers throughout the supply chain that include direct tariffs, addon taxes and fees, and technical issues often more grounded in politics than science, could find their way to direct returns to growers.

Jonathan Hoff with Monte Vista Farming said reducing tariffs would significantly improve grower prices.

“I’m not talking about 5 or 6 cents, that’s more like 80 cents. So, if you’re getting a buck fifty we’re talking about $2.30. It’s a material difference,” he said.

Retaliatory tariffs in China and Turkey are limiting access to those markets and dealing with them as a priority would quickly improve pricing. He said the playing field for other nations of origin, including Australia, Spain and

Speakers on an almond conference panel on global trade featuring from left, Julie Adams of the Almond Board, Timothy Harrison from Intersnack, Jonathan Hoff with Monte Vista Farming and Keith Schneller with ABC.

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Portugal must also be leveled going forward.

Timothy Harrison, of Intersnack, one of the largest buyers of tree nuts with several highly recognizable brands in the EU, said the industry also needs to find a way to push almonds into the market to close the disparity between falling grower prices and firm retail prices in international markets.

“There is a gap in what growers are getting at wholesale and what consumers are paying,” Harrison said. “We need to present the consumer with a price that is going to get product moving and work with retailers on what types of promotions we can be doing to get that done.”

At the same time, the almond industry needs to focus more of its attention on building new markets. Instead of focusing on China, Harrison noted there are several other Asian markets that are relatively untapped. Similarly, instead of working through Germany and other major EU countries to help remove trade barriers to the EU, find other countries such as Netherlands who purchase almonds but might be more open to hearing the message about stewardship and California almonds.

“Netherlands uses a huge of amount of nuts,” Harrison said. “Those kinds of countries can be a conduit for going into the EU and you will find a more welcome reception than in other countries like Germany, yet they still have an equal voice in the EU.”

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Considerations When Replanting an Almond Orchard

By KRISTIN PLATTS | Digital Content Writer

C

omprehensive planning is crucial to ensuring a grower gets the most out of their investment. Some of these replanting considerations include proper planting, suitable irrigation methods, alternatives to soil fumigation and picking the right rootstock. A few of these topics were covered during The Almond Conference (TAC) in Sacramento, Calif. in December.

Soil Fumigation

Preplant soil fumigation can be crucial to combating many of the replant problems that stem from the previous crops planted on the same soil such as prunus replant disease (PRD). But with ever changing rules and regulations, growers might want to consider exploring fumigation alternatives.

USDA Plant Pathologist Greg Browne recently presented alternatives to soil fumigation during a presentation at TAC. He said there is some uncertainty that comes along with the tools available to growers like cost and regulatory issues as well as access uncertainties.

“We’re in an urban state, a lot of things changing fast, and so, for this reason, the Almond Board has really emphasized research programs that include an eye to alternatives to soil fumigation,” Browne said.

Browne pointed to a set of considerations before making soil fumigation or fumigation alternative decisions: Consider alternative treatments before removing old orchard for the 64

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UCCE’s Brent Holtz, left, speaks during a panel that discussed cost-saving methods for replanting almond orchards.

Panelists also pictured from left to right: Mathew Cox, Capay Farms; Greg Browne, USDA-ARS; and Roger Duncan, UCCE (photo by K. Platts.)

best shot at accurately assessing phytopathogenic nematode populations.

History of replant disease in adjacent/similar soils and replant scenarios?

Have you had a problem with prunus replant disease before?

Do you intend to fallow for several years before replant?

Hybrid rootstock appropriate? Peach almond hybrids have been less susceptible to prunus replant.

Browne referred to an assessment matrix of the possibilities of where to put fumigants, whether in broadcast, strips or spots, each of which can be tailored to different pest problems.

“I think this kind of concept of thinking about the matrix of the problems we’re after and what tools we

“Look at your orchard, think about what your challenges are, and maybe you can take advantage of a different rootstock.”

–Roger Duncan, UCCE

Choosing the right rootstock is probably more important than choosing varieties, particularly if you’re growing in an area that has a lot of challenges, since rootstocks influence so many things, including nematode and disease tolerance, soil and water chemistry tolerance, anchorage and vigor among others.

have to go with them, it also applies to alternatives to fumigation,” he said.

The Right Rootstock

Stanislaus County UCCE Orchard Crops Advisor Roger Duncan believes after more than 40 years of UC rootstock research, they have solid information on most of the commercial rootstocks available to almond growers today.

During a presentation at TAC, Duncan said choosing the right rootstock is probably more important than choosing varieties, particularly if you’re growing in an area that has a lot of challenges, since rootstocks influence so many things, including nematode and disease tolerance, soil and water chemistry tolerance, anchorage and vigor among others.

While Duncan said more research needs to be done with rootstocks on things like drought tolerance, enough research has been done to determine rootstocks do significantly affect nutrient uptake, particularly potassium and zinc among others.

Peach x almond hybrids may accumulate more leaf potassium than standard peach rootstocks.

“All of these things mean you may get more growth and higher productivity with some of these peach x almond hybrids and maybe reduce some input costs,” he said. But growers need to make sure they are a right fit for their conditions.

When it comes to nematode-resistant rootstocks, he said there aren’t any rootstocks that are truly resistant to root lesion nematode, but there are some that are less susceptible to ring nematode. Peach x almond hybrids in general, like Brights 5, Nickels, Cornerstone and Hansen, grow a lot of ring nematodes and are very susceptible to bacterial canker, while Viking and Guardian are the least susceptible.

“If you have ring nematodes and you’re not going to be able to fumigate, then you can look at this rootstock information and make a decision, maybe, to plant a more resistant rootstock to ring nematode,” Duncan said.

The most resistant rootstocks to phytophthora root and crown rot are generally varieties that are plum or half

plum, while the peach x almond hybrids are highly susceptible as are Atlas and Viking.

“What’s interesting is some of the peach rootstocks like Nemaguard, for instance, they’re considered moderately susceptible, but they’re not as susceptible as peach x almond hybrids as a class,” he said.

Anchorage is another important aspect of choosing a rootstock, according to Duncan.

“One of the things that happens over

the years is you get trees that start to lean, so anchorage is pretty important,” he said.

Rootstocks with excellent anchorage include Viking, Krymsk 86, F x A and Hansen 536, Duncan noted.

Rootstocks for vigor and tree size are also important to consider, he explained, comparing a photo of a noticeably larger Nickels peach x almond hybrid next to a smaller Lovell peach

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Continued from Page 65 rootstock.

“It means a lot of things in terms of yield potential,” Duncan said. “In general, rootstock vigor increases as you go from a plum or a plum hybrid rootstock up through the peach rootstocks, like Nemaguard, Guardian and Lovell, and the most vigorous in general are the peach x almond hybrids.”

Citing data from a trial that studied six harvests, Duncan said the highest-yielding rootstocks through the years were peach x almond hybrid rootstocks, while the lowest-yielding were industry standards, like Lovell, Krymsk 86 and Nemaguard. He said this data is closely related to vigor, but not solely.

“When you have a bigger tree, you’re able to outgrow some things, and you have more fruitwood produced every year, but we’re also seeing an increase in yield efficiency, generally a little larger yield per unit of canopy,” he said. "And that usually includes larger kernels."

The data also showed the trees in the study would have yielded the grower $9,000 to $11,000 more per acre through the first six harvests if they had chosen one of the top peach x almond hybrid rootstocks compared to Nemaguard.

Citing several other studies that examined rootstocks for kernel size, orchard longevity and canopy size, Duncan said growers shouldn’t fall into the trap of doing what they have always done when it comes to rootstock.

“Look at your orchard, think about what your challenges are, and maybe you can take advantage of a different rootstock,” he said. "It can make a big difference in the profitability of your orchard."

Proper Planting After WOR

When it’s time to plant your new almond orchard, there are a few important ways to handle bareroot trees ahead of getting them into the ground, according to UCCE Orchard Systems Farm Advisor for San Joaquin County Brent Holtz, who also presented on orchard replanting at TAC. Holtz suggests keeping roots covered as long as possible to protect 66

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Browne refers to an assessment matrix of the possibilities of where to put fumigants, whether in broadcast, strips or spots, each of which can be tailored to different pest problems.

Can we return this organic matter to the soil without negatively impacting the next crop?

The better wood chips are incorporated into soil, the less problems will be seen with negative nitrogen tie-up, ensuring organic matter is successfully returned to the soil without negatively impacting the next crop.

the carbohydrates stored within them, don’t prune roots too much and, if possible, treat roots with a product like Galltrol to prevent crown gall infections. It’s also important to consider the size of the roots when digging; the bigger the tree, the bigger the hole needs to be.

“I’ve seen planting crews smash up the roots into a ball and put them into small holes, so if you have a big tree, dig a big hole for that tree to allow space for settling,” Holtz said.

Trees should be planted high on a berm, with berms pulled up before

planting, not after, he added, and trees should be planted so the nursery soil line is above the current soil line with the highest root slightly above the soil line, then covered with extra dirt. Holtz said it’s also important to not plant too deep and to be careful not to break any roots. Once planted, Holtz recommends watering the trees with one to three gallons of water, even if the soil is wet.

As whole orchard recycling(WOR) becomes the standard, Holtz said it’s important to consider how it can affect the soil. Citing a grower who he helped

“In general, rootstock vigor increases as you go from a plum or a plum hybrid rootstock up through the peach rootstocks, like Nemaguard, Guardian and Lovell, and the most vigorous in general are the peach x almond hybrids.”

–Roger Duncan, UCCE fix a carbon and nitrogen imbalance following WOR, he said it started a series of experiments to test how much fertilizer is actually needed after WOR and showed early fertilization can be quite beneficial.

He said a trial of 0.8 oz/N applied in early March showed great results.

“If we got that fertilizer in early, there was a really big difference, and it was amazing to see just in one month with that early fertilizer,” Holtz said.

In another trial, after adding 5 oz/N per tree at 45 pounds per acre, down from 100 pounds, he said at the end of the season, the WOR treatment looked larger than the control for the first time instead of the opposite. Trunk diameters showed a significant increase as well with WOR. “We think there was some nitrogen mineralization going on,” he said. “A leaf analysis showed almost 4.5% nitrogen in leaf analysis. I’ve had some fertilizer trials where I don’t think I got much higher than that, so we got a good response with the same amount of fertilizer.”

Holtz said growers often ask if you can return organic matter back to the soil without negatively affecting the next crop, and he said the better you incorporate the wood chips into the soil, the less problem you’re going to have with a negative N tie-up. He noted one of the best methods is using a plow to incorporate the wood chips.

Another experiment Holtz conducted, the 2,000-barrel trial, aimed to determine how long it takes wood chips to become part of soil organic matter. Mixing 1/3-part wood chips to 2/3-part sandy loam soil in 35-gallon containers with one almond tree per container, he said 10 barrels received a wood chip mixture while 10 received soil only.

He noted a decrease in trunk circumference in the first four years compared to the control and after fourth-year trunk circumference evened out, with an increase seen in the

fifth and sixth years from the wood chips.

“What was amazing was this was soil organic matter, and there was a spike at seven years I didn’t expect to encounter that lasted for 17 to 20 years and even at 23 years, the soil organic matter was still significantly greater in the wood chip treatment,” Holtz said, adding there were still significant carbon levels after 23 years.

He said the popularity of WOR began increasing with growers when funding became available through the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, which released a report in 2023 that showed over 3,000 growers had received funding for WOR with 162,000 acres recycled since the program’s inception.

Holtz said additional funding will continue to be available to growers for WOR since Governor Newsom signed AB 2101 (Flora), the California Carbon Sequestration and Climate Resiliency Project Registry: Whole Orchard Recycling Projects, which approved an additional $178 million for WOR projects.

“There’s going to be some good funding for a couple of years in the future,” he said.

The presentation slides from each of these TAC sessions can be found at almonds.com under ‘Almond Conference past presentations.’

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TOP

Five Things to Know About Irrigation System Automation

By CECILIA PARSONS | Associate Editor

An automated irrigation system refers to the operation of the system with no or just a minimum of manual intervention beside monitoring (all photos courtesy HotSpot.)

A

n irrigation system without automation is like having a television set without a remote.”

That succinct description by Guillermo Valenzuela of Wiseconn highlighted the value of irrigation system automation in saving water, nutrients and energy.

Irrigation automation is a combination of software tools that create an irrigation schedule. This schedule is then sent to an in-field controller, which activates control valves at the local pump station or in-field valves through buried wire or wireless radios.

Modern systems can also control fertigation systems and have fail safe systems in case of any issues in the field.

In a discussion at the Almond Conference, moderator Tom Devol, Almond Board’s senior manager of field outreach and education, stressed next big savings in water use efficiency and nutrition in almond production lies in adoption of automation.

“Automation is where you make big gains in water use efficiency and nutrition,” Devol said. “It is a tool that can allow for more precise control of water application and minimize the potential for error.

“Growers and managers have the freedom to trim an irrigation set to exactly what is needed and not when the irrigator can get to the valve.”

The next big jump in water use efficiency will come from leveraging technology to help solve when and how long to irrigate and automation to precisely execute the irrigations.

Automation Means Accuracy

“Having an automated system means irrigation is on schedule and water applications will be accurate.”

An automated irrigation system refers to the operation of the system with no or just a minimum of manual intervention beside monitoring. Systems use controllers, sensors and software to make the process more efficient and free up labor to do other orchard tasks.

Almost every system (drip, sprinkler, surface) can be automated with help of controllers, sensors or computers or mechanical appliances. It makes the irrigation process more efficient, and workers can concentrate on other important farming tasks.

Advantages of automation include elimination of the manual operation of opening and closing valves.

There is the ability to change frequency of irrigation.

Systems can be operated at off-peak hours to save on energy costs. Disadvantages include higher upfront cost and a learning curve to operate. Data collection and implementation is necessary for timing, flow rates and amounts. Systems can be wired or wireless.

Devol noted that he has never worked with a grower who was not happy when choosing an automated system. Those growers all have received great benefit from the higher upfront cost, he said.

Continued on Page 70

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Five Things to Know About Automated Irrigation Systems:

Continued from Page 69 The almond industry has made great strides in water use efficiency, Devol said the next big jump will come from leveraging technology to help solve when and how long to irrigate and automation to precisely execute the irrigations.

1) Labor savings: “It takes time to get used to, but it’s not rocket science,” almond grower and founder of HotSpot James Nichols said. “It is not as complicated now but there needs to be willingness to learn about the system.” Devol said freeing field crews from opening and closing valves allows them to focus

Growers and managers have the freedom to trim an irrigation set to exactly what is needed and not when the irrigator can get to the valve.”

–Tom Devol, Almond Board of California

"

on other orchard work that needs to be done. Savings in labor costs can be realized over multiple years. Valenzuela agreed, noting if manual operation of a system must be done two or three times a day, “automation makes life simpler.”

2) Expensive to install? Yes it can be, Devol said, but even with the current economic struggles, this year record incentive funding is available to almond growers who want to move to automation. This is a good opportunity to use the grants to help with water and energy efficiency, he noted. Decisions on a wired system or unwired must be made. Nichols said upfront costs for installation can be high, keeping growers from adoption.

3) It’s not just water: nutrient and energy use can also be optimized by automation. The ability to use off-peak hours means growers can take advantage of lower rates without having to

Systems use controllers, sensors and software to make the process more efficient and free up labor to do other orchard tasks.

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turn pumps on or off during the late night or early morning hours. Panelist Jacob Christford with Ranch System said automation can also help reduce soil variability issues as systems can be set up for shorter (or longer) sets. Optimization of water and nutrients is also beneficial to tree health, Nichols said.

He said the first year with automation saw improved leaf nutrient analysis.

Years 2 and 3 had yield improvements.

“Short term, there are cost saving, but long term, there are economic benefits.” With fertigation, you know you are applying the right amount, he added.

4) Peace of mind: With automation, the system runs the way it is supposed to. Things go as planned, Devol said, and it saves growers and managers from driving from orchard to orchard to verify the irrigation is going as

planned. If there is a problem, there will be a notification. Christford said automation makes it easier to schedule shorter, frequent sets, which keeps moisture in the top 18 inches of soil, preventing leaching of nutrients below the root zone. Automated systems also allow growers to save historic irrigation data and use the same scheduling from the previous year, but it can be finetuned depending on environmental conditions.

5) Technology not what it used to be: There are mature companies out there, Devol said, and they have fixed prior glitches in the systems. Addressing the wired vs unwired debate, Nichols said there are pros and cons to both.

Unwired done right, he said, is more dependable. If a chisel hits a wire, it can take down the whole system. Christford said if wire is already in place, go with

it. A wireless system is less expensive to install. Panelist Andres Olivos with Olivos Irrigation said 93% of new system projects are choosing the wireless route.

Developments for automation in the future include site/orchard-specific optimal ET product, near real-time ET forecast product, data fusion product based on multi-scale input (ground sensors, UAV, satellite) and ET product adoption trials and Extension strategy deployment.

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MyAgNite Brings National Focus to California Agriculture

By KRISTIN PLATTS | Digital Content Writer

W

When Jason Scott, left, secured Jesse Watters, right, to headline MyAgNite, Watters had yet to take the high-profile job left by Fox News Host Tucker Carlson. With Watters’ notoriety, he was able to take the story of California agriculture back to a national audience.

hen Jason Scott booked Fox of people, Scott saw his X factor in News’ Jesse Watters back in Watters. early 2023 to headline MyAgOnce he knew who his headliner Nite at the World Ag Expo grounds in would be, he focused on creating an Tulare, Calif., the JCS Marketing, Inc. event that would promote agriculture, CEO couldn’t have foreseen the upcom- America and conservative values while ing shakeup at Fox News that would unapologetically displaying American catapult Watters into an overnight star flags throughout the venue and opening at the network. Fast forward to Nov. 2, the event with the Pledge of Allegiance, 2023, Watters, then about four months The National Anthem and a prayer. into replacing Tucker Carlson as “I think part of the event, what’s reco-anchor at Fox News, took the stage ally noteworthy, was that Jesse and his at Scott’s MyAgNite, and with it, helped wife noted they go all over this country shine a national spotlight on California and that was the first time they had agriculture. ever experienced that, and it actually JCS Marketing organizes severbrought tears to his wife’s eyes,” Scott al popular ag tradeshows each year, said. “I’m proud of that, personally.” including the Crop Consultant Conference and the recent Inputs Ag Summit. A Chance to Tell Ag’s Story Scott said they previously held a South Scott’s career has been deeply Valley Nut Conference in the Tulare rooted in marketing and a passion for market that had been one of their most agriculture, and he has been a pivotal popular events but had slowly seen a figure in promoting agricultural interdecline in sponsorships and attendance. ests through JCS Marketing. Under his Scott knew he had to shake things leadership, the company has become up. synonymous with innovative market“I really felt like we needed an X fac- ing strategies that highlight the agritor for that south valley,” he said. “So, cultural sector’s importance. Through we thought a big event would draw that publishing several highly reputable ag audience.” trade magazines and hosting several The idea of bringing a noteworthy conferences, it’s an approach that has conservative across the country to the helped bridge the gap between local heart of California agriculture present- agriculture and broader markets. ed a rare opportunity that Scott knew With the vision and risk it took to he couldn’t miss out on. Recalling a get Watters to MyAgNite, Scott was visit to the area a decade or so ago by able to bring national recognition to Sean Hannity which drew thousands the plight of California growers and

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February 2024

ranchers, who are under some of the most stringent rules and regulations in the U.S. “JCS Marketing brought a celebrity here to shed light on California agriculture, and he went back and he did the story,” he said.

Like Scott, the audience at MyAgNite also saw Watters’ trip to the heart of California ag country as an opportunity. Jason Giannelli, a fourth-generation farmer in Kern and Kings counties, didn’t waste the occasion to invite himself onto Watters’ show during an audience Q&A. Watters obliged.

“It just turned out I had the last question of the night,” Giannelli said. “I just called my shot.”

Less than a week later, with Watters back on the air at Fox in New York, Giannelli appeared on Jesse Watters Primetime to talk about why growers like him are struggling to survive in the state of California, citing water issues and overregulation as two of the top issues.

Giannelli said he’s hoping there can be more chances like MyAgNite to help put this type of focus on the valley and let consumers know growers and ranchers aren’t the enemy.

“We’re not poisoning the world, or our communities, we’re all in it for the same reasons, to make a better life for everybody,” he said.

He said the ag industry itself can

Jason Giannelli, a fourth-generation farmer in Kern and Kings Counties, used the Q&A portion of the night to invite himself onto Watters’ show.

Less than a week after MyAgNite, Giannelli appeared on Jesse Watters Primetime to talk about why farmers like him are struggling to survive in the state of California.

help tell its story by being more engaged and getting involved with water boards and other organizations they have a stake in.

“Attend meetings, know what’s going on, be engaged in a way of not just showing up, but looking at the bigger picture and asking questions outside of your normal box,” he said.

“How does it affect your neighbor, and then how does it affect you?”

Giannelli said he appreciated the MyAgNite event being brought to the south valley and believed it proved someone of Watters’ notoriety will care about ag issues when given the chance to learn about them.

“I do think he cares,” he said. “He wants his food source to be grown here just like everyone else.”

Scott said it’s important for those in the ag industry to be approachable when presented with opportunities to talk to the press.

“We have to stop hiding behind our tractors and our farms,” he said. “We’ve got to have the courage to talk about the good news.”

He added that supporting and getting behind associations and building relationships with media partners who support agriculture are key to telling ag’s story. Also, just being open to showing consumers how the food they eat is grown, from start to finish.

“Being able to show the farm to fork process I think is really important,” Scott said. “Consumers shouldn’t have to look far to see how an orange or an almond is produced; that information should be readily available.”

In the months following the event, Scott said he has received an immense amount of positive feedback and encouragement to continue MyAgNite as an annual event and to grow it further.

“People really saw the value in bringing someone with the notoriety of Jesse Watters out, and then to see him on national television talking about California being America’s best kept secret and how amazing California agriculture is and how critical it is to our nation,” he said. “For our audience to hear that I think was just overwhelming.”

JCS Marketing is in the process of evaluating whether to make MyAgNite an annual event. So, while it’s not a sure thing for 2024, Scott said he hopes the support and momentum created by the first event will continue to make it happen annually.

“We’d like to continue to grow the event. If you share this passion, we’ll be looking for sponsors and major contributors,” he said.

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Chance for an Annual Event

Scott said he felt like it was hard for some to see the vision he had for MyAgNite at first.

“I think once they were able to see what we did for the industry, there was an overwhelming amount of gratitude for what we did and for the place we have in the industry,” he said.

February 2024

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TECHNOLOGY AND THE PARADOX OF RISING INPUT COSTS AND DECLINING COMMODITY PRICES

By JASON SCOTT | CEO / Publisher, JCS Marketing, Inc.

thing from seeds and fertilizers to machinery and labor, have been climbing steadily. Factors such as increased demand for agricultural products, labor shortages, and supply chain disruptions contribute to this trend. These rising costs erode the profitability of farms, making efficient operation more crucial than ever.

Declining Commodity Prices

On the other side of the coin, commodity prices are on a downward trajectory. Causes range from oversupply and changing dietary trends to global trade tensions. This decline means farmers must produce more, often with less, to maintain revenue levels, making efficiency and productivity paramount.

Benefits of Investing in Ag Tech

I

n 2024, the agricultural sector faces a paradoxical challenge: rising input costs juxtaposed with declining commodity prices. This dual pressure squeezes farmers’ margins, urging a swift pivot towards innovative solutions.

The key lies in agricultural technology (ag tech), a beacon of hope in this tumultuous landscape.

The Rising Cost of Inputs

Input costs, encompassing every-

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Ag tech presents a solution to these challenges. Precision agriculture, for instance, optimizes input usage, ensuring resources are used where they are most effective. Drones and satellite imagery provide real-time data on crop health, enabling targeted interventions.

Automation reduces labor dependency, and biotechnology advances crop resilience and yield.

improves farm operations but also positions these farmers as leaders in efficiency and sustainability. This foresight often translates into better yield, quality, and ultimately, a higher return on investment.

ROI and Doing More with Less

The return on investment in ag tech is compelling. Innovations in this field enable farmers to achieve higher productivity while conserving resources like water and fertilizers. For example, sensor-based irrigation systems drastically reduce water usage while maintaining crop health. These technologies empower farmers to do more with less, a critical capability in the current economic climate.

As 2024 unfolds, investing in agricultural technology is not just advisable; it’s essential. In an era marked by rising input costs and falling commodity prices, ag tech is not merely a tool for survival but a strategic asset for thriving. Farmers who embrace these innovations will navigate the challenges ahead with greater ease and emerge stronger in an increasingly competitive and complex agricultural landscape.

Early Adoption and Competitive Advantage

Early adopters of ag tech gain a significant advantage. Utilizing cutting-edge technology not only

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