the Central Valley of California

Abstract

Almond farming in the Central Valley of California is one of the major agricultural activities in the region and generates substantial revenues through exports to foreign countries. The almond tree was first introduced in California in the ^18th century. By the turn of the 20th century, almond farming in Central Valley had gained immense popularity due to the crop’s nutritional benefits[1]. On the one hand, the almond business is projected to grow even further, considering the history of increasing bearing acreage, innovative technological advances, and increasing value addition efforts. On the other hand, due to the recent drought and water shortages in California,[2]farming of the commodity has seemingly become unstainable. This report discusses the previous history of almond farming in California, the current situation, and issues affecting the industry as well as the prospects for the product.

Table of Contents

Abstract 2

Table of Contents 3

Text of Report 4

Economic, Business and Historical Aspects of California Almond Farming 4

Background, Current, and Future Prospects of Almond Growing in California 5

Current Policy Issues facing the California Almond Industry 7

List of Tables & Figures 9

Table 1 4

Figure 1 4

Bibliography …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…. 10

Economic, Business and Historical Aspects of California Almond Farming

Almonds constitute the third leading agricultural product in the State of California’s after dairy products and grapes, with a combined production value of $5.4 billion in 2018. Also, they are known for being the highest valued agricultural export product[3]. Even though the commodity was not native to California, the state is the global leader in almond production, accounting for about 80% of the global market share, with exports being shipped to over 90 countries. According to the United States Department of Agriculture/National Agricultural Statistics Service, the projected yield for the crop is 2.5 billion pounds of almond nuts for 2019, registering an increase of about 8% from 2.3 billion pounds in 2018 [4]. Almond acreage has been on a steady increase over the years, reaching an estimated 1.53 million acres, up from 1.39 million acres in 2018. Of this 2019 figure, the total bearing acreage is projected to be about 1.18 million acres, up from 1.09 million in 2018. The five most common varieties grown include Nonpareil, Carmel, Monterey, Padre, Butte, among others, with Nonpareil being the main variety produced, and it accounts for about 40% of almond production [5]. Almond farming is spread out across the central valley, with the leading counties being Kern, Merced, Fresno, Madera, and Stanislaus, cumulatively accounting for 72% of the bearing acreage.

Almonds were first cultivated in California in the early 20^th century, with about 36,000 bearing acreage in 1920. Growth in almond production was unhurried in California until 1967 when farming rapidly expanded. The early ’90s through to the mid of that decade saw reduced growth in almond acreage but has since held a progressive trajectory to date. Average almond yields have also improved since the early almond farming days, mainly due to development and growth in agricultural practices, techniques, policies as well as advances in scientific and technological aspects that are attached to almond farming. The early 20^th century saw California almond farmers harvest an estimated 217 pounds per acre, while in 2019, the estimated yield per acre was 2,140 pounds. This difference in figures points to the significance of this crop to the economic environment in the state of California.

Background, Current, and Future Prospects of Almond Growing in California

From the time almond trees are planted, it takes about three to four years for them to attain maturity and commence producing nuts or as commonly referred to as bearing acreage. Growth in almond production in California is enhanced by extensive research data collected over the years of practice and has provided farmers a benchmark for maximum production. This is evident when making a comparison between California’s almond production and Spain’s, a country that was once the leading almond producer before the United States took the top spot in 1987 [6]. Spain has a higher almond acreage than the U.S, approximately 1.5 million bearing acreage in the last years, but has a much lower production yield than the U.S. as a result of trailing technological advances and techniques such as adequate irrigation systems for arid and semi-arid areas.

According to [7], Mature Nonpareil trees are the first variety to begin the flowering process, and as the fruit ripens inside its hull, the fuzzy green hull begins to dry up and finally ruptures, exposing the nut which is enclosed inside a shell. Mechanical tractors are used to vigorously shake almond trees, dropping them to the ground where they are left to dry naturally for the next few days. The dried almonds are then swept, collected, and transported to hulling and shelling points, where they are cleaned, processed, and later sorted out by size awaiting shipment. According to the Almond Hullers and Processors Association, almond hulls and shells constitute about 70% of the total almond weight. Guangwei and Karen [8], posit that through the three main products derived from the almond plant, the California almond industry has had a tremendous impact on the overall economy through value addition programs. In the current farming ecosystem, dairy farmers in California are huge benefactors of the almond production process, utilizing almond hull that is energy rich, to supplement animal feeds or as animal bedding, while almond shells can also be combusted and used as an alternative source of fuel.

Handling almonds from their source at the farm to the various trade avenues may include further value addition procedures, for example, further cleaning, categorization, and packaging as well as other related economic activities like selling, logistics or shipping. Almond handlers are a category within the larger industry who benefit from the commodity market in California [9]. Almonds can either be sold through retail sales to food processors as an ingredient or to foodservice stores as either diced, slivered, roasted, chopped, sliced, or raw in their natural state or where the outer brownish skin has been peeled off. Retailers can package and promote almonds as snacks or be sold in bulk, food processing outlets can use almonds to make chocolate confectioneries, ice-covered novelties, almond butter, ready-to-eat cereal bars, as an alternative to milk and so on, while the foodservice outlets can sell almonds as either snacks or a baking ingredient.

The future growth of almond production in California will continue to increase over the next few years, as witnessed by a rise in demand for products such as almond milk which is particularly beneficial to California’s economy as it fetches higher prices as well as drives up production demand since it uses larger quantities of almonds to produce than other alternative almond uses [10]. Protective environmental policies and the high revenues being generated from almond sales will allow farmers to invest in better water management systems and safeguard production [11]. Multiple ways of consuming the almond nut, plus the nutritional value derived from consuming almonds including, oils and fats useful in lowering the risk of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, as well as blood cholesterol levels, a healthy skin stamp as well as the high protein, fiber, fats, and other nutrients, can be used to predict the trajectory of this versatile nut.

Current Policy Issues facing the California Almond Industry

Almond farming in California relies heavily on water provided through irrigation since rainwater accounts for approximately one-third of the crops’ water requirements. However, in the recent past, there has been growing media coverage on the impact of almond farming on the greater California environment. From 2011, the state of California experienced water shortages and drought for the next six years, with almond farms being blamed for using up water reserves. It is important to note that in a recent study that was conducted to establish the water footprint of California almonds in 2019, the results show that a single almond kernel requires up to 12 liters of water to produce, with freshwater sources accounting for over 70% of this input [12]. It is estimated that the availability of water in California will further decrease as a result of aquifer subsidence as well as a reducing snowpack in one of the state’s water storage source at the Sierra Nevada mountain range. As compared to many other food crops in California, almonds have a significantly higher water footprint, meaning that farmers are forced to leverage on economies of scale in order to remain profitable.

California’s almond business has also been recently affected by bee populations and availability. When almonds bloom, bees are introduced to orchards to help initiate development through pollination especially during the summer days [13]. Bee farmers in America are mostly contracted by California almond farms, and since this is an annual process, there has been the subsequent development of trade relationships between these two agricultural segments. Transporting bees exposes the swarms to diseases that may potentially damage almonds in the orchard or can create an incentive for thieves to steal them as one hive costs roughly $200 to hire in each farming cycle.

Table 1: Almond Bearing Acreage in California

Year	Bearing Acreage	Yield per acre	Production value
2017	1,030,000	2,200	5,603,950
2018	1,090,000	2,090	5,468,040
2019	1,170,000	2,150	Projected to increase

Figure 1: California Almond Bearing Acreage and Yield per Acre (1995-2019)

Bibliography

Almond Board of California. “Almond Almanac 2017 ANNUAL REPORT.” Almond Board of California, 2017.

California Department of Food and Agriculture. “2018 California Almond Acreage Report,” no. 916 (2018): 8. https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/California/Publications/Fruits_and_Nuts/2017/201704almac.pdf.

CDFA, USDA, and NASS. “2016 California Almond Nursery Sales Report,” no. 916 (2016): 2019–20.

Fulton, Julian, Michael Norton, and Fraser Shilling. “Water-Indexed Benefits and Impacts of California Almonds.” Ecological Indicators, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2017.12.063.

Huang, Guangwei, and Karen Lapsley. “Almonds.” In Integrated Processing Technologies for Food and Agricultural By-Products, 373–90. Elsevier, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-814138-0.00015-0.

Pitts-Singer, Theresa L., Derek R. Artz, Stephen S. Peterson, Natalie K. Boyle, and Gordon I. Wardell. “Examination of a Managed Pollinator Strategy for Almond Production Using Apis Mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) and Osmia Lignaria (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae).” Environmental Entomology, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvy009.

Socias i Company, Rafel, José Manuel Alonso, Ossama Kodad, and Thomas M. Gradziel. “Almond.” In Fruit Breeding, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0763-9_18.

[1]

[2]

[3] California Department of Food and Agriculture, “2018 California Almond Acreage Report,” no. 916 (2018): 8, https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/California/Publications/Fruits_and_Nuts/2017/201704almac.pdf.

[4] CDFA, USDA, and NASS, “2016 California Almond Nursery Sales Report,” no. 916, (2016): 2019–20.

[5] California Department of Food and Agriculture, “2018 California Almond Acreage Report.”

[6] Rafel Socias Company et al., “Almond,” in Fruit Breeding, 2012, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0763-9_18.

[7] Guangwei Huang and Karen Lapsley, “Almonds,” in Integrated Processing Technologies for Food and Agricultural By-Products (Elsevier, 2019), 373–90, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-814138-0.00015-0.

[8] Huang and Lapsley.

[9] Almond Board of California, “Almond Almanac 2017 ANNUAL REPORT.”

[10] Socias i Company et al., “Almond.”

[11] Huang and Lapsley, “Almonds.”

[12] Fulton, Norton, and Shilling, “Water-Indexed Benefits and Impacts of California Almonds.”

[13] Theresa L. Pitts-Singer et al., “Examination of a Managed Pollinator Strategy for Almond Production Using Apis Mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) and Osmia Lignaria (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae),” Environmental Entomology, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvy009.

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