Almonds

Cole Daniel

Background

● Almonds are produced by Almond trees, these trees can grow from a range of 10-15 ft tall

● They first originated in China and Mid-Asian Countries. Introduced in the United States in the mid 1700s

● The Almond tree never fully flourished until 1890 when scientific crossbreeding played a huge role into how Almonds are grown today

● California is the only state in the country that produces Almonds

Why California?

Almonds are valued at #2 for most valuable agricultural crop and the #1 most exported agricultural commodity in California

By the mediterranean climate and the central valleys rich soils, this makes California the perfect place to produce Almonds

Production

● Almonds are grown on trees that bloom from mid-february through March

● Takes usually 2-4 years for the Almond tree to actually produce the Almond, can

stay in production for 40+ years ● Almond trees are not self pollinating so

the use of bees for pollination is very important!

● In large scale production, trees have to be alternating with two different types of Almond varieties to produce the best

results

Production Cont. ● There are over 30 different varieties of

Almonds grown the the United States. Around only 10 varieties make up 70% of the market

● Categorized botanically as a fruit and either as sweet or bitter Almond.

● The main varieties grown in the United States are the Non-Pareil, California, and Mission Almonds

● Grading for Almonds are based on various items, such as chipped, split or cracked, foreign materials, and particles and dust

Pollination

● Pollination for Almond trees is the largest annual managed pollination event in the world

● Early spring nearly 1 million bee hives are transported to Central California for the blooming period of production

● Price and quality of Almonds are hugely dependant on the pollination services.

● Due to Colony Collapse Disorder the price of insect pollination services have skyrocketed, leading to the increase in price for Almonds.

Blue Diamond Cooperative ● Blue Diamond Cooperative is the main co-op

for Almond production and processing. Similar to Land O’ Lakes, Ocean Spray Cranberries etc.

● It is the largest Almond production facility/company in the world

● Blue Diamond has contracts with nearly 3,000 farmers in California, accounts for almost 50% of all Almond growers

● Blue Diamond receives all Almonds produced on land which they have a contract for.

● Most of all money goes to marketing strategies to promote the healthy uses of Almonds.

Helping or hurting Agriculture?

Works Cited http://www.almonds.com/sites/default/files/content/attachments/guide_to_california_almonds_technical_poster.pdf

http://www.almonds.com/sites/default/files/content/attachments/about_almonds_and_water_-_september_2015_1.pdf

https://www.wsj.com/articles/agriculture-firms-decry-provision-in-new-tax-law-1515529022

http://www.almonds.com/sites/default/files/2016_almond_almanac.pdf