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