In today’s episode, independent PCA and crop consultant, Justin Nay, shares advice and experience for your almond orchard’s integrated pest management program. Justin’s company, Integral Ag Incorporated was formed in 2008. Before that Justin earned his Ph.D. in entomology from UC Riverside, where he worked with the carob moth, a cousin to the almond industry’s biggest pest: the navel orangeworm. Justin walks us through a year of pest management in almond orchards beginning with winter sanitation, followed by monitoring during the growing season and finishing with harvest sampling. He has so much knowledge to share as a scientist, business owner, and PCA with many years of almond experience. 

“We can come up with a population estimate as well as when that population is going to emerge in the field based on the size and the ages of the larvae…And that sets our baseline… Does the farmer have 20 navel orangeworm females per acre or does he have 200 and that's going to set what mitigation we're going to be dealing with for the rest of the season.” - Justin Nay

In Today’s episode: 

• Meet Justin Nay, independent PCA and crop consultant with Integral Ag Incorporated
• Explore the different practices Justin employs to manage navel orangeworm and what producers can do to be most effective
• Discover the best times and sampling methods for monitoring population levels

“In doing (harvest sampling), we can determine not only how well we did with our program for the season, but we also get to see all the different types of damage that occur…So it allows us to really see firsthand how we did with our pest management for the season. It's probably the most important thing I think that we do.” - Justin Nay

Contact the Almond Board field outreach team to access more available resources by sending an email to [email protected] 

ABC Update

Advancements in integrated pest management are really an important part of ensuring growers can grow almonds profitably while meeting the highest quality standards. Almond Board Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Josette Lewis says IPM is as much about cost effectiveness as it is about pest control.

The Almond Journey Podcast is brought to you by the Almond Board of California. This show explores how growers, handlers, and other stakeholders are making things work in their operations to drive the almond industry forward. Host Tim Hammerich visits with leaders throughout the Central Valley of California and beyond who are finding innovative ways to improve their operations, connect with their communities, and advance the almond industry.

ABC recognizes the diverse makeup of the California almond industry and values contributions offered by its growers, handlers, and allied industry members. However, the opinions, services and products discussed in existing and future podcast episodes are by no means an endorsement or recommendation from ABC. The Almond Journey podcast is not an appropriate venue to express opinions on national, state, local or industry politics. As a Federal Marketing Order, the Almond Board of California is prohibited from lobbying or advocating on legislative issues, as well as setting field and market prices.

In today’s episode we visit with Carl Evers and Jeremy Olday of AgIS Capital. AgIS Capital is an employee-owned management firm that invests in farmland on behalf of and alongside their investors. AgIS then oversees the management of those farm properties which are located nationwide with the majority being in California and the Pacific Northwest. 

Carl Evers is the director of sustainability at AgIS Capital, and Jeremy Olday is a farm manager for the company. The two discuss their efforts to make sustainability work in almond orchards on three levels: economically, environmentally, and socially. 

“Now it’s kind of hard to say no [to Whole Orchard Recycling] if it’s going to cost the same as burning, but you’ve got all of your environmental health benefits, plus probably some slow-release fertilizer that you’ve recovered and been able to put back into the ground.” - Carl Evers

In today’s episode:

• Meet AgIS Capital
• Carl and Jeremy’s experiences getting started with cover crops and the Seeds for Bees program
• How they have approached Whole Orchard Recycling, how they are making it pay, and some lessons they have learned along the way
• Their involvement with Leading Harvest

“If you’re going to spend $20 or $30 to sort of fortify your bee habitat per acre when you’re spending $200+ per acre to rent bees every year, it’s just a hedge that makes sense.” - Carl Evers

Contact the Almond Board field outreach team to access more available resources by sending an email to [email protected] 

ABC Update

At the end of an orchard’s productive life, almond growers must decide what to do with their old trees: either replant immediately or wait a year. Whole Orchard Recycling is an innovative and sustainable practice that contributes to the success of the subsequent orchard by not only putting everything grown in the previous orchard to optimal use, but also providing value back to the grower by delivering nutrients, improving soil quality and ultimately, potentially, increasing yields. There’s a cool story behind the development of whole orchard recycling, and Almond Board Senior Manager of Industry Relations and Communications Jenny Nicolau says there’s a new mini-documentary coming to share this story. Visit www.Almonds.com/WOR to learn more. 

The Almond Journey Podcast is brought to you by the Almond Board of California. This show explores how growers, handlers, and other stakeholders are making things work in their operations to drive the almond industry forward. Host Tim Hammerich visits with leaders throughout the Central Valley of California and beyond who are finding innovative ways to improve their operations, connect with their communities, and advance the almond industry.

ABC recognizes the diverse makeup of the California almond industry and values contributions offered by its growers, handlers, and allied industry members. However, the opinions, services and products discussed in existing and future podcast episodes are by no means an endorsement or recommendation from ABC. The Almond Journey podcast is not an appropriate venue to express opinions on national, state, local or industry politics. As a Federal Marketing Order, the Almond Board of California is prohibited from lobbying or advocating on legislative issues, as well as setting field and market prices.

In this episode we visit with almond grower and Hughson Nut Field Representative Donny Hicks. Donny manages a small 18-acre orchard, which helps him keep a grower’s perspective in everything he does. Donny shares how he’s offering up his acreage for experiments in areas such as fumigation, pruning, and subsurface irrigation. Then we talk about his role with Hughson Nut, and what he learns from the growers he works with day to day.

“It's really nice to be able to farm and do what I'm doing because I'm going through the same thing that my growers are going through whether it be water issues or price. It really helps me to relate to my growers.” - Donny Hicks

In Today’s episode:

• Meet Donny Hicks, almond grower and Hughson Nut Field Representative
• Explore the different trials being performed on his farm and some of the preliminary results he has observed
• Discover the benefit Donny has as a producer and a field representative and how he brings that to his customers

“Farmers, we’re by nature optimistic people. Otherwise I don't think some of us would be doing it if we didn't think that there was something better down the road .” - Donny Hicks

Contact the Almond Board field outreach team to access more available resources by sending an email to [email protected]

ABC Update

It’s the end of December, which is a great time to take a breath, spend time with family, and reflect on the past year. 2021 has been a challenge for many, but Almond Board chairman and co-owner of Sperry Farms Brian Wahlbrink echoes Donny’s optimism about the future ahead and delivers holiday greetings to the almond industry.

The Almond Journey Podcast is brought to you by the Almond Board of California. This show explores how growers, handlers, and other stakeholders are making things work in their operations to drive the almond industry forward. Host Tim Hammerich visits with leaders throughout the Central Valley of California and beyond who are finding innovative ways to improve their operations, connect with their communities, and advance the almond industry.

ABC recognizes the diverse makeup of the California almond industry and values contributions offered by its growers, handlers, and allied industry members. However, the opinions, services and products discussed in existing and future podcast episodes are by no means an endorsement or recommendation from ABC. The Almond Journey podcast is not an appropriate venue to express opinions on national, state, local or industry politics. As a Federal Marketing Order, the Almond Board of California is prohibited from lobbying or advocating on legislative issues, as well as setting field and market prices.

In this episode we visit with Kyle McClintock. Kyle is the vice president and general manager of San Joaquin Fertilizer. He is also an almond grower at IB Farming, his family’s farming operation. On the fertilizer side, they specialize in crop fertility recommendations and foliar nutrients as well as a couple of proprietary liquid soil amendments. Kyle is also a current participant in the Almond Leadership Program. Kyle shares a little bit about crop fertility in almonds, the current situation with fertilizer prices and what changes he’s seen in his 11 years in both the fertilizer and farming businesses.

“I know what it's like to be on one side of the desk and try to come in and discuss with a grower what we can do to help them out and help their operation. And then I also know what it's like to be behind that desk as the farmer and make those decisions on what is best for myself and my operation and how we optimize things. So it gives me a pretty cool perspective about the whole thing.” - Kyle McClintock

In Today’s episode: 

• Meet Kyle McClintock, the vice president and general manager of San Joaquin Fertilizer and also an almond grower at IB Farming
• Explore Kyle’s background and the scope of his operations as both a producer and fertilizer manager
• Discover the benefits and process of the Almond Leadership Program

“In this industry, or anywhere, building relationships and networking is extremely important. You've got to expand your horizons and learn new things and meet new people. And so I figured, this is my opportunity and I should take it and run with it. So that's what we did.” - Kyle McClintock

Contact the Almond Board field outreach team to access more available resources by sending an email to [email protected] 

ABC Update

You heard Kyle describe how he waited years before applying for the Almond Leadership Program, because initially he wasn’t sure if it was for him. Almond Board Senior manager of industry relations and communications Jenny Nicolau describes who the Almond Leadership Program is designed for. If you apply and are admitted into the one-year program, you’re in for a tremendous year of learning, meeting new people, and gaining access to new ideas that you can use for the benefit of your work and the industry overall. 

Register now for the Almond Conference December 7-9

The Almond Journey Podcast is brought to you by the Almond Board of California. This show explores how growers, handlers, and other stakeholders are making things work in their operations to drive the almond industry forward. Host Tim Hammerich visits with leaders throughout the Central Valley of California and beyond who are finding innovative ways to improve their operations, connect with their communities, and advance the almond industry.

ABC recognizes the diverse makeup of the California almond industry and values contributions offered by its growers, handlers, and allied industry members. However, the opinions, services and products discussed in existing and future podcast episodes are by no means an endorsement or recommendation from ABC. The Almond Journey podcast is not an appropriate venue to express opinions on national, state, local or industry politics. As a Federal Marketing Order, the Almond Board of California is prohibited from lobbying or advocating on legislative issues, as well as setting field and market prices.

Today’s episode takes us to Bakersfield, California, where we talk to Bret Sill who you heard from on episode 008. We’re revisiting Bret for a bit of a different story on today’s podcast, one that’s perfect for the Thanksgiving holiday that’s happening this week. We have the chance to share a great story of an almond grower impacting his community. 

In 2013, Bret felt led to be of service to the people of Bakersfield. He felt called to deliver fresh food directly from growers to people in need of quality food. Since that time, Morning Star Fresh Food Ministry has grown tremendously and served thousands of people. 

“I knew how to buy, I knew how to pack and I knew how to distribute and just to take that for a food ministry and that we could do everything fresh, and with the growers that I knew and the connections that I had….. it was really just taking what I knew and say let's use it for something better and something for our community.” - Bret Sill

In Today’s episode: 

• Meet Bret Sill, founder of the nonprofit Morning Star Fresh Food Ministry
• Explore the successes and good that Bret is able to share with his community
• Discover how producers and others can contribute to this worthy cause

“We want to give a hand up instead of a handout. And then that way they have some skin in the game and they want to contribute back to society.…..So that's what's really exciting to see, a person that was receiving a box and now they're doing so well that they're contributing back to the ministry. ” - Bret Sill

Contact the Almond Board field outreach team to access more available resources by sending an email to [email protected] 

ABC Update

A few years ago the Almond Board created a video called “The Mummy Shake” which was a song about winter sanitation set to the music of the song “Monster Mash”. The popularity of “The Mummy Shake”  led to an annual competition of growers submitting videos of them dancing to the song. Senior manager of industry relations and communications Jenny Nicolau says the contest is back this year, but a little different from years past. The deadline for The Mummy Shake Holiday Song Competition is Friday, December 17th. 

Register now for the Almond Conference December 7-9

The Almond Journey Podcast is brought to you by the Almond Board of California. This show explores how growers, handlers, and other stakeholders are making things work in their operations to drive the almond industry forward. Host Tim Hammerich visits with leaders throughout the Central Valley of California and beyond who are finding innovative ways to improve their operations, connect with their communities, and advance the almond industry.

ABC recognizes the diverse makeup of the California almond industry and values contributions offered by its growers, handlers, and allied industry members. However, the opinions, services and products discussed in existing and future podcast episodes are by no means an endorsement or recommendation from ABC. The Almond Journey podcast is not an appropriate venue to express opinions on national, state, local or industry politics. As a Federal Marketing Order, the Almond Board of California is prohibited from lobbying or advocating on legislative issues, as well as setting field and market prices.

Today’s episode introduces us to George Goshgarian. George is an almond grower and also the chairman of the Almond Board of California’s Nutrition Research Committee. We unpack the important role nutrition research continues to play in growing the global consumption of almonds. George shares some of the successes and challenges of the past 15+ years that he has been involved with the committee. Through our discussion listeners will gain even more of an appreciation for how important this work is for all almond growers and handlers, and how much effort goes into this by people like George who volunteer their time to serve the industry.

“To me that's the only reason this committee exists and should exist is to do research that will assist this industry in promoting sales in almonds.” - George Goshgarian

In Today’s episode: 

• Meet George Goshgarian, an almond grower and also the chairman of the Almond Board’s Nutrition Research Committee.
• Discover the scope, process and effectiveness of the Almond Board’s Nutrition Research Projects
• Explore what future projects and research efforts are in progress to encourage consumption of almonds

“My opinion has been that the work that we have accomplished in nutrition research has been one of the major reasons for the increased sales of almonds over the years.” - George Goshgarian

Contact the Almond Board field outreach team to access more available resources by sending an email to [email protected] 

ABC Update

To bring in more perspectives on how the valuable work of the Almond Board’s Nutrition Research gets done, we talk to Dr. Swati Kalgaonkar. She has a Ph.D. in Nutritional Science and extensive nutrition clinical research experience. Her primary focus is oversight of ABC contracted nutrition research, public policy analysis and synthesis, and information dissemination in support of the almond industries global strategies. 

Register now for the Almond Conference December 7-9

The Almond Journey Podcast is brought to you by the Almond Board of California. This show explores how growers, handlers, and other stakeholders are making things work in their operations to drive the almond industry forward. Host Tim Hammerich visits with leaders throughout the Central Valley of California and beyond who are finding innovative ways to improve their operations, connect with their communities, and advance the almond industry.

ABC recognizes the diverse makeup of the California almond industry and values contributions offered by its growers, handlers, and allied industry members. However, the opinions, services and products discussed in existing and future podcast episodes are by no means an endorsement or recommendation from ABC. The Almond Journey podcast is not an appropriate venue to express opinions on national, state, local or industry politics. As a Federal Marketing Order, the Almond Board of California is prohibited from lobbying or advocating on legislative issues, as well as setting field and market prices.

Today’s episode takes us to Maxwell, California, about halfway between Sacramento and Redding. We meet 4th generation farmer Leon Etchepare. Leon is a partner in Emerald Farms, which farms about 5,000 acres of almonds and walnuts. He has some great experiences to share about how he’s adopting mating disruption technology for navel orangeworm, and how he’s using soil probes and variable rate irrigation. 

“Just doing the math on the cost of chemicals and the cost of diesel and the cost of equipment and the increase of yield that I have because I'm not losing hardly any to navel orangeworm and it's a no brainer.” - Leon Etchepare

In Today’s episode: 

• Meet Leon Etchepare a partner in Emerald Farms and owner of Wellnut Farms
• Learn about Leon’s experience with mating disruption technology and the return on investment he has seen from implementing this technology
• Discover how Leon is experimenting with variable rate irrigation on a block that is highly variable

“We need to do a better job as an industry in getting out there why we do what we do, our stories, the challenges we face so that when the voters are voting for certain people, those people think about farming because we're getting so far away from our food.” - Leon Etchepare

Contact the Almond Board field outreach team to access more available resources by sending an email to [email protected]

ABC Update

Drew Wolter, pest management senior specialist at the Almond Board, shares how mating disruption can be a very important piece in an overall integrated pest management approach to navel orangeworm management. Research from the Almond Board of California has led to a number of resources for growers to learn more about this technology. See the link below for a video produced in collaboration with the University of California Cooperative Extension explaining mating disruption technologies.

• Mating Disruption Tools for Navel Orangeworm

The Almond Journey Podcast is brought to you by the Almond Board of California. This show explores how growers, handlers, and other stakeholders are making things work in their operations to drive the almond industry forward. Host Tim Hammerich visits with leaders throughout the Central Valley of California and beyond who are finding innovative ways to improve their operations, connect with their communities, and advance the almond industry.

ABC recognizes the diverse makeup of the California almond industry and values contributions offered by its growers, handlers, and allied industry members. However, the opinions, services and products discussed in existing and future podcast episodes are by no means an endorsement or recommendation from ABC. The Almond Journey podcast is not an appropriate venue to express opinions on national, state, local or industry politics. As a Federal Marketing Order, the Almond Board of California is prohibited from lobbying or advocating on legislative issues, as well as setting field and market prices.

In this episode we discuss the Seeds for Bees Program with two growers who have taken advantage of this resource. If the Seeds for Bees Program is new to you, it’s designed to encourage the use of cover crops to increase bee forage in California orchards, while improving soil health. Project Apis administers the program to provide free or subsidized cover crop seed mixes and technical support to California growers, giving them the opportunity to try out cover crops at a reduced cost. If you’re listening and interested in participating, enrollment is open until November 15th.

We visit with Samantha Lopes, operations support manager for Farmland Management Services and Turlock almond grower Kris Melgard about their involvement in the program. Samantha and Kris will talk about why they wanted to try cover crops, what results they are seeing so far, what they’ve learned, and whether or not they might recommend the program to other almond growers. 

“I work with the farm managers. We're both in nature and part of it, we depend on it and it depends on us. And so I think our goal is to improve the long-term soil health and biodiversity through our practices. This is just a simple practice that allows us to do it.” - Samantha Lopes

“You see all these flowers (in the cover crops) and then the trees are blooming at the same time. It makes everything worth it when everything comes together like that. So 100% worth it in my opinion.” - Kris Melgard

In Today’s episode: 

• Meet Samantha Lopes, operations support manager for Farmland Management Services and Turlock almond grower Kris Melgard
• Discover the Seeds for Bees Program and learn about the advantages and support it offers
• Learn about the benefits cover crops offer to almond producers beyond supporting and encouraging the bee population

ABC Update

Josette Lewis, chief scientific officer of the Almond Board of California, joins us to discuss the many programs offered to support bee friendly initiatives. Some companies are willing to pay premiums for Bee Friendly Farming certified almonds. No matter what your motivations are, the Bee+ scholarship was created by the Almond Board to get the word out about these opportunities. Wondering if cover crops might work for your operation? The Almond Board of California’s new Cover Crop Best Management Practices is a great place to start. 

Don’t forget to visit the Almonds Conference Website to get up to date information and to start planning your involvement.

The Almond Journey Podcast is brought to you by the Almond Board of California. This show explores how growers, handlers, and other stakeholders are making things work in their operations to drive the almond industry forward. Host Tim Hammerich visits with leaders throughout the Central Valley of California and beyond who are finding innovative ways to improve their operations, connect with their communities, and advance the almond industry.

ABC recognizes the diverse makeup of the California almond industry and values contributions offered by its growers, handlers, and allied industry members. However, the opinions, services and products discussed in existing and future podcast episodes are by no means an endorsement or recommendation from ABC. The Almond Journey podcast is not an appropriate venue to express opinions on national, state, local or industry politics. As a Federal Marketing Order, the Almond Board of California is prohibited from lobbying or advocating on legislative issues, as well as setting field and market prices.

This episode takes us to Fresno where we visit with Olam Farms senior director of agronomy, Zac Ellis. Zac is in his sixth season with Olam Farms, but he has been around almonds since he was a kid. He discusses the need to continue to push the envelope when it comes to water use efficiency, what that looks like for Olam Farms, and his experiences as a grower collaborator with a huge research effort called T-REX.

The T-REX project is part of the Almond Board of California's Irrigation Continuum of research projects, and it stands for Tree Crop Remote Sensing of Evapotranspiration EXperiment. At its core, the project is trying to answer the basic but complicated question of how do we track how much water each tree needs efficiently and affordably using remote sensing? 

“Water use efficiency is the forefront of our concern and our need for innovation. So we're really focusing on that: how we can be more efficient with using the water sources that we currently have.” - Zac Ellis

This multifaceted issue requires a cross-disciplinary research approach. Where an individual project may look at satellite imagery and water use or yield prediction in water use as examples, this project is bringing them all to the table. This is a major research effort to continue to be even more precise in water use efficiency.

“The biggest value proposition in doing this type of collaboration is just the ability to bring different areas of expertise into the field and get different perspectives on very similar problems. And when we find that we're able to actually collaborate….. these different perspectives bring a whole new set of solutions.” - Zac Ellis

In Today’s episode:

• Meet Zac Ellis, Senior Director of Agronomy at Olam Farms
• Learn about the water scarcity Olam Farms is facing and the efforts they are making to mitigate its concern
• Explore the T-REX project and the water efficiency research it is exploring

ABC Update

The focus of today’s episode is all about striving to unlock the next level of water use efficiency. But what should not be overlooked, says Tom Devol, is how much progress has already been made in this area. Tom is the senior manager for field outreach and education at the Almond Board. As initiatives such as the T-REX project are underway, there are also tools being developed that growers can use in the near term. Including a new slide rule calculator. These will be sent out in a mass mailing with the How We Grow publication, but if you want one ahead of that time, just send an email to [email protected] and they will get one sent to you.

Don’t forget to visit the Almonds Conference Website to get up to date information and to start planning your involvement.

The Almond Journey Podcast is brought to you by the Almond Board of California. This show explores how growers, handlers, and other stakeholders are making things work in their operations to drive the almond industry forward. Host Tim Hammerich visits with leaders throughout the Central Valley of California and beyond who are finding innovative ways to improve their operations, connect with their communities, and advance the almond industry.

ABC recognizes the diverse makeup of the California almond industry and values contributions offered by its growers, handlers, and allied industry members. However, the opinions, services and products discussed in existing and future podcast episodes are by no means an endorsement or recommendation from ABC. The Almond Journey podcast is not an appropriate venue to express opinions on national, state, local or industry politics. As a Federal Marketing Order, the Almond Board of California is prohibited from lobbying or advocating on legislative issues, as well as setting field and market prices.

Today’s episode takes us outside of Turlock, California to the orchard of Cal Mast. Cal comes from a dairy background and purchased his 45-acre almond orchard in 2018. Over the past couple of years, Cal has spent hours researching the considerations for designing an almond orchard. He shares with us what changes he’s making, and where he finds information to make such important orchard planning decisions.

“This is truly a long-term investment….I'm not planning to replant this thing again. I want to see what I can do to make this orchard outlive me.” - Cal Mast 

Being his first almond orchard, Cal considers himself a student of the process. He has enthusiastically spoken with neighbors, devoured materials from extension and other groups, attended meetings, and reached out to various industry leaders for advice.

“I'm pleased with the contacts that I've made, the people I've gotten to know, and I've not even found all the stuff that's out there yet... I just appreciate the fact that there are people in this industry and in the allied industries...that are there to help you.” - Cal Mast=

In Today’s episode:

• Meet Cal Mast, dairyman and almond farmer just outside of Turlock, California
• Learn about Cal’s introduction to farming almonds and the many considerations he has encountered when designing the planting of his orchard
• Discover the resources Cal took advantage of to make the best decisions for his operation

Find your Almond Board field outreach rep to access more available resources by sending an email to [email protected]

ABC Update

In today’s ABC Update, Sebastian Saa, Almond Board of California associate director, joins us to discuss designing an orchard that reflects the latest in research and technology, and takes into consideration where the industry is headed in the coming decades. He distills many of these important considerations down into a six step approach: 

1. Whole orchard recycling
2. Testing the soil
3. Irrigation considerations
4. Rootstock Selection
5. Variety Selection
6. Tree Density

The Almond Journey Podcast is brought to you by the Almond Board of California. This show explores how growers, handlers, and other stakeholders are making things work in their operations to drive the almond industry forward. Host Tim Hammerich visits with leaders throughout the Central Valley of California and beyond who are finding innovative ways to improve their operations, connect with their communities, and advance the almond industry.

ABC recognizes the diverse makeup of the California almond industry and values contributions offered by its growers, handlers, and allied industry members. However, the opinions, services and products discussed in existing and future podcast episodes are by no means an endorsement or recommendation from ABC. The Almond Journey podcast is not an appropriate venue to express opinions on national, state, local or industry politics. As a Federal Marketing Order, the Almond Board of California is prohibited from lobbying or advocating on legislative issues, as well as setting field and market prices.