Almond Journey

Third generation farmer Keith Yamamoto and his family farm a variety of crops including almonds in Westley, California. Diversification in crops, markets and approaches has been an important part of the Yamamoto family’s business strategy. Yamamoto joined the Journey to share how he found his role in the family operation and how he looks at risk management, growth, and value-added opportunities.

“My dad had a saying I remember from when I was a little kid, ‘You have to farm like you're going to farm forever, or you need to get out of farming.’ Because if you're trying to do things from a short-term perspective, well that's when you go downhill really fast. - Keith Yamamoto

In Today’s episode:

• Meet third generation farmer and almond producer Keith Yamamoto from Westley, California
• Explore how he found and cultivated his interest in the business of the farm and his perspective on expanding their operation
• Understand the priorities Keith and his family focus on to successfully farm their operation

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.

Highlights from the April 2023 Global Update from the Global Technical and Regulatory Affairs team at the Almond Board of California.

Food and Drug Agency has stopped managing China’s CIFER portal. China’s General Administration of Customs, also known as the GACC, uses the portal for U.S. facility registrations. This recent action creates great uncertainty for those companies waiting to finalize their GACC registrations or for “new” companies waiting to register their facilities so they can also export products to China. USDA, FDA and USTR are currently discussing next steps regarding Decree 248. Until the U.S. government decides which agency will take over the CIFER portal, be sure to confirm that the products being shipped to China are included under your facility’s GACC account. If not, GACC is refusing to add “new” products without approval from the US competent authority in the CIFER system. ABC is in touch with both FDA and USDA regarding this issue. 35 of 70 almond facilities have finalized their registrations. If you have not finalized your registration, please upload the mandatory documents and submit them on GACC’s cifer.singlewindow.cn portal for future review after the USG decides how to proceed in sending these “change requests” to China. For more info, please contact [email protected].

On March 24, over 100 agriculture and business groups including the Almond Alliance of California sent a letter to President Biden calling for intervention to resolve the protracted West Coast port labor negotiations between dockworkers and port facilities owners. In the letter the groups wrote, “It is imperative that the administration work with the parties to quickly reach a new agreement and ensure there is no disruption to port operations and cargo fluidity. Significant cargo flows have shifted away from the West Coast ports because of the uncertainty related to the labor negotiations.” The letter which was coordinated by the National Pork Producers Council, further requested the Biden Administration appoint a new administration point person given the departure of Marty Wash from the post of Secretary of Labor. The letter comes on the heels of “job actions” taken by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union which caused congestion of trucks trying to enter the Ports of LA/LB. Please contact Brock Densel for more info.

ABC will be working with the California Walnut Commission to host a delegation of the Turkish Nut Association in June. Turkey is one of the countries we are looking at as part of a global trade strategy. The Turkish government lowered tariffs on imported almonds on Jan 1, 2018, from 43% down to 15%; Turkey then implemented retaliatory tariffs of 20% on US almonds after the US announced Section 232 tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. In 2019, Turkey lowered the retaliatory tariff by 10%, and that remains today. The current applied tariff for US almonds in Turkey is 25%. ABC will be providing more information on the delegation visit as it is confirmed. For more information, please contact Keith Schneller.

A banker and CPA – who both also grow almonds – join the Journey to talk about farm finance and accounting. Ted Reimers is the vice president in the agribusiness group at American Ag Credit in Turlock and owns an orchard in Orland. Robert Holtermann farms near Wasco and is also a certified public accountant. Today’s episode highlights both their farming operations and how their perspectives as a banker and CPA have informed the decisions they’re making for their farm businesses.

“I grew up in it, but until you actually see how it flows through your checkbook and the struggles that you go through, it just helps you relate a lot better.” - Ted Reimers

In Today’s episode:

• Meet Ted Reimers, almond grower and vice president in the agribusiness group at American Ag Credit
• Meet Robert Holtermann, a certified CPA and almond producer near Wasco
• Discover how Reimers and Holtermann apply their knowledge of credit and accounting, respectively, to their farming operations
• Explore almond production from a financially focused perspective including lending, operations and the industry’s future

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.

Highlights from the March 2023 Global Update from the Global Technical and Regulatory Affairs team at the Almond Board of California.

ABC exhibited in the USA Pavilion at the Gulfood show in Dubai during the week of Feb 20. The USA Pavilion included 158 U.S. companies and associations including nine almond exporters. The show hosted over 5,000 exhibitors from 125 countries and was attended by over 2 million commercial visitors. Many of them expressed interest in almonds! It seems almond demand in the Middle East and across Africa is higher than ever. We had visitors from the beginning to end of the show waiting in line to ask us questions about the industry, particularly related to finding suppliers and technical information.

The entire region continues to grow, with California almond shipments to UAE increasing from $193 m in CY2020 to $310 m in CY2022. The FAS offices in Pakistan and Turkey sent delegations by our booth to discuss the market, market access issues and future cooperation opportunities. Other visitors included buyers and processors from Russia, Ukraine, Algeria, Cyprus, India, Iraq, Lebanon, Morocco, etc. A logistics company from Dubai’s Al Ras wholesale market shared a google map link that shows how product moves from Dubai to Afghanistan and other ports in the area. Check it out here.

FAS/Dubai also led a tour of the DMCC Tea and Coffee Processing Center at the local Port’s FTZ. DMCC is partially owned by the UAE government and has years of experience in trading/processing gold and diamonds. DMCC plans to expand its operations to provide services to other sectors, including tree nuts, in the future.

During the week of February 14, the annual ABC trade conference was held in India. More than 240 importers and processors attended the meeting this year. Starting with a regulatory update, discussions focused on the greatest impediments to the market which were identified through a survey of Indian trade. Retaliatory tariffs and FSSAI regulation were among the key concerns. The need to form alliances and engage through Indian partners was highlighted as an important means of addressing concerns.

Considerable interest was expressed in the crop status, particularly insights from a California handler panel. While everyone is waiting to see how the California crop progresses, there was considerable optimism related to the long-term growth potential of the India market. This carried into the presentation of ABC marketing initiatives in India. Building on a strong tradition and culture, programs are expanding to encompass more health influencers. Other opportunities exist in ingredients, which are a growing sector for almonds, as well as expanding into rural India.

Great Britain (GB) is in the process of reviewing/revising regulations that it retained from the European Union (EU) post-Brexit. This includes EU regulation 2015/1949, which governs the Pre-Export Check (PEC) program that recognizes California Almonds for a reduced inspection rate upon arrival in the EU. ABC has been made aware of a GB-specific version of the Pre-Export Check certificate to accompany California almond exports to Great Britain.

ABC contacted both UK Port Authority and FAS staff to ensure no shipments are detained pending an agreement between GB and USA. USDA has advised that UK authorities have agreed to accept the current PEC certificate while the situation is being reviewed. Optimally, UK import control authorities will agree to use the existing PEC system with slight modifications to satisfy GB requirements. We will update the industry once a final decision is agreed upon. If any handlers have their shipments impacted, please reach out immediately to Abhi Kulkarni at ABC.

Mohnish Seth is the president and owner of Farmers International. He and his wife Versha Seth joined the Journey to share their incredible story of migrating to California from India in the early 1990’s to find a new source for high quality almonds. Their experiences offer real insights into how India – which doesn’t have any domestic production of almonds – has become such a massive consumer.

“The way things are done in California especially, everything is counted, everything is accountable. The university system is there, the agriculture department is there, the Almond Board is there. We are so visible, and we are proud to share that information with the people.” - Mohnish Seth

In Today’s episode:

• Meet Mohnish and Versha Seth of Farmers International as they share their journey in growing the almond industry
• Explore how India has developed such an affinity for almonds
• Discover the major obstacles facing California almonds getting to more international markets

ABC Update:

India remains the top export market for California almonds. In fact, shipments to the country more than doubled in volume between 2016 and 2021. Almond Board of California Vice President of Global Technical and Regulatory Affairs Julie Adams says India remains a top priority for growing demand for California almonds, but there are still some real challenges to be addressed.

“We have to keep working with our partners across governments in trade to really look at the longer-term growth, and I think almonds are going to continue to be a big part of that growth.” - Julie Adams

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.

Third generation almond grower Eric Spycher farms alongside his brother, Curt, and their father near Balico, California. This past year, Spycher was one of a few growers approached by the Turlock Irrigation District to collaborate on a groundwater recharge project. Spycher joins the Journey to share the impressive results they’ve seen from this work, how the project got started, what made his 40-acre field a good fit for this, what reservations he had, and how everything has turned out so far. He also offers some ideas for the future that apply to both growers and irrigation districts throughout the state.

“The thing that surprised me is how much the local wells groundwater came up purely from my neighbor and I doing this sample along with the rain. I'm sure it was a portion of both the rain and our project, but I was really surprised at how much the groundwater came up.” - Eric Spycher

In Today’s episode:

• Meet third generation almond grower Eric Spycher who is working with the Turlock Irrigation District and Sustainable Conservation in an effort to recharge groundwater basins
• Explore the process, concerns and effects of banking groundwater
• Discover the potential for almond orchards to recharge groundwater resources
• Consider if groundwater recharge might be an option in your area in the future

ABC Update:

The Almond Board of California has developed an introductory guide to help inform growers who might be considering whether groundwater recharge could be an option for them. Almond Board principal analyst Jesse Roseman says the guide seeks to answer basic questions about whether groundwater recharge might be a fit for your orchard and to provide considerations about how the process might impact your operation.

Learn more by viewing the Introduction to Groundwater Recharge guide. Roseman said the resource is a great place to start learning about the practice before communicating with your local irrigation district. 

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.

Highlights from the February 2023 Global Update from the Global Technical and Regulatory Affairs team at the Almond Board of California.

ABC sent out a note to handlers on January 26 stating that Algeria does not require fumigation per USDA/APHIS. However, after further follow-up, it has been confirmed that a fumigation requirement implemented in late 2022 only allows Aluminum or Magnesium Phosphide fumigation of products intended for export to Algeria. The fumigation information must be included on the mandatory phytosanitary certificate. APHIS updated its online PCIT/PExD database accordingly on January 30. For more information, contact [email protected].

In January, ABC received some disconcerting reports about France and Spain separately implementing new measures related to environmental packaging laws that still have not been fully implemented by the EU. Spain was the first to implement a new plastic tax (Spanish Law 7/2022) that went into effect on Jan 1, 2023 which levies a tax of 0.45 euro per kilogram on the proportion of non-recyclable plastic in the packaging material. Spain has not published any official guidance yet to assist stakeholders in compliance. We are advising industry members to work with their buyers in providing the requested information. It is our understanding that some buyers have provided templates, while others have requested a packing list on company letterhead or a declaration on invoices. Where claims about recycled plastic % have been made, you may be asked to provide a copy of the certificate from your packaging suppliers. But at this point, we are not aware of any specific requirements for how the information is to be provided. We will provide more guidance as soon as we receive it from the USDA office in Madrid.

The other issue is related to a proposed new environmental labeling scheme in France that will go into effect at the end of 2023. The purpose of the labeling is to “inform consumers about the environmental qualities and characteristics of waste-generating products”, and will mainly apply to textiles, electronics, toys, etc. While this labeling is not targeted at food products, it is unknown if this could change in the future.

Neither of these initiatives are part of the EU’s proposed Green Deal but were instead developed a few years earlier and are slowly being implemented in various EU member states. For more information, contact [email protected].

On January 11, 2023, the U.S. and India held the 13th Ministerial-level meeting of the U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum (TPF) in DC. A joint statement published after the meeting indicated many issues were discussed including remaining work on finalizing access for certain agricultural products of interest to both sides, increased dialogue on food and agricultural trade issues, reestablishment of GSP, and potential targeted tariff reductions. On February 2, Senator Jon Ossoff from Georgia issued a press release that India was cutting tariffs on imports of pecans from 100 percent to 30 percent. This was confirmed in the Indian Finance Ministry’s proposed annual budget, released on Feb. 1.

This is excellent news for U.S. and Mexican pecan growers but does not address the retaliatory tariffs on several U.S. agricultural commodities going to India. We are hopeful that further market access issues and tariff reductions in India will be addressed again in the near future, given the fact that California Almonds are the largest U.S. agricultural export to India.

In this episode, we revisit The Almond Conference 2022 with Almond Board President and CEO Richard Waycott to recap his message on the state of the almond industry. Waycott discusses grower profitability, water and biomass all while reflecting on his 20 years in the almond industry and his hope for what he has announced will be his final year leading The Almond Board of California.

“On the agricultural side, on the marketing side, on the regulatory side, there are just tremendous and innovative things going on.” - Richard Waycott

In Today’s episode:

• Reflect on the 2022 Almond Conference and the 2022 almond industry with Richard Waycott, Almond Board of California president and CEO
• Explore the opportunities, challenges and optimistic future of almonds with one of the industry’s leaders
• Learn about further innovation in almond production and by-product use

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 of the Almond Journey Podcast, we sit down with nine different almond industry leaders to hear about their hopes for 2023 and beyond. This group shares an acknowledgment of the current challenges, but also optimism for the future ahead for almonds.

Our guests include:

• Richard Waycott, Almond Board of California president and CEO
• Dick Cunningham, grower and Almond Alliance board member
• Monish Seth, president and owner of Farmers International in Chico
• Robert Holterman, fourth-generation almond grower
• Bikram Hundal, manager of Custom Almonds
• Jonnalee Dunn, almond grower and growth and development manager for Henderson Farms
• Keith Yamamoto, third-generation almond grower
• Ted Reimers, grower and vice president at American Ag Credit
• Brian Ezell, vice president of the almond division for Wonderful Almonds and Pistachios

“If anybody's gonna win, we're gonna win in this deal. Is it gonna be painful in the short term? Yes, it's already there. But I don't see how you have any choice but to be optimistic. Otherwise, people will just give up and I've never seen this industry being willing to give up.” - Brian Ezell

In Today’s episode:

• Reflect on the 2022 almond industry with some of the leading industry stakeholders
• Discover what is keeping people throughout the industry resilient and optimistic about the future ahead
• Hear nine different perspectives about the current state of 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.

January's Global Update from the Global Technical and Regulatory Affairs team at the Almond Board of California in today's Almond Byte.

After being nominated for leadership positions by the Biden administration last spring, Alexis Taylor was confirmed by the US Senate as Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Affairs at USDA on Dec 21. In addition, Doug McKalip was confirmed as Chief Agricultural Negotiator at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on Dec 22. Alexis Taylor was sworn in on Dec 29 at USDA.

The confirmations came after a flurry of political brokering at the end of a lame-duck session after several senators lifted their holds. Alexis has a good understanding of the issues facing almonds and other ag commodities, after having been in USDA for several years. ABC has already reached out with congratulations and will be organizing meetings as soon as possible.

In late December 2022, ABC was made aware of Great Britain (GB) requiring a GB-specific version of PreExport Check (PEC) certificate to accompany California almond exports to Great Britain. ABC contacted both UK Port Authority and FAS staff in London to ensure no shipments would be detained pending an updated PEC certificate. Further, ABC also reminded the UK Port Authorities that PEC is not a condition of import. UK authorities have agreed to accept the current PEC certificate while the situation is being reviewed.

Currently, ABC is working with USDA/FAS and AMS to find an agreement with UK import control authorities to modify the existing PEC system to satisfy GB requirements. We will update the industry once the modified PEC is rolled out. If any handlers have their shipments impacted, please reach out immediately to [email protected].

On December 21, 2022, China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) provided a written response to ABC’s application to include Almond Hulls in MARA’s official feed ingredients catalog. Inclusion in the catalog is required before firms can bring almond hulls into Chinese feed channels. The response came after the initial application was submitted in November 2021 along with several revisions made in 2022. MARA is requesting additional information needed to establish domestic standards for almond hulls in the feed catalog including parameters for NDF and mold counts among other details.

ABC staff will continue to work with our consultant in Beijing and colleagues at the Almond Alliance to make sure that the final “standards” to be published in MARA’s feed catalog are reasonable and least restrictive for US suppliers. For more information, please contact [email protected].

According to a recent Australian government press release, ECTA has entered into force. It states that, “Over 85 percent of Australian goods exports by value to India are now tariff-free, rising to 90 percent in six years, and high tariffs have been reduced on some additional products. In addition, 96 percent of imports from India are now tariff-free, rising to 100 percent in four years.” For almonds, the new annual Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) allows 34,000 MT (about 75 million lbs) of inshell/shelled almonds to enter India at 50% of the current Most Favored Nation (MFN) tariff levels. This more than covers current Australian shipments to India. Imports above the TRQ are at the full MFN rate:

Within TRQ: 17.5 Rps/kg inshell and 50 Rps/kg kernel.

Above TRQ: 35 Rps/kg inshell and 100 Rps/kg kernel

According to Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website, “To access a TRQ, exporters will need a TRQ certificate. Under ECTA, Australia will issue TRQ certificates to exporters or producers and share them with Indian Customs authorities. The importer in India will lodge a request letter, along with the reference for the certificate, to Indian Customs authorities. The authorities will in turn issue a No Objection Certificate to the Indian importer for each TRQ certificate received from Australia.”

India currently maintains retaliatory tariffs of 41 Rps/kg on U.S. inshell almonds and 120 Rps/kg on U.S. shelled almonds. ABC will be monitoring how the implementation of the TRQ impacts U.S. shipments.