In this episode we visit with almond grower and retired Air Force officer Alec Earle. Alec and his wife each spent over 30 years in the Air Force, first in active duty then civil service. In 2014, they bought 20 acres in partnership with his wife’s sister and her husband to form E&S Farms, LLC. Alec used the skills he had developed in the military to research extensively and organize his small orchard to operate at peak performance. He has fine-tuned his irrigation program and tapped into grants to buy equipment and improve his efficiencies. 

“I know the Almond Board has a place where they have links to these different websites and different services, but you really have to go out and do some research. There's help out there and there's money out there. If you go out and look for it.” - Alec Earle

In Today’s episode: 

• Meet Alec Earle, an almond grower and retired Air Force officer
• Discover Alec’s introduction into agriculture and almond producing
• Explore the research and grants Alec found and utilized to build and expand his operation

“There's a lot of paths to success in farming. There's not one right answer, every farm and every location has its own challenges depending on where you happen to be. So you have to take all the information that you can find, whether it's from the almond board, whether it's from other farmers, whether it's from your PCA…. and make decisions that you feel are best.” - Alec Earle

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

ABC Update

Alec shared the benefits he found from soil moisture probes and pressure chambers for irrigation scheduling. Almond Board senior manager for field outreach and education Tom Devol says there’s an even more basic problem many growers could pay more attention to: cleaning and maintenance of irrigation systems. 

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.