West Coast Nut Audio Edition

A quick tour of every story in the issue.

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Pistachios are coming off a crop of about 650 million pounds, down from a record 1.6 billion. Walnuts are down 16%, with prices moving up. Almond growers are seeing better prices but still fighting high costs. Leaders from Wonderful, Blue Diamond, the Almond Board, American Pistachio Growers, Alpine Pacific and the Walnut Board share what to watch in 2027. Read the full article, with photos, at wcngg.com.

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A strong El Niño tilts the odds toward a wetter-than-average winter, with peak impacts possible by November or December. UC farm advisor Franz Niederholzer's advice: plan ahead, and this year include a worst-case scenario. Here's how to prepare drainage, sanitation, young trees and the orchard floor, and where groundwater recharge may make sense. Read the full article, with photos, at wcngg.com.

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Forecasts keep pointing toward a winter that could rival 1982-83 or 1997-98. UCCE farm advisor Franz Niederholzer explains why fall irrigation still matters while leaves are working, how to keep water moving out of orchards, Phytophthora risk by rootstock, and getting mummy shaking and weed control done before wet ground stops equipment. Read the full article, with photos, at wcngg.com.

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UC Davis and Stanford researchers found heavy smoke from the 2020 megafires drained the carbohydrate reserves nut trees store for winter. The next year, yields fell 20% to 50% depending on how close orchards were to the fires. August and September smoke hit hardest. Growers who send in twig samples make the work possible. Read the full article, with photos, at wcngg.com.

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Four people were honored at the first Crop Consultant Conference awards in Visalia: Deerpoint Group founder Deborah Miller (Titan Award), Gary Osteen (PCA of the Year), Ultra Gro president Rich Kreps (CCA of the Year) and Dr. Elizabeth Fichtner of UCCE Tulare County (Researcher of the Year). Read how each shaped California agriculture. Read the full article, with photos, at wcngg.com.

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Navel orangeworm damage showed up this year in orchards run by very good growers, and PCA of the Year Gary Osteen kept coming back to timing. His fall review starts with damage samples, tissue results and irrigation history, block by block, so next season's plan is built on what actually happened in your orchard. Read the full article, with photos, at wcngg.com.

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Flyttr, formerly Oxitec, is developing a sterile male navel orangeworm made with a genetic change instead of radiation, aiming for males that compete better with wild moths. A nearly $5 million grant with FFAR and the Almond Board backs the work. It's early, costs aren't known, and it's meant to add to sanitation, monitoring and mating disruption. Read the full article, with photos, at wcngg.com.

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In high-pH soils, iron and zinc can be present and still out of the tree's reach. CCA of the Year Rich Kreps explains why the better question is often "What is keeping this nutrient from getting into the tree?", how timing and placement beat pounds for zinc, and why boron needs careful rate control. Read the full article, with photos, at wcngg.com.

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It started when Charles Keenan traded an apartment building for a vineyard, and the sellers added 100 acres of newly planted pistachios. The first harvest ran through a potato peeler and a coffee roaster. Elizabeth Keenan Schuh talks labor, water, quality, giving back to the Central Valley, and farming for at least another 50 years. Read the full article, with photos, at wcngg.com.

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