An article from Perspectives From the Field
Carl Evers III, AFM, AgIS Capital President of AgIS Property Management and Director of Sustainability, returned to the American Farmland Owner podcast, Where Landowners Get Their News, for another episode with Emmy award winning journalist Dave Price.
After their last discussion on the future of California’s nut and wine grape industries, Carl and Dave sit down this time to discuss the almond industry in more detail. According to Carl, the industry may be finding some balance after several years of uncertainty.
Author of AgIS Capital’s Sustainability Highlights Series, Carl has an extensive background of experience in farmland management, policy and advocacy, water resources, and a strong passion for sustainable farmland management.
Watch the video below to hear their full conversation:
This episode is also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
“I believe this was the first year in quite some time that bearing acres in the almond industry have actually gone down.” — Carl Evers
“I believe this was the first year in quite some time that bearing acres in the almond industry have actually gone down.” — Carl Evers
The following is an excerpt from American Farmland Owner’s article about this episode:
Evers says there were two major drivers behind the reduction in acreage. The first was simple farm economics.
“You have just farm gate economics driving lack of replanting,” he said. “You’ve got these older age orchards that are just aging out, and landowners are either deciding to defer redevelopment or just go into alternative crops, maybe row crops, or a different tree nut.”
In many cases, growers reached the end of an orchard’s productive life and chose not to start over.
The second factor may have an even longer-lasting impact on California agriculture: water.
“And then you’ve got water restrictions with groundwater specifically in the San Joaquin Valley,” Evers said. “They’re just not going to make it feasible to redevelop those older orchards.”
Groundwater regulations continue to reshape farming decisions throughout California. For some almond operations, the limitations on future water availability make replanting a risky proposition.
The combined effect has changed the landscape of the industry.
“Where we had a big stack of non-bearing acres following these older orchards before, that just isn’t the case anymore,” Evers said.
For growers who have managed to survive the downturn, the payoff may finally be arriving in the form of stronger pricing.
Listen to the podcast and read the full article at American Farmland Owner:
