Voting ends May 23

Voting begins today, April 29, to select two independent grower positions and two independent handler positions on the Almond Board of California Board of Directors. Alternate seats for those spots are also on the ballot. Voting ends May 23.

Candidates for the independent grower positions:

Grower Position #1, Member (1-year term):             Grower Position #1, Alternate:

Paul Ewing, Los Banos (incumbent)                         Katie Staack, Hughson (incumbent)

Grower Position #3, Member (3-year term):              Grower Position #3, Alternate

Joe Gardiner, Earlimart (incumbent)                          No declared candidate

Candidates for the independent handler positions:

Handler Position #2, Member (3-year term):             Handler Position #2, Alternate:

Bob Silveira, Williams (incumbent)                            Dexter Long, Ballico (incumbent)

Justin Morehead, Coalinga (petitioner)

Handler Position #3, Member (1-year term):             Handler Position #3, Alternate:

Darren Rigg, Le Grand (incumbent)                           Chad DeRose, McFarland (incumbent)

Ballots and instructions have been mailed to all independent growers and handlers whose names are on file with ABC. Ballots must be received by ABC by May 23. Any independent grower or handler who does not receive a ballot can contact Toni Arellano at tarellano@almondboard.com.

“Every vote is important, and it’s equally important to have as much of the industry as possible represented in the voting,” said ABC President and CEO Clarice Turner. “The Board of Directors represents more than 7,600 growers and 100 handlers. They guide the work of the Almond Board to help the industry build a positive future in these complicated times.”

All details, documents, open positions, timelines and frequently asked questions can be found at Almonds.com/Elections.

The ABC board is made up of five handler and five grower representatives. It sets policy and recommends budgets in major areas, including marketing, production research, advertising, public relations, nutrition research, statistical reporting, quality control and food safety.

Results will be announced June 1 and the new board will start its term Aug. 1.

The decrease follows two years of drops in overall almond acreage.

Courtesy of the Almond Board of California

California’s bearing almond acreage decreased slightly over the past year, according to a new report from Land IQ to the Almond Board of California (ABC). It is the first time since at least 1995 that the total of bearing acres has not grown.

Land IQ’s 2024 Standing Acreage Initial Estimate issued Wednesday looked at bearing acreage – orchards planted before 2022 and that have matured enough to produce a crop for the coming 2024 harvest. It estimated that bearing almond orchards at harvest will cover 1.373 million acres across California, a decrease of about 600 acres.

In addition, Land IQ estimates that approximately 71,000 acres of orchards will be removed by the end of the crop year, adding to the 83,000 acres removed in the 2023-24 crop year, according to Land IQ’s estimate issued in November last year.

While the bearing acreage drop may be small – far less than 1 percent – it marks the first time since at least 1995 that bearing acreage has not increased, according to numbers issued previously by the USDA-National Agricultural Statistics Service (USDA-NASS), and with the orchard removals continues a trend over recent years of decreasing almond acreage in California.

“The decrease in bearing acreage and continued orchard removals, coupled with drops in overall acreage and non-bearing acreage the last two years, signal a probable trend toward lower overall California almond acreage,” said Clarice Turner, ABC president and CEO. “We continue to see strong shipments this year, so we know global demand for California almonds continues to grow. There is no doubt that almonds will continue to have a very significant role in California and global agriculture and food industries for the foreseeable future.”

The Land IQ report is a snapshot of the coming 2024 harvest but does not offer an estimate on the actual almond yield this 2024-25 crop year. The first look at yield will come on May 10 with USDA-NASS’ Subjective Estimate. A fuller picture of crop size will come with USDA-NASS’ Objective Report in July.

Land IQ’s estimate covers bearing acreage and removals from Sept. 1, 2023 to Aug. 31, 2024. Note that the almond crop year runs Aug. 1-July 31, so this estimate looks at the harvest for the 2024-25 crop year.

Land IQ will issue a final acreage report on the 2024-25 crop year in November that will include total acreage along with bearing and non-bearing acres. Their report in November 2023 found that California’s total almond acreage had dropped two years in a row to 1.56 million acres.

Land IQ’s Initial Estimate and its Final Acreage Estimate in November are commissioned by ABC to provide statistical transparency and a robust picture of California almonds to industry stakeholders around the world. In 2018, ABC first commissioned Land IQ, a Sacramento-based agricultural and environmental scientific research and consulting firm, to develop a comprehensive, living map of California almonds, with the first report issues in 2019. The map is the result of more than a decade of research.

Courtesy of the Almond Board 

Almond Board of California thanks industry and government partners for helping reduce obstacles to California almond imports.

The United Kingdom’s government announced it would suspend tariffs for at least two years on raw kernel and inshell almonds from all origins – including the U.S. – beginning April 11, 2024.

The Almond Board of California has been working for many years with the UK’s Nut and Dried Fruit Trade Association (NDFTA), the group that represents the UK processors buying California almonds. This past year, ABC provided factual information and trade data to NDFTA, which they used to officially apply to have tariffs suspended on imported almonds.

“We are grateful for our long-time partnership with the UK’s Nut and Dried Fruit Trade Association and appreciate the UK government’s approval of the application to suspend tariffs on almonds,” said Julie Adams, ABC’s vice president for global technical and regulatory affairs. “This will certainly benefit UK consumers with increased availability of healthy almond products.”

The tariffs – 4% on inshell almonds and 2% on raw kernels – have been in place since the UK left the European Union in 2021.

UK trade officials on March 18 issued a list of commodities, including almonds, that will have tariffs suspended until June 30, 2026. UK officials said there is a possibility they will reassess before that date, possibly to extend the suspension or make a permanent change.

Estimates put the costs of the soon-to-be-suspended tariffs to UK importers at about $4 million a year. The suspension will allow UK importers to offer a more competitive price on raw California almonds to UK processors, and ultimately to consumers.

UK duties of 8-10% still remain on roasted almonds (which includes flavored almonds), 8% on marzipan and almond flour, and 20% on almond paste.

“We plan to work with NDFTA to assess further tariff suspensions in the UK, and with other partners overseas to identify opportunities for additional tariff suspension requests to lower costs for importers and processors and boost demand for California almonds,” said Keith Schneller, ABC’s senior advisor on trade policy.