PISTACHIO GROWERS MEET IN SAN DIEGO

American Pistachio Growers to Discuss

Industry Issues 

By Patrick Cavanaugh and Laurie Greene

 

TODAY, at the American Pistachio Growers Seventh Annual Conference in San Diego, Sharon Roden, a second-generation pistachio grower in western Kern County, said that over 700 people are attending this year.

Sharon Roden

Sharon Roden

 

Roden said over 22 teams played in today’s Pistachio PAC Golf Tournament on Coronado Island to raise money to get legislative support for issues facing the pistachio industry.

 

The Conference’s aim is to educate growers on these issues for the pistachio industry here in California, nationally and internationally. Speakers and breakout sessions will cover governmental affairs, science and technology, nutrition, and marketing.

 

Roden says this drought affects everybody, “We are all in the same dry lakebed boat. We are all straining against the tides of political forces that are not solving the issues that we need solved for the health and safety of the industry and of the state as well.”

Pistachio - The Love Nut

Pistachio – The Love Nut

 

Her concern, like many Californian growers, is “There are a lot of jobs being lost because of the loss of water, and it will only continue to spiral downward. It’s a pretty scary situation.”

 

As for her own farm’s water supply, Roden responded, “We are part of the state water project and we’re at zero this year.”