Nuts Have a Fighting Chance in 2022-

Inflation and water challenge growers in the Valley

An almond grower employs a water drilling company to go lower to find enough water to finish the 2022 season. Photo: Steve Newvine

Merced County residents recently celebrated nut growers with a festival at the fairgrounds.

But with drought and inflation menacing growers this summer, some wonder whether there was any reason to celebrate.

This has been one of the most challenging growing seasons for nut growers throughout the Central Valley.

“This is a difficult year for almond growers and the whole industry”, a spokesman for the Almond Board of California said. “Costs are up and prices have been down, while shipping issues and problems throughout the supply chain have added to the complexities of being a farmer.”

The challenge is so real, the US Department of Agriculture estimates this year’s almond crop will be down eleven percent from last year.

That estimate is seven percent down from their forecast at the beginning of this year’s growing season in May.

Inflation is one of the three top challenges for growers in the Central Valley in 2022.

Fuel costs are considered by many to be a stand-alone issue as it permeates a grower’s entire operation.

“Almond growers are putting what resources they can afford this year into producing their crop, and their efforts show,” the Almond Board spokesman said.

The President of the Merced County Farm Bureau agrees. Joe Sansoni says inflation has really hit all growers hard. “For example, repair parts for equipment have doubled and in some cases tripled in cost, and often are backordered or simply unavailable,” Joe said. “This goes for every single category including labor.”

In the spring when almond trees blossom, there is optimism for a good harvest, Photo: Steve Newvine

A lot of growers switched to growing almonds in recent years due to the higher return of investment the crop provided in the 2010s.

Those margins have taken a hit in recent years, but most growers expected some retraction as more crops were being produced. Availability of water also concerned growers in 2022.

According to the Farm Bureau’s Joe Sansoni, the challenges varied depending on where a grower is located and whether or not they had access to wells and/or surface water (supplied by an irrigation district).

“Growers with both wells and surface water in most parts of Merced County had enough water to grow a full crop,” Joe said. “Some growers were forced to dry up and remove lower yielding fields to divert the water they had to younger, more productive blocks, or in some cases to other higher-paying crops.”

Nuts provide an excellent opportunity for the value-add that many food manufacturers bring to the harvested crop. These are candied almonds that sold recently at the Merced County Nut Festival. Photo: Steve Newvine

In Merced, the second Nut Festival was held on October 22 at the Merced County Fairgrounds. This was the second attempt to celebrate the contributions of nut growers.

There was a two-year pause in the festival due to COVID restrictions. Organizers were happy with the broader expansion of the attendees in 2022. The second festival saw a near doubling of attendance.

More organizations sponsored the event than before, and a good foundation was built for future nut festivals.

“There will be a third annual event,” said organizer Necola Adams. “It is already being planned.” Those plans include opening up more vendor space and generating regional interest in the local event. “This year around four-thousand people attended,” said Necola. “We are hoping to draw ten-thousand people to attend next year.”

Attendees at the 2022 Merced County Nut Festival found all kinds of pistachios, walnuts, and almonds available with such value-added features as specialized flavoring. Plans are already underway to produce the 2023 event. Photo: Steve Newvine

Central Valley agriculture can still hold on to the promise that almonds, walnuts, and pistachios will continue to be major crops in the near future.

Two things are certain when it comes to the local nut harvest. One is that a festival such as the one held in Merced will continue to celebrate the successes of the crop that generates an estimated half billion dollars according to the Merced County Agriculture Commissioner’s 2021 report.

The other certainty is that growers will continue to work through the challenges they faced in 2022 with optimism for next season.

The Almond Board of California is optimistic for Central Valley growers saying than in spite of the challenges, this year’s crop in California will still be among the largest on record. The spokesman for Board says, “It reflects the efforts of growers to meet the high global demand for a steady supply of high quality California almonds”.

Steve Newvine lives in Merced.

His book Dreaming Big is available at Lulu.com.

Two of his books are now available at the Merced Courthouse Museum Gift Shop.

Steve will join approximately twenty other local authors at the first-ever Author Fair at the Merced County Library Downtown Merced branch on November 4 from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM.

The Administrative Committee for Pistachios and California Walnut Board were contacted to participate in this column but did not respond to our inquiries.