The Almond Board of California opened its annual conference on Tuesday by reflecting on a tumultuous year for the industry and encouraging growers to brace for more obstacles ahead next year.
The grim outlook comes as Clarice Turner takes over as president and CEO, replacing Richard Waycott. Turner described how her family farm dates back to 1773, and through good times and bad they “had to adapt when situations changed.” She was confident that the same grit and innovation still persists in almond growers.
“To operate in a rapidly changing environment, changing world and marketplace, we have to continue to evolve,” said Turner. “What got us here won’t get us there.”
She called for accelerating aggressive marketing and advertising—to be “bold and scrappy and concise and targeted and memorable.” She hopes to ramp up public relations efforts and “own our narrative that almonds have a positive effect on the environment.”
Several speakers walked through the trends over the last year—drought, frost, war, high inventory, costly inputs, retaliatory tariffs and more.
“All that being said, there is a silver lining,” said board chair Alexi Rodriguez. “Although these challenges are difficult, they are no longer new. We can now more clearly define them, which allows us to address them more effectively.”
Tough decisions will have to be made in the short-term, she warned, adding that “those who can hang on” have reasons to remain optimistic.
David Magaña, a senior analyst for Rabobank, detailed how inflation remains persistent and interest rates high, impacting consumer behavior and confidence.
“I know these are challenging times, but it won't be like this for long.” he said. “It's just a matter of time until things get better.”
Waycott noted that the U.S. accounts for slightly less of the world’s supply than a few years ago, but still dominates at 75%. Grasping for points of optimism, he pointed out that other tree nut industries have also suffered a decline since their pandemic zenith, and he surmised that the 438 million pounds of excess inventory add up to just two months of shipments and—spread across the global population—amounts to just one ounce per person.
Doug McKalip took the stage to applaud the resilience of tree nut growers amid a complexity of issues. As the chief agricultural negotiator at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, he vowed that the Biden administration is doing its best to help expand trade opportunities for specialty crops. While he was positive for the overall trade relationship with China, he acknowledged “there certainly are very concerning irritants” that have prevented some boats from getting to port. He advised growers to keep a diverse portfolio throughout Asia to balance the risks.
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McKalip sympathized with the industry after the European Union and other countries have suddenly pushed conservation priorities, while “many of the growers in this room…have been practicing stewardship since before the Dust Bowl.” USTR is pushing back on such one-size-fits-all policies and promoting a more flexible, tailored approach, he explained.
While the Almond Board is driving forward on sustainability goals, the environment has been fighting back. According to Chief Scientific Officer Josette Lewis, the “expensive pest” known as navel orangeworm has wielded high damage rates in almonds this year and growers are pivoting to fend off a new beetle. With irrigation getting expensive, Lewis described a new tool in the works that will help growers dial in individual tree demand by measuring evapotranspiration.
Turner concluded that such innovations are creating huge opportunities for growers.
“As the industry struggles to deal with the challenges—many of which we don't control—it's critical to pull together and focus on what we can control and what we can do to find our way forward,” she said.
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