Almond Journey

In October’s Almond Byte, the Almond Board of California’s Global Technical and Regulatory team explores trade and regulatory developments affecting California almonds. Hear highlights from the EU and UK delegation’s visit to California and ABC’s fall Washington, D.C., meetings, where export access and growers’ economic pressures were key topics. The team also details the latest on the EU’s packag...

UCCE Orchard Farm Advisor Luke Milliron joins the Journey to talk about almond variety trials and growing almonds in the north Sacramento Valley. Milliron has a prolific body of work including co-hosting the “Growing the Valley” podcast and producing resources through field days, newsletters, videos and other outreach. He is also a member of The Almond Board of California’s Global Communications C...

Mani Pandher joins the Journey to discuss the market for California almonds in India, and some exciting strategic changes to drive even more demand. Pandher discusses the history of success for California almonds in India, which has already become California’s top export destination. She also shares the opportunity yet to be realized in the market and answers what the Almond Board is doing to adap...

September’s Marketing Bulletin explores how the Almond Board of California is growing demand for California almonds in Mexico’s bakery sector. ABC’s Becky Jeffers shares how they identified Mexico’s premium bakery category as a strong opportunity for almond usage and how the organization is working directly with bakers, culinary schools, chefs and industry events to inspire new almond-based produc...

Andrea Carrothers and Carmen Berry of FoodMinds join the Journey to provide a look back, and ahead, of what’s happening globally in terms of nutrition policy that may affect almonds. FoodMinds partners with the Almond Board of California and their recent report focuses on the “Make America Healthy Again” initiative and as a result the interest in defining the term “ultra processed food.” Explore h...

Entomologist Dr. David Crowder joins the Journey to talk about a project that could be beneficial for management of navel orangeworm. Crowder shares how phenology models have been used to manage major pests in other crops like codling moth and Colorado potato beetle, and how the same approach could help California almond growers with navel orangeworm. Often called "nature's calendar,” phenology is...

This month’s Almond Byte from ABC’s Global Technical and Regulatory Affairs team looks back at a busy 2025/26 year supporting market access for California almonds around the world. From progress on Japan’s voluntary aflatoxin pre-testing protocol and duty-free access into the European Union to strengthened relationships in key markets including China, India, Mexico, Morocco and the United Kingdom,...

Dan Sonke joins the Journey from The Almond Conference 2025 in Sacramento to discuss sustainability programs and their impact on consumer perception and farming economics. At that time of this interview, Sonke was the head of sustainability programs at Blue Diamond Growers where he was responsible for building and leading enterprise sustainability strategy, reporting, and governance. Sonke also le...

In this Almond Byte, the Almond Board of California’s Global Technical and Regulatory Affairs team provides updates on key international trade and regulatory issues affecting California almonds. The episode covers ABC’s participation at SNACKEX in Lisbon, recent tariff and trade developments, the new U.S.-EU trade deal that could support almond competitiveness in Europe, and evolving maximum resid...

Carson Pettit joined the Journey to share what led him back to California and into the almond industry, some of the current market dynamics in the global almond trade, how RPAC is staying on the cutting edge of grower engagement, his experiences with the California Ag Leadership program, and his hopes for the future. Pettit is the grower relations manager at RPAC growers and processors. This episo...

Marlin Flory and Gerry Rominger join the Journey on its 100 podcast episode to reflect on how far the almond industry has come. About 100 years ago, the California almond industry was just starting to grow with applied irrigation. Flory and Rominger, multi-generational California almond industry members take listeners through a few major advancements in the industry over that time and detail how t...

Mel Machado joins the Journey to provide a wide-ranging “state of the almond orchard” discussion. Machado is the Chief Agricultural Officer at Blue Diamond Growers and discusses the current challenging grower economics, the decline in almond acreage, the decision to end the objective estimate and some of his thoughts on pollination, cover crops, bee health and more. In addition to his 34-year care...

In this month’s Almond Byte, we’re digging into highlights from May’s Global Update and what they mean for California almond growers. We’ll cover the latest developments in trade and tariff activity, including movement on the farm bill and ongoing discussions tied to key export markets. We’ll also look at how the Iran conflict is disrupting shipments in the Middle East, creating delays, reroutes a...

Irrigation and technology advisor Tom Devol has been helping growers with their irrigation system needs for years and he joined the Journey to discuss a couple of important resources that are freely available to the almond industry. Devol provides an overview and discusses the thought process behind two irrigation guides from the Almond Board of California: “Questions to Discuss with your Irrigati...

College and university dining isn’t just feeding students, it’s shaping tastes at scale. In April’s Marketing Bulletin, ABC’s Ann Solo explains why campus operators can turn small ingredient choices into millions of meals, how almonds fit today’s plant-forward, allergy-aware menus, and what it takes to move from awareness to repeat menu placement. From on-campus pop-ups to turnkey limited-time off...

Highlights from April’s Global Update breaks down the latest tariff and framework agreement updates, what Japan’s Year 2 Pre-Test changes mean for shipments and reconditioning, and the newest signals out of China ahead of an important leaders’ meeting. We also cover how the Iran war is impacting costs and exports, what’s next in the evolving EU–US trade deal, and ABC’s on-the-ground efforts to gro...

ABC Board Chair Bob Silveira joined the Journey to reflect on his many years in the almond industry, addressing issues with the almond carryout, the prospect of gene-edited trees and his thoughts on the future of the industry. Silveira and his wife farm 150 acres of almonds near Courtland, California just southwest of Elk Grove. He is also a partner in Vann Family Orchards and serves the current b...

In this episode of The Almond Journey Podcast , ABC’s Laura Morin unpacks the significant headwinds facing the U.S. almond market, from declining snack category sales to broader economic pressures reshaping consumer behavior. Morin explains how inflation, shifting priorities and category-wide declines – not just almonds – are challenging domestic demand, and why the path forward will require new s...

In March’s Almond Byte, we break down fast-moving geopolitical and policy developments that could ripple into almond trade flows. We start with the Israel-Iran conflict and disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping corridor linking Gulf ports to global markets. We also share a quick roundup of the latest tariff and trade updates, including emerging reciprocal trade frameworks, USMCA...

Trade experts Krista Dickson and Lindsay Tello join the Journey to discuss the current trade situation and the outlook for 2026. Dickson is a partner at DTB AgriTrade based in Washington, D.C. She has worked on agricultural trade issues for nearly 25 years. Tello is the new senior advisor for trade policy at The Almond Board of California (ABC), who has an extensive background in trade before join...

Winter in Germany slows everything down — but it also opened the door to a creative opportunity for California Almonds. In this month’s Marketing Bulletin, hear how the Almond Board of California leaned into movement, sustainability, and natural energy to bring almonds to life in unexpected ways. From city streets to digital platforms to the moment of purchase, this campaign shows how a simple ide...

Almond Board of California (ABC) President and CEO Clarice Turner joins the Journey to discuss the state of the almond industry. She discusses the current economic realities in the almond industry, and the Almond Board’s continued focus on growing overall demand, maintaining a favorable trade environment and maximizing grower value. “Our total acreage in California has come down in the last four y...

From global trade shows to major tariff and trade developments, ABC’s Global Technical and Regulatory Affairs team breaks down what matters most in highlights from their February Global Update. Tune in to this Almond Byte episode for key takeaways on international market access, evolving trade agreements, and why global engagement remains critical for U.S. almonds.

Dr. Elina Lastro Niño joins the Journey to share some of the latest research on honeybees and pollination. Dr. Niño is a professor of Cooperative Extension at UC Davis with a focus on apiculture. She discusses some of the challenges faced by beekeepers, her work on varroa mites and some new research she’s a part of on hive stocking rates for self-compatible varieties. “Can the self-fertile almond...

People from around the industry join the Almond Journey Podcast at The Almond Conference 2025. We asked each of them to share what’s on the top of their minds headed into 2026. In this episode, you’ll hear some highlights from Dan Sonke, Lindsay Tello, Dinesh Bajaj, Laura Morin, Mel Machado, Luke Milliron, Carson Pettit, Tom Devol and Clarice Turner. In Today’s episode: Hear from nine industry lea...