SPECIALTY CROPS


ALM ND INDUSTRY SUCCESS TIED TO


EFFICIENT IRRIGATION


The California almond industry is improving growing practices by increasing its water 


BY INGE BISCONER, CID, CLIA A 16 Irrigation TODAY | Spring 2021


lmonds have become a way of life in one of America’s favorite pastimes — eating. They seem to be everywhere: snack packs, bulk bags, protein bars, shakes and cakes, cartons of milk, and now even skin care products and weight loss remedies. But few realize almonds aren’t grown everywhere. California’s


7,600 multigenerational almond growers produce 99% of the country’s and 80% of the world’s almonds thanks to California’s unique Mediterranean climate and water infrastructure.


According to a 2019 U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service estimate, California almonds thrive on nearly one-fifth of California’s largest-in-the-nation irrigated acres — 8.4 million acres total — exceeding 1.6 million total planted acres in the state. In addition to total irrigated acres, California almond orchards use anywhere from 42 to 52 acre inches of water per year.


irrigationtoday.org


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