Almond Living Magazine

Buds, Bees and Bloom- Part 2: Bees

Our almond buds have broken and the bloom has started, now it's time for the bees to start working! Our 2nd B in our three part pollination series is Bees. This post was written by Kern County almond grower Jenny Holtermann and originally appeared on her blog, You Say All-mend, I Say Am-end. This is the second in a series of guest posts from Jenny about the pollination process.

Report: Bee Supply to Meet Almond Pollination Demand

With almond bloom upon us, the Western Farm press has good news about honey bees. According to an article by Greg Northcutt, bee supply is “expected to meet demand for almond pollination” this year.

No, Almonds Don't Use 10 Percent of California's Water

Do almonds use 10 percent of California?s total water supply? The short answer is no. This myth, which we?ve heard a few times in the media, seems to trace back to a Slate article from last May. Its author generally engages in a thoughtful and nuanced discussion of California?s water use. He notes that almonds are an important economic contributor in the state and that all foods require water, including some that are far more water intensive than almonds.

Buds, Bees and Bloom- Part 1: Buds

These three B's are vital parts to a successful almond pollination and production. Over the next couple weeks I will walk you through Pollination's 3 B's and how each one is an important step to almond farmers. This post was written by Kern County almond grower Jenny Holtermann and originally appeared on her blog, You Say All-mend, I Say Am-end. This is the first in a series of guest posts from Jenny about the pollination process.

The Buzz on Bees

Spring comes early to California’s Central Valley, and farmers and beekeepers alike are already focused on the start of almond bloom. Almonds are the first of the many crops in California pollinated by commercial honeybees, and the February bloom provides bees with their first natural pollen after the long winter.

New Year's Resolutions

We hope you’re enjoying 2015 to date. Here in almond-growing country, our trees soaked up some much-needed rain from the past month and are resting in dormancy before the upcoming bloom. Almond growers are preparing for the next season, and one of our new year’s resolutions at the Almond Board of California is to continue to provide updates here on the blog on the more than $2 million we spend each year on research to continually improve our industry’s role in topics like air and water quality, water management and pest management.