Growing almonds requires a lot of water, a resource heavily regulated in some areas.
It led researchers at UC Davis to roll up their sleeves and see just how much stress an almond tree can take.
“We had two sites, we have six years in one and three years in another, and found that we could wait a substantial amount of time, more than one month after growers normally start irrigating. We have not seen any bad effects on yields, but we have seen a better tree appearance in the trees. Now, we haven’t actually seen any serious symptoms, but at least delaying irrigation for long times has had no detrimental effect and some positive effects,” said Ken Shackel.
No worries there, but starting irrigation too late can cause issues. Shackel calls it the “bank account effect,” when the trees take up too much water too quickly, and then do not have enough to get through harvest.
Galynn Beer of Tidal Grow Agri-Science joined us to discuss challenges in fertility management, the benefits of Align-N, and what growers can expect at Commodity Classic next week.
February 20, 2026 01:26 PM
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Iowa farmer Derek Hommer joined us to discuss grain bin safety, ongoing prevention efforts, and the importance of community preparedness during Nationwide’s Grain Bin Safety Week.
February 20, 2026 01:21 PM
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Tommy Roach with Nachurs Alpine Solutions discuss fertilizer decision-making, plant fertility strategies, and what farmers can learn at Commodity Classic.
February 20, 2026 12:05 PM
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Pre-filled Applications Available Online to Producers with a Login.gov Account
February 20, 2026 10:23 AM
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Fertilizer still consumes an unusually large share of crop value.
February 20, 2026 09:00 AM
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Pollination costs remain volatile, raising planning risk for specialty crop producers.
February 20, 2026 07:00 AM
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