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.
China-led demand continues to anchor soybean and sorghum exports despite weekly swings.
February 04, 2026 06:00 AM
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Securing Critical Water Resources for South Texas Agriculture
February 03, 2026 01:10 PM
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Economists are also closely watching how policy decisions in Washington could influence markets moving forward. Analysts say deferred futures for corn, soybeans, and wheat suggest markets are operating near break-even levels, not at prices that would encourage expanded production.
February 02, 2026 12:13 PM
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Winter Weather And Markets Reshape Agriculture Nationwide This Week
February 02, 2026 12:04 PM
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Falling livestock prices, combined with higher input costs, continue to squeeze farm profitability heading into 2026.
February 02, 2026 10:22 AM
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Strong rail demand and higher fuel costs raise transportation risk even as barge and export flows stabilize.
January 30, 2026 02:21 PM
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