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.
Payment totals alone do not show financial stress — production costs and net losses complete the picture.
January 26, 2026 02:30 PM
·
Year-round E15 remains on the table, but procedural caution and competing regional interests pushed action into a slower, negotiated path.
January 26, 2026 01:33 PM
·
A mid-January winter storm delivered snow, ice, and extreme cold to a broad swath of the U.S., disrupting transportation, stressing livestock systems, and adding cost and complexity to winter farm operations as producers look toward spring.
January 26, 2026 01:10 PM
·
Strong production and rising stocks may pressure ethanol margins unless demand or exports continue to improve.
January 26, 2026 10:00 AM
·
Without additional support, many soybean operations will continue to face financial stress as they prepare for the 2026 crop.
January 26, 2026 09:41 AM
·
USDA Rural Development Director for Kentucky, Travis Burton, joined us to discuss the Princeton facility (formerly Porter Road Meats), now backed by the USDA, and its role in expanding domestic meat processing capacity.
January 23, 2026 03:39 PM
·
