Latest / West Coast Nut Audio Edition / West Coast Nut, October-November 2026: the issue in five minutes
Transcript
- This is the West Coast Nut audio edition for October-November 2026. Here's what's inside the issue. Three Crops, Three Different Outlooks. Pistachios are coming off a crop of about 650 million pounds, down from a record 1.6 billion. Walnuts are down 16%, with prices moving up. Almond growers are seeing better prices but still fighting high costs. Leaders from Wonderful, Blue Diamond, the Almond Board, American Pistachio Growers, Alpine Pacific and the Walnut Board share what to watch in 2027. Planning for El Niño or Not?. A strong El Niño tilts the odds toward a wetter-than-average winter, with peak impacts possible by November or December. UC farm advisor Franz Niederholzer's advice: plan ahead, and this year include a worst-case scenario. Here's how to prepare drainage, sanitation, young trees and the orchard floor, and where groundwater recharge may make sense. October in the Orchard: Keep Irrigating, Plan for Water. Forecasts keep pointing toward a winter that could rival 1982-83 or 1997-98. UCCE farm advisor Franz Niederholzer explains why fall irrigation still matters while leaves are working, how to keep water moving out of orchards, Phytophthora risk by rootstock, and getting mummy shaking and weed control done before wet ground stops equipment. Wildfire Smoke Can Cut Next Year's Crop. UC Davis and Stanford researchers found heavy smoke from the 2020 megafires drained the carbohydrate reserves nut trees store for winter. The next year, yields fell 20% to 50% depending on how close orchards were to the fires. August and September smoke hit hardest. Growers who send in twig samples make the work possible. Meet the First CCC Award Winners. Four people were honored at the first Crop Consultant Conference awards in Visalia: Deerpoint Group founder Deborah Miller (Titan Award), Gary Osteen (PCA of the Year), Ultra Gro president Rich Kreps (CCA of the Year) and Dr. Elizabeth Fichtner of UCCE Tulare County (Researcher of the Year). Read how each shaped California agriculture. What I Want to Know After Harvest. Navel orangeworm damage showed up this year in orchards run by very good growers, and PCA of the Year Gary Osteen kept coming back to timing. His fall review starts with damage samples, tissue results and irrigation history, block by block, so next season's plan is built on what actually happened in your orchard. A Genetic Route to Navel Orangeworm Control. Flyttr, formerly Oxitec, is developing a sterile male navel orangeworm made with a genetic change instead of radiation, aiming for males that compete better with wild moths. A nearly $5 million grant with FFAR and the Almond Board backs the work. It's early, costs aren't known, and it's meant to add to sanitation, monitoring and mating disruption. Micronutrient Management Starts in the Root Zone. In high-pH soils, iron and zinc can be present and still out of the tree's reach. CCA of the Year Rich Kreps explains why the better question is often "What is keeping this nutrient from getting into the tree?", how timing and placement beat pounds for zinc, and why boron needs careful rate control. Keenan Farms Looks to the Next 50 Years. It started when Charles Keenan traded an apartment building for a vineyard, and the sellers added 100 acres of newly planted pistachios. The first harvest ran through a potato peeler and a coffee roaster. Elizabeth Keenan Schuh talks labor, water, quality, giving back to the Central Valley, and farming for at least another 50 years. Tackling Rancidity to Build Walnut Demand. Consumers may not know the science of oxidation, but they know when walnuts don't taste fresh. The Walnut Board's new Rancidity Task Force is working on industry standards, faster tests, "Best If Used By" guidance and better packaging. Robert Verloop explains why quality starts in the orchard and why repeat purchases drive grower returns. The People Behind the Harvest. After 15 years of publishing West Coast Nut, Jason Scott reflects on what a season asks of growers and their families, and why a good crop doesn't automatically mean a good year. A Thanksgiving thank-you to the readers and relationships behind the magazine. Breeding Pecan Trees for Heat, Drought and Salt. "Trees for the Future," a 26-scientist, USDA-funded project, is breeding pecan cultivars and rootstocks that hold up to low winter chill, drought, salinity and pests. Researchers put cameras in tree canopies to track bloom overlap and built an AI pipeline to read the images. UCCE Tulare County's Elizabeth Fichtner is a principal investigator. Why Hazelnuts Need Heavy Pruning. Pruning may not pay in some California nut crops, but OSU's Nik Wiman says hazelnuts are different. Pruning or hedging about 20% of bearing wood each year can reduce bud rot, keep trees vigorous, improve access and help manage Eastern Filbert Blight, and aggressively hedged trees are yielding as well or better. Drones Are Flexible. The Rules Aren't.. A UC workshop at the Kearney center covered what it takes to fly drones legally on the farm, from TRUST and Part 107 certificates to Part 137 and California DPR rules for spraying. New federal limits on foreign-made drones could also tighten parts and repairs. Plus: weed mapping, bird hazing and water-use monitoring from the air. Every one of these stories is on wcngg.com, where you can read it, or listen to the full article. Thanks for listening.