Part 7

Heretofore, California almonds have been marketed chiefly in the shell. A small proportion has been cracked annually to supply western brokers and confectioners, and practically all of these have been sold west of the Rocky Mountains. Only the whole nuts have been shipped to the eastern markets.

The European crops are sent to the United States largely as kernels and have had a practical monopoly of the shelled almond business east of the Rockies. The Tarragonas and Valencias shipped to America come into direct competition with the I.X.L., Drake, Languedoc and other California almonds, all of which are unshelled for the eastern markets. The imports of unshelled almonds average about the same as the California production. The Jordan, Princess and other varieties, however, come in shelled, constituting the bulk of the importations. The Jordan, because of its superior quality, is in a class by itself and does not compete at present with the California product. The Princess and other almonds of that type are much the same as the California shelling varieties and will be serious competitors when sold in the same markets.

Storing.—Almonds awaiting removal or sale will become rancid if stored in warm or damp places. If the almonds have been properly cared for during the handling process to prevent worm infection, and if the nuts have been thoroughly cured, they will keep satisfactorily for a year or more. The ideal condition is to keep them stored in a uniformly cool, dry storage place with ample ventilation.

YIELDS

The yield of almonds in different years and in different orchards is probably more variable than that of any other of the common orchard fruits. The fluctuations from year to year are largely due to climatic conditions, while the variations in different orchards are largely due to variety, care given the trees throughout their life, the character of the soil, and location with relation to local frost conditions.

Almonds first commence bearing at from two to four years of age; the first crop ranging from one or two nuts up to a hatful or possibly more. The trees will first commence to bear a crop which it will pay to harvest, at from three to five years of age. Ordinarily, it will be nearer the latter, depending upon the type of soil in which the trees are growing and the moisture conditions surrounding them. On the hill lands the trees begin to mature much earlier than in the rich bottom lands and consequently come into bearing earlier. It must be borne in mind that a crop which it will pay to harvest does not necessarily pay for the cost of orchard maintenance. A crop is not considered a paying crop until it pays for the cost of maintenance as well as harvesting and handling. Almond orchards, as a rule, reach this point at from five to seven years of age. From this time on the trees should continue to increase in production from year to year, allowing for failures due to frost and other unfavorable conditions, until they are from 12 to 20 years old. Under the common methods of care that most orchards receive, the trees commence to decrease in their production at from 25 to 30 years, although in some cases it will be even sooner than that. On the other hand, well cared-for orchards will continue their maximum production even longer. The age at which an orchard will no longer pay will range from 30 years upward. The top limit is still unknown.

Investigations carried on during 1913-1914 brought out the following facts: The average production of almonds in California is between 700 and 800 pounds per acre; if care is exercised in the selection of a proper location for an orchard and if good judgment is used in managing it, 1000 pounds per acre would be a safe estimate for business purposes; in many years competent men might be expected to obtain 1500 pounds per acre, but this could not be expected to hold for a ten-year average. The possibilities are shown by the crop from one acre on the University Farm, at Davis, California, of ten-year-old trees which amounted to nearly 2800 pounds in 1917.

COST OF PRODUCTION

The cost of producing almonds involves a number of variable factors, including overhead charges, such as the cost of the land, equipment, taxes, insurance and depreciation; and also the cost of maintenance and handling. Maintenance includes such costs as pruning, plowing, cultivating, spraying and irrigation. Handling includes harvesting, hulling, hauling, and warehousing. Tabulations of estimates in tables II to VIII are based on information collected during the years 1913 to 1916, inclusive, from a large number of growers in practically all the almond districts of the state, and represent as accurately as possible with the data at hand the average costs which actually exist throughout California.

Cost of the Land.—The estimates given in table II are to be taken as only partially indicative of conditions which actually exist in the various districts mentioned. These figures do not give the entire range of prices but indicate some of the more common values placed upon the land.

TABLE II

VALUE OF ALMOND LAND IN CALIFORNIA

Land in bearing District— Bare land orchard

Best Sacramento Valley land $200-$400 $400-$600 Other good interior valley lands 150- 300 400- 500 Sacramento Valley, foothill sections 75- 150 200- 400 Contra Costa County 100- 300 250- 500 Santa Clara and San Benito counties 300- 600 500- 800 Paso Robles district 50- 150 ........ Banning district 400- 800 600-1000 --------- -------- Averages for California $250 $500

Equipment.—It has been found impossible to gather accurate figures upon cost of equipment in almond orchards, and especially so in view of the present abnormal economic conditions, but the list given in table III will give an idea of the equipment required. In addition, there will be other small items the grower will need which are not mentioned here.

TABLE III

ALMOND ORCHARD EQUIPMENT

Plows Harrows (spike-tooth and spring-tooth) Disc Cultivator Weed cutter Clod masher Roller Hoes, shovels, etc. Pruning tools Brush burner Spray outfit Wagon Barns, sheds and other buildings Harvesting equipment: Almond sheets Poles Lug boxes Hulling machine Sorting tables and bins Drying trays Sacks for transportation to warehouse Orchard heating equipment ($25-$30 per acre) Horses or tractors Harness

Average Overhead Charges.—Table IV shows the average overhead charges for almond orchards. Interest and depreciation on buildings are not included because of the great variation in their character, so that an extra charge must be figured on these items by the individual grower.

TABLE IV

AVERAGE OVERHEAD CHARGES PER ACRE

Taxes and insurance $4.00 Interest 30.00 Depreciation on working equipment 4.00 ------ Total $38.00

Cost of Production.—Table V shows the average cost of production for bearing orchards of varieties in all districts, based on personal observation and cost records from a large number of orchards mentioned previously. Wherever cost is dependent upon tonnage the average yield of 700 pounds per acre is used as the basis for computation. Depreciation on buildings and trees, time spent by teams in idleness, feed consumed during such times and other minor items are too variable to safely estimate, but must be considered.

TABLE V

AVERAGE COST OF PRODUCTION OF ALL BEARING ORCHARDS IN CALIFORNIA

Per acre Maintenance: Pruning $3.00 Plowing 2.75 Harrowing .75 Cultivation and weed cutting 3.00 Spraying 3.00 Irrigation 2.00 Handling: Harvesting, hulling, etc. 20.00 Warehousing (including bleaching), @ ¼c per lb. 1.75 Miscellaneous expense for maintenance and handling 2.00 $38.25 ------ Overhead charges 38.00 ------ Total cost per acre $76.25 Cost per pound for maintenance and handling $0.055 Cost per pound for overhead charges 0.054 ------ Total cost per pound $0.109

Returns.—Prices paid to growers have fluctuated considerably, due to the great variation in both the California and European crops from year to year. Table VI shows the average prices per pound paid to the growers for the four principal varieties marketed through the Exchange since its organization.

TABLE VI