Yesterday I spent the better part of the day in the middle Sacramento Valley, where more than 200 almond and walnut farmers from throughout Northern California gathered for a University of California Cooperative Extension growers' field day. The event was held at the outdoor Nickels Soil Lab in Arbuckle, which is actually a big test orchard.In the photo, Butte County farm advisor Joe Connell (left) is seen talking with Nickels field manager Stan Cutter about Nonpareil almonds. In nearly a decade-long study, Connell determined that even though Nonpareils are more valuable than other varieties, planting more of them won't necessarily net an almond grower more profits. Find out why by looking for my story at CapitalPress.com later today.
The UCCE did a nice job of organizing the event. Rather than having all 200-plus people crowd around and listen to one presenter at a time, they moved smaller groups around to stations featuring presentations in different parts of the orchard. It gave people more of a chance to ask questions or approach the presenters afterward. Also, extra kudos to the mid-valley FFA students for preparing a fantastic tri-tip lunch.
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