“Record Year,” “Flooded Fields,” “Pest Problems,” “Late Harvest,” “Yields Down,” “Drought Destruction,” “Carry Forward Chaos,” or “Machine Manpower.”

Pick your favorite headline as they all seem to apply to one or more sectors of the tree nut industry. And when it comes to the negative nomenclature, no part of that industry was immune this year including the heralded almond division that reported a second-year-in-a-row reduction in the number of trees growing on a narrowing number of bearing acres.

“This is the first back-to-back decline in nearly 30 years,” reported Land IQ in citing some 74,000 acres taken out of service in 2023. An increase in orchard removals and a decrease in new plantings were cited for the numbers along with projections that both would continue next year.

ABC President/CEO Richard Waycott, stepping down from that position after over two decades on the job, will be replaced by Clarice Turner. He recently offered a guarded but optimistic look ahead.

Taking into consideration all the confounding factors that have befallen the world in recent years, especially the world of agriculture --- the growth in population, more disposable income for the middle class, a focus on healthier foods --- these things portend well for the almond industry in general,” Waycott said in November.

Waycott’s replacement is a proven veteran of several related industries like Napa Valley wines, Starbucks, PepsiCo, and others. Turner acknowledged the ABC top leadership position as “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to combine my family’s 9th generation history working with nature as a farmer and my executive experience to build on the strong industry foundation established in 1950.”

Guiding the rough-water ride will be Turner, who assumed the mantle at this week’s Almond Conference in Sacramento. She will now lead more than 7,600 almond farmers and processors.

‘Dire economic times’

Helping showcase the theme of “Connecting the Dots” with a top priority of building global demand for California almonds, conference sponsors acknowledged: “Our industry remains in dire economic times. After many years of production and economic growth, where global consumption seemed limitless, the industry now finds itself discussing oversupply (while) grappling with higher production costs and stubbornly low pricing.  Carry-in inventories continue at abnormally high levels (and) production has dropped by 500 million pounds from its high point four years ago.”

Industry challenges and Turner’s goals run parallel. “I’m impressed with the global market created in the almond category.  It’s one of the greatest success stories in global agriculture.”  Her mission is to make ‘good’, even ‘better’.

“Looking back on history to the first commercial crop of almonds harvested in the 1850’s, the main factor in the DNA of this industry has been grit and innovation”.

No reason to think that will be any different in the new year with new leadership.

“We need to leverage our strengths,” she said. “We do our best every day to stimulate global demand for almonds and make farming them as profitable as possible.  Even though times are tough out there, we’ll get through it together.”