California almond growers ready for harvest bounty — photo gallery

Jason Baldwin, plant manager at Panoche Creek Packing, watches as almonds spill into a bin.

Don Cameron, general manager of Terra Nova Ranch Inc., checks almonds in a five-year-old orchard.

Don Cameron, general manager of Terra Nova Ranch Inc., is pleased with a boosted almond estimate: “The demand is there to use every bit of the crop, and the prices to farmers should remain at good levels. This is what the market needs. The prices should be $2 plus. It’s a good thing.”

Michael Kelley, president of the Central California Almond Growers Association.

Hulls from almonds are a source of revenue for the Central California Almond Growers Association, headed by Michael Kelley. They are sold as cattle feed to provide carbohydrates.

Almond growers take leaf samples to assess nutrient levels.

Efrain Ponce gets ready to spray for weeds on the floor of a Terra Nova Ranch almond orchard. The bristles on the equipment keep the spray from drifting.

Michael Kelley, president of the Central California Almond Growers Association, with just some of the electrical boxes that control a myriad of operations at the Kerman plant that shells and hulls almonds.

Michael Kelley, president of the Central California Almond Growers Association, left, talks with mechanics Pablo Ramos, center, and Ubaldo Dela Cruz about modifications in equipment that will speed the process of hulling and shelling.