Almond Journey

Hosted by Almond Journey

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172

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Sep 2026

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About the show

This show explores how almond growers, handlers, and other stakeholders are making things work in their operations to drive the industry forward. Host Tim Hammerich is visiting with almond leaders throughout California who are finding innovative ways to improve their operations, connect with their communities, and advance the almond industry. Hearing the voices of these industry leaders might spark a connection or idea you can use in your own journey. That’s why we want to feature these stories of innovation, resilience, and community.

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October 1, 202632 min

Episode 105: Reinventing Almonds in India

Mani Pandher joins the Journey to discuss the market for California almonds in India, and some exciting strategic changes to drive even more demand. Pandher discusses the history of success for California almonds in India, which has already become California’s top export destination. She also shares the opportunity yet to be realized in the market and answers what the Almond Board is doing to adapt: repositioning almonds, driving demand through integrated campaigns, and winning over younger shoppers. “When you have consumer love, emotional connection and credibility for a brand; that is what long term growth is built on. And that is what we’re trying to do in India.” - Mani Pandher In Today’s episode: Meet Mani Pandher, senior strategic advisor at the Almond Board of California Explore the successful history of California almonds in India Discover the reinvented strategy for growing demand for California almonds in the region. The Almond Journey Podcast is brought to you by the Almond Board of California. This show explores how growers, handlers, and other stakeholders are making things work in their operations to drive the almond industry forward. Host Tim Hammerich visits with leaders throughout the Central Valley of California and beyond who are finding innovative ways to improve their operations, connect with their communities, and advance the almond industry. ABC recognizes the diverse makeup of the California almond industry and values contributions offered by its growers, handlers, and allied industry members. However, the opinions, services and products discussed in existing and future podcast episodes are by no means an endorsement or recommendation from ABC. The Almond Journey podcast is not an appropriate venue to express opinions on national, state, local or industry politics. As a Federal Marketing Order, the Almond Board of California is prohibited from lobbying or advocating on legislative issues, as well as setting field and market prices

September 17, 202610 min

Marketing Bulletin: Inspiring Premium Bakery Innovation in Mexico

September’s Marketing Bulletin explores how the Almond Board of California is growing demand for California almonds in Mexico’s bakery sector. ABC’s Becky Jeffers shares how they identified Mexico’s premium bakery category as a strong opportunity for almond usage and how the organization is working directly with bakers, culinary schools, chefs and industry events to inspire new almond-based products. From hands-on workshops and major trade shows to an upcoming harvest tour in California’s Central Valley, the episode highlights how education, creativity and personal connection are helping bring almonds to the forefront of bakery innovation in Mexico.

September 15, 202629 min

Episode 104: Nutrition Trends and Where Almonds Fit

Andrea Carrothers and Carmen Berry of FoodMinds join the Journey to provide a look back, and ahead, of what’s happening globally in terms of nutrition policy that may affect almonds. FoodMinds partners with the Almond Board of California and their recent report focuses on the “Make America Healthy Again” initiative and as a result the interest in defining the term “ultra processed food.” Explore how this movement could impact the almond industry specifically, and why it’s important to be part of the conversation. “ We know almonds are nutrient dense and have a lot of health benefits, and then it's being compared to a product that doesn't have nutrient dense foods. It's hard to compare apples to apples.” - Carmen Berry In Today’s episode: Meet Andrea Carrothers and Carmen Berry of FoodMinds Explore the impacts of the MAHA movement on the almond industry Discover the significance in having a clear definition for what the label “Ultra Processed Food” means The Almond Journey Podcast is brought to you by the Almond Board of California. This show explores how growers, handlers, and other stakeholders are making things work in their operations to drive the almond industry forward. Host Tim Hammerich visits with leaders throughout the Central Valley of California and beyond who are finding innovative ways to improve their operations, connect with their communities, and advance the almond industry. ABC recognizes the diverse makeup of the California almond industry and values contributions offered by its growers, handlers, and allied industry members. However, the opinions, services and products discussed in existing and future podcast episodes are by no means an endorsement or recommendation from ABC. The Almond Journey podcast is not an appropriate venue to express opinions on national, state, local or industry politics. As a Federal Marketing Order, the Almond Board of California is prohibited from lobbying or advocating on legislative issues, as well as setting field and market prices.

September 4, 202637 min

Episode 103: Phenology Models for NOW with David Crowder

Entomologist Dr. David Crowder joins the Journey to talk about a project that could be beneficial for management of navel orangeworm. Crowder shares how phenology models have been used to manage major pests in other crops like codling moth and Colorado potato beetle, and how the same approach could help California almond growers with navel orangeworm. Often called "nature's calendar,” phenology is the study of the timing of recurring biological events in the natural world. Crowder says that using a phenology model can provide predictive information about the behavior of things like insect pests. “Trying to give people simple models of when something might happen seven to 14 days in advance, sending them a text message, ‘Hey, your bugs are going to be flying,’ these are the most effective models.” - Dr. David Crowder In Today’s episode: Meet Washington State University Professor of Entomology Dr. David Crowder Explore the value phenology models can offer growers in managing insect pests including navel orangeworm Discover the trials available that producers can participate in to evaluate the use of the phenology models predictions Growers can create an account and explore the Decision Aid System at treenuts.decisionaid.systems/ The Almond Journey Podcast is brought to you by the Almond Board of California. This show explores how growers, handlers, and other stakeholders are making things work in their operations to drive the almond industry forward. Host Tim Hammerich visits with leaders throughout the Central Valley of California and beyond who are finding innovative ways to improve their operations, connect with their communities, and advance the almond industry. ABC recognizes the diverse makeup of the California almond industry and values contributions offered by its growers, handlers, and allied industry members. However, the opinions, services and products discussed in existing and future podcast episodes are by no means an endorsement or recommendation from ABC. The Almond Journey podcast is not an appropriate venue to express opinions on national, state, local or industry politics. As a Federal Marketing Order, the Almond Board of California is prohibited from lobbying or advocating on legislative issues, as well as setting field and market prices.

August 20, 20265 min

Almond Byte, August 2026: Key Wins in 2025/2026 Crop Year

This month’s Almond Byte from ABC’s Global Technical and Regulatory Affairs team looks back at a busy 2025/26 year supporting market access for California almonds around the world. From progress on Japan’s voluntary aflatoxin pre-testing protocol and duty-free access into the European Union to strengthened relationships in key markets including China, India, Mexico, Morocco and the United Kingdom, the GTRA team worked to resolve nearly 100 trade and technical issues, protect export opportunities and represent California almonds in global regulatory discussions.

July 30, 202630 min

Episode 102: The Impact of Almond Stewardship with Dan Sonke

Dan Sonke joins the Journey from The Almond Conference 2025 in Sacramento to discuss sustainability programs and their impact on consumer perception and farming economics. At that time of this interview, Sonke was the head of sustainability programs at Blue Diamond Growers where he was responsible for building and leading enterprise sustainability strategy, reporting, and governance. Sonke also led development of one of the world’s largest farmer datasets through the California Almond Stewardship Platform (CASP), and serves as the current chair of the Almond Board of California’s Environmental Stewardship Working Group. “We have an amazing, science-backed story for our customers around the world. When they buy almonds from California, they're buying something that's not only a healthy product, but has a high degree of environmental protection associated with it.” - Dan Sonke In Today’s episode: Meet Dan Sonke, chair of the Almond Board of California’s Environmental Working Group and almond industry leader in sustainability Discover how Sonke has pursued a career in developing and executing agriculture sustainability across multiple industries Explore the creation and intention of the California Almond Stewardship Platform The Almond Journey Podcast is brought to you by the Almond Board of California. This show explores how growers, handlers, and other stakeholders are making things work in their operations to drive the almond industry forward. Host Tim Hammerich visits with leaders throughout the Central Valley of California and beyond who are finding innovative ways to improve their operations, connect with their communities, and advance the almond industry. ABC recognizes the diverse makeup of the California almond industry and values contributions offered by its growers, handlers, and allied industry members. However, the opinions, services and products discussed in existing and future podcast episodes are by no means an endorsement or recommendation from ABC. The Almond Journey podcast is not an appropriate venue to express opinions on national, state, local or industry politics. As a Federal Marketing Order, the Almond Board of California is prohibited from lobbying or advocating on legislative issues, as well as setting field and market prices.

July 16, 20265 min

Almond Byte, July 2026: SNACKEX, Tariff and Trade Updates, US-EU Deal

In this Almond Byte, the Almond Board of California’s Global Technical and Regulatory Affairs team provides updates on key international trade and regulatory issues affecting California almonds. The episode covers ABC’s participation at SNACKEX in Lisbon, recent tariff and trade developments, the new U.S.-EU trade deal that could support almond competitiveness in Europe, and evolving maximum residue limit policies in Vietnam and Thailand. Together, these updates show how ABC works to protect market access, strengthen global relationships and keep almond growers informed about issues that can affect demand and movement of California almonds around the world.

July 6, 202635 min

Episode 101: Bringing Clarity to Almond Markets with Carson Pettit

Carson Pettit joined the Journey to share what led him back to California and into the almond industry, some of the current market dynamics in the global almond trade, how RPAC is staying on the cutting edge of grower engagement, his experiences with the California Ag Leadership program, and his hopes for the future. Pettit is the grower relations manager at RPAC growers and processors. This episode was recorded at The Almond Conference 2025 back in December, so his comments are all relative to what was happening at that point in time. “We really need clarity for everybody to feel better about being active in the market. And when there's not that clarity, it's just very hard for anybody to have any sense of a good idea of what's going to happen in the world.” - Carson Pettit In Today’s episode: Meet Carson Pettit, the grower relations manager at RPAC growers and processors Discover Pettit’s journey into the almond industry and what his role is as a grower relations manager Understand current market dynamics in the global almond trade and how that may impact producers Explore how RPAC is pursuing and expanding grower engagement Learn about his experiences with the California Ag Leadership Program and the impact that has made on his career The Almond Journey Podcast is brought to you by the Almond Board of California. This show explores how growers, handlers, and other stakeholders are making things work in their operations to drive the almond industry forward. Host Tim Hammerich visits with leaders throughout the Central Valley of California and beyond who are finding innovative ways to improve their operations, connect with their communities, and advance the almond industry. ABC recognizes the diverse makeup of the California almond industry and values contributions offered by its growers, handlers, and allied industry members. However, the opinions, services and products discussed in existing and future podcast episodes are by no means an endorsement or recommendation from ABC. The Almond Journey podcast is not an appropriate venue to express opinions on national, state, local or industry politics. As a Federal Marketing Order, the Almond Board of California is prohibited from lobbying or advocating on legislative issues, as well as setting field and market prices.

June 10, 202625 min

Episode 100: A Brief History of California Almonds

Marlin Flory and Gerry Rominger join the Journey on its 100 podcast episode to reflect on how far the almond industry has come. About 100 years ago, the California almond industry was just starting to grow with applied irrigation. Flory and Rominger, multi-generational California almond industry members take listeners through a few major advancements in the industry over that time and detail how the industry supports its growth. “It’s fascinating the evolution of the industry, both with machinery and technology. The science has just really changed everything and let it become what it is today.” - Gerry Rominger In Today’s episode: Hear from almond producer and industry leaders Gerry Rominger and Marlin Flory, respectively Explore the evolution of the almond industry in California Discover how these prominent industry members weather the twists and turns and the optimism they maintain through it all The Almond Journey Podcast is brought to you by the Almond Board of California. This show explores how growers, handlers, and other stakeholders are making things work in their operations to drive the almond industry forward. Host Tim Hammerich visits with leaders throughout the Central Valley of California and beyond who are finding innovative ways to improve their operations, connect with their communities, and advance the almond industry. ABC recognizes the diverse makeup of the California almond industry and values contributions offered by its growers, handlers, and allied industry members. However, the opinions, services and products discussed in existing and future podcast episodes are by no means an endorsement or recommendation from ABC. The Almond Journey podcast is not an appropriate venue to express opinions on national, state, local or industry politics. As a Federal Marketing Order, the Almond Board of California is prohibited from lobbying or advocating on legislative issues, as well as setting field and market prices.

May 27, 202631 min

Episode 99: Economics and Agronomics with Mel Machado

Mel Machado joins the Journey to provide a wide-ranging “state of the almond orchard” discussion. Machado is the Chief Agricultural Officer at Blue Diamond Growers and discusses the current challenging grower economics, the decline in almond acreage, the decision to end the objective estimate and some of his thoughts on pollination, cover crops, bee health and more. In addition to his 34-year career at Blue Diamond, Machado also serves as an alternate on the Almond Board of California and holds positions on the Production Stewardship Workgroup and Strategic Ag Innovation Committee. “Excell at the basics. You can have all the fancy stuff in the world like remote sensing tools. But if the nutrition's not right, if the water's not right, you're going to have a problem. Master the basics.” - Mel Machado In Today’s episode: Hear from Blue Diamond Growers Chief Agricultural Officer Mel Machado Explore the impacts of bloom, weather, bee health and other agronomic factors Discover the significance and tradeoffs of crop estimating and average yield calculations Understand how the almond industry benefits by supporting the bee industry The Almond Journey Podcast is brought to you by the Almond Board of California. This show explores how growers, handlers, and other stakeholders are making things work in their operations to drive the almond industry forward. Host Tim Hammerich visits with leaders throughout the Central Valley of California and beyond who are finding innovative ways to improve their operations, connect with their communities, and advance the almond industry. ABC recognizes the diverse makeup of the California almond industry and values contributions offered by its growers, handlers, and allied industry members. However, the opinions, services and products discussed in existing and future podcast episodes are by no means an endorsement or recommendation from ABC. The Almond Journey podcast is not an appropriate venue to express opinions on national, state, local or industry politics. As a Federal Marketing Order, the Almond Board of California is prohibited from lobbying or advocating on legislative issues, as well as setting field and market prices.