Make sure that all your names on the contracts and subcontracts align with your other business interests (trust name, partnership name, exact corporate name) or other legal purposes. Most often, crop insurance companies will require your statements (including the names and acreage of each subcontract) to correspond exactly with what is detailed in the policy. Orchard Removals Planning for orchard removals and replanting occurs year round, and directly after harvest is the best time to let us know if an orchard that was harvested in 2025 will be pulled and going out of production for 2026. Be sure to let your regional manager know of any acreage changes such as pullouts, orchard sales, or ownership transfers sooner rather than later. Most importantly, this helps Blue Diamond keep our current acreage records straight. Better to let us know now! If you plan on replanting but haven’t figured out what variety or exactly when you’ll replant, no problem. We can list that subcontract as an unknown variety and put in a tentative replant date that we can track and update later. Set an Appointment with your PCA/CCA Scheduling a meeting with your PCA shortly after harvest is one of the most impactful steps you can take to set the stage for next season. Your grade results directly influence planning decisions for the upcoming crop cycle. To prepare, gather your statements or download the “Variety by Grade Summary” report from the Portal—this will ensure you have all the necessary data to guide a productive discussion. If your grades for 2025 were all Qs, congratulations! If your approach last year delivered solid results, that provides a strong foundation to build your IPM plan for the upcoming season. Still, it’s worth exploring ways to fine-tune your strategy and prepare for any emerging pest pressures that may arise. And if your grades fell short of expectations or you faced more challenges in 2025 than in previous years, know that you’re not alone—many growers experienced similar hurdles. Increased navel orangeworm pressure and the increased damage seen from the plant bug complex continue to cause issues for many growers.
Sample Breakdown Test for Rejects
Brown Spot
45.71%
Beetle
11.43%
Orangeworm 40.00%
The focus on your statements should not just be on the total reject percentage, but on any reject breakdowns that were performed this year. We’ve worked hard to help growers recognize how beneficial it is to complete at least one reject breakdown on each orchard. This gives you the fractional breakdown of the total reject damage and lists the proportional impact of each type of pest ( as illustrated in figure 1 ). If you did not request a reject breakdown and would still like to receive the information, you can request an “information only” retest, which will not impact your grade. Our regional managers are available to support this process and you can arrange to meet with them and your PCA to provide further perspective. These services are just one reason why Blue Diamond ’s member-growers produce the highest quality almonds. “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” — Robert Collier Mold 2.86% (Figure 1) The reject breakdown will show the proportions of damage that occurred by each causal pest. In this case, the overall total reject percentage “Reject meats” was 3.5% (not shown here as it appears on the main line of the statement) and each percent listed is a fractional percent of the overall 3.5%.
Christine Ivory, Sr. Regional Manager, Blue Diamond Growers
27
SEPTEMBER–OCTOBER 2025
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