Episode 20: New Orchard Ideas and Funding Sources with Alec Earle

In this episode, almond grower and retired Air Force officer Alec Earle joins the Almond Journey Podcast. Earle and his wife each spent over 30 years in the Air Force, first in active duty then civil service. In 2014, they bought 20 acres in partnership with his wife’s sister and her husband to form E&S Farms, LLC. Earle used the skills he had developed in the military to research extensively and organize his small orchard to operate at peak performance. He has fine-tuned his irrigation program and tapped into grants to buy equipment and improve his efficiencies.

In Today’s episode:

• Meet Alec Earle, an almond grower and retired Air Force officer
• Discover Earle’s introduction into agriculture and almond production
• Explore the research and grants Earle found and utilized to build and expand his operation

ABC Update

Earle shared the benefits he found from soil moisture probes and pressure chambers for irrigation scheduling. Almond Board senior manager for field outreach and education Tom Devol says there’s an even more basic problem many growers could pay more attention to, the cleaning and maintenance of irrigation systems. Devol details some of those maintenance tasks that can improve your irrigation systems overall efficiency and save you money.

Contact the Almond Board field outreach team to access more available resources by sending an email to the Field Outreach Team.

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.}