Planting a new almond orchard in California's Central Valley is one of the biggest investments a grower will make—and one of the most consequential. The decisions you make before a single tree goes in the ground will shape your yields, your costs, and your profitability for the next 25 years. There are no do-overs on rootstock selection, tree spacing, or soil preparation. You either get it right up front, or you live with the consequences for the life of the orchard.
At Custom Farm Services, we've been helping Central Valley growers develop new almond orchards for over 55 years. This guide covers every phase of the process, from initial planning through first harvest and beyond. We've tried to include the level of detail and practical knowledge that actually helps growers make better decisions—the kind of information that comes from doing this work across thousands of acres and multiple generations.
Before you spend a dollar on ground preparation, invest the time to get your planning right.
Variety selection is the single most important decision in almond orchard development. It affects your pollination requirements, harvest timing, market value, and pest management program for the life of the orchard.
Nonpareil remains the industry standard and the highest-value variety. It's typically planted as the main variety (every other row) with pollinizer varieties filling the alternate rows. Nonpareil requires cross-pollination and bee rentals, which currently run $200 or more per colony—a significant annual cost.
Independence has gained rapid market share as a self-fertile variety that eliminates the need for bees and pollinizer rows. Every row produces the same variety, simplifying harvest and marketing. Yields have proven strong across most Central Valley soil types, and the kernel quality markets well. Independence has become the most-planted almond variety in California.
Monterey is a popular pollinizer for Nonpareil that also produces a marketable crop. It's vigorous, productive, and hulls well.
Wood Colony, Aldrich, and Winters are other pollinizer options with different bloom timing, kernel characteristics, and tree vigor profiles. Your choice should consider your specific microclimate and bloom overlap with Nonpareil.
Other self-fertile varieties beyond Independence include Shasta and several newer releases from breeding programs. The self-fertile category continues to expand, and we expect it to represent an increasing share of new plantings.
Work with your nursery and your local UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor to select varieties that fit your soil type, climate zone, and marketing plan. What works on sandy loam in Livingston may not be the best choice on heavy clay near Turlock or on the shallow soils of eastern Merced County.
Rootstock affects tree vigor, tolerance to soil conditions, disease resistance, and precocity (how quickly the tree comes into production).
Nemaguard has been the workhorse rootstock for decades. It's vigorous, widely adapted, and tolerant of ring nematode. However, it struggles in wet, heavy soils and is susceptible to Phytophthora.
Hansen 536 offers good vigor and improved tolerance to wet soils compared to Nemaguard. It has become a popular choice across a range of Central Valley soil types.
Krymsk 86 is gaining ground as a semi-dwarfing rootstock that brings trees into production earlier and may allow tighter spacing. It shows good tolerance to wet conditions and some bacterial canker resistance. It's worth serious consideration for new plantings, particularly on heavier soils.
Viking is another Phytophthora-tolerant option suited to heavier, wetter ground.
Brights Hybrid 5 (BH5) and other newer rootstocks continue to enter the market. Evaluate them carefully with your nursery rep and farm advisor—long-term performance data in Central Valley conditions is still accumulating for some of these.
Match your rootstock to your soil. If you're planting on heavy clay with a perched water table—common on the west side of the Valley and in parts of Stanislaus and Merced counties—Phytophthora-tolerant rootstock is not optional; it's essential.
Spacing decisions affect tree count per acre, canopy development, light interception, equipment access, and long-term yields.
Traditional almond spacing in the Valley has been in the range of 20–22 feet between rows and 18–22 feet between trees. This typically results in 90–110 trees per acre. Some growers have moved to higher-density plantings at 18x16 or even tighter, pushing tree counts to 130–150 per acre. Higher density can mean earlier production and higher yields per acre in the early years, but it also means higher planting costs, more pruning to manage canopy, and potentially more disease pressure from reduced airflow.
Your spacing should account for the vigor of your rootstock-scion combination, your equipment widths, and your long-term management philosophy. An orchard that's too tight at maturity is expensive to manage and harvest.
Before you commit to planting, confirm your water supply. In today's regulatory environment under SGMA, this means:
A mature almond orchard in the Central Valley requires approximately 40–48 inches of applied water per year, depending on soil type, climate zone, and irrigation efficiency. Make sure you can deliver that reliably before you plant.
Site preparation is where the physical work begins, and where shortcuts come back to haunt you.
If there's an existing orchard on the site, it needs to come out completely. (See our guide to orchard removal and tree grinding for detailed information on that process.) If it's bare ground that's been in row crops, you're ahead of the game, but the ground still needs thorough preparation.
Remove all debris: old stumps, roots, wire, drip line, concrete, and anything else that will interfere with ripping, planting, or root development. A clean start is a successful start.
This is the most critical step in site preparation, and it's the one most often done inadequately.
Central Valley soils develop compaction layers—hardpan, claypan, traffic pans—that restrict root penetration, limit water infiltration, and create perched water tables. Young almond trees planted into compacted soil grow slowly, produce late, and never reach their potential.
At Custom Farm Services, we rip to 60 inches deep. That's five feet of fractured soil for new roots to explore. Most operations rip to 36 inches or less, which is simply not deep enough to address the compaction profiles we see in Valley soils that have been farmed for decades.
Why does ripping depth matter so much?
We typically make multiple passes—at least two, often three—at different angles to ensure thorough fracturing. The investment in deep ripping pays dividends for the entire life of the orchard.
Deep ripping to 60 inches — deeper than most operations can achieve.
Custom Farm Services gives your new orchard the rooting volume it needs for 25+ years of production.
Schedule Your Ground PrepAfter ripping, the field is precision-leveled using laser-guided equipment. The goal is a uniform, gentle slope (typically 0.1% to 0.2%) that allows surface drainage of winter rainfall without creating low spots where water ponds and creates root rot conditions.
Leveling after ripping is important because ripping changes the surface grade. If you level first and then rip, you may end up with an uneven surface.
Evaluate whether subsurface drainage (tile drains) is needed, particularly on:
Tile drain installation should happen after ripping but before planting. Retrofitting tile drains into an established orchard is far more expensive and disruptive.
Pull comprehensive soil samples before and after ripping. Test at multiple depths: 0–12 inches, 12–24 inches, 24–36 inches, and ideally 36–48 inches. Your lab report should include:
Test your irrigation water at the same time. The interaction between soil chemistry and water chemistry determines your amendment strategy.
Based on your test results, common pre-plant amendments in the Central Valley include:
| Amendment | Typical Rate | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Gypsum (calcium sulfate) | 1–4 tons/acre | Improves infiltration on sodic soils, provides calcium, displaces sodium on clay particles. Common on west side and east side clay soils—one of the most cost-effective amendments available. |
| Sulfur (elemental) | 500–2,000 lbs/acre | Lowers pH in alkaline soils (above 7.5–8.0). Slow-acting—apply well before planting. |
| Compost | 4–8 tons/acre | Adds organic matter, improves structure, feeds microbial communities, increases water-holding capacity. |
| Phosphorus (banded) | Per soil test | Pre-plant banding at root depth is far more effective than post-plant—phosphorus is essentially immobile in soil. |
| Zinc (zinc sulfate) | Per soil test | Valley soils are frequently zinc-deficient. Pre-plant application addresses deficiency before it shows in the orchard. |
All amendments should be incorporated into the soil through discing or ripping—surface-applied amendments that aren't incorporated have limited effectiveness.
We want to emphasize compost because it's often undervalued in new orchard development. Central Valley soils that have been conventionally farmed for decades often have organic matter levels below 1%. That's functionally dead soil from a biological standpoint. Quality compost—properly sourced, fully mature, and tested for contaminants—jumpstarts the soil biology that will support your trees for the next 25 years.
Our spreading crews handle compost and amendment applications across Merced, Stanislaus, San Joaquin, and Madera counties. CDFA's Healthy Soils Program has provided incentive payments for compost application, which can offset a significant portion of the cost. If you're planning a new orchard, check the current program cycle.
Pre-plant soil fumigation is a standard practice in the Central Valley for almond replant situations. The primary targets are:
Common fumigants include Telone II (1,3-dichloropropene) for nematode control and metam sodium (Vapam) for broader-spectrum pathogen control. Many PCAs recommend a combination treatment. Fumigation must be performed by a licensed applicator and requires specific soil temperature and moisture conditions for effectiveness.
Timing: Fumigation typically occurs in fall, with a mandatory plant-back waiting period before trees can go in the ground. Plan accordingly—fumigation that's rushed or done under poor conditions is money wasted.
If you're planting on virgin ground (never previously in tree crops), fumigation may not be necessary. Base the decision on your nematode assay results and PCA recommendation.
Your irrigation system design should be finalized before planting. Key decisions include:
Install main lines and submains before planting. Lateral lines and emitters can go in after planting, but the backbone of the system needs to be in place.
If you're relying on groundwater, test your well before you invest in orchard development:
In the Central Valley, almond trees are typically planted December through February while dormant. Earlier planting (December–January) is generally preferred because it allows roots to begin establishing before the tree breaks dormancy in late February or March. Late planting (March or later) puts trees at a disadvantage, especially if spring turns warm quickly.
Nursery availability often dictates exact timing. Order your trees at least one to two years in advance—demand for popular varieties and rootstock combinations has outstripped nursery capacity in recent years, and growers who wait too long end up with their second-choice variety or a delayed planting.
Most commercial almond plantings in the Valley are now done with GPS-guided mechanical tree planters that plant trees on precise spacing. This ensures straight rows for equipment access and uniform spacing for even canopy development.
Trees arrive from the nursery as bare-root stock and should be planted as quickly as possible after delivery. Keep roots moist and protected from sun and wind at all times. Plant trees at the same depth they were grown in the nursery—planting too deep invites crown rot; too shallow exposes roots.
The first year is about survival and establishment, not production. Key priorities:
As trees grow, water demand increases. A general progression:
| Orchard Age | Applied Water |
|---|---|
| Year 1 | 12–18 inches (depending on soil type and climate) |
| Year 2 | 24–30 inches |
| Year 3 | 30–40 inches |
| Full production (Year 5+) | 40–48 inches |
Install soil moisture monitoring equipment and learn to read it. Irrigation scheduling by soil moisture data—rather than by calendar or gut feel—is the single biggest management improvement most growers can make. It prevents both the overwatering that promotes root disease and the underwatering that stunts growth.
Young almond trees need a carefully managed nutrition program:
Leaf tissue sampling in July is the standard method for monitoring tree nutrition in almonds. Pull samples from non-fruiting spurs on the current season's growth, mid-canopy height, from multiple trees across the block.
Key pests to manage in young orchards:
Work with a licensed PCA to develop an integrated pest management (IPM) program specific to your orchard.
Weeds compete directly with young trees for water, nutrients, and light. In the Central Valley's long growing season, uncontrolled weeds can significantly reduce tree growth. A typical program combines:
Understanding the yield progression sets realistic expectations:
| Year | Expected Yield | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | No crop | Tree establishment and growth. A well-managed tree should put on 3–5 feet of shoot growth. |
| Year 2 | 100–300 lbs/acre (in-shell) | Minimal crop. Many growers don't harvest—let the nuts fall and mow them. Priority is still tree growth. |
| Year 3 | 500–1,200 lbs/acre (kernel) | First meaningful crop. Orchard starts to generate revenue, though it likely won't cover full production costs yet. |
| Year 4 | 1,200–1,800 lbs/acre | Production increases significantly. |
| Year 5+ | 2,000–2,800+ lbs/acre | Approaching full production, depending on variety, soil, water, and management. |
Self-fertile varieties like Independence may reach these benchmarks slightly faster because every tree in the orchard is the same variety, and there's no reliance on bee activity for pollination.
The key takeaway: cutting corners on development to save money up front almost always costs more in the long run through reduced yields, delayed production, and increased management problems. Invest in doing it right from the start.
Harvest is the payoff for everything you've invested. In the Central Valley, almond harvest typically runs from August through October, depending on variety and location.
Mechanical tree shakers remove the nuts from the tree. At Custom Farm Services, we operate Orchard Rite shakers, which are among the most reliable and efficient shakers in the industry. Proper shaking technique matters—the operator needs to clamp the trunk correctly, shake at the right duration and intensity, and avoid damaging the tree. A good shaker operator is worth their weight in almonds.
Shaking timing is critical. Nuts should be shaken when hull split has reached 95–100% and the hulls are beginning to dry. Shaking too early leaves nuts in the tree; shaking too late increases navel orangeworm damage and extends the harvest window.
After shaking, the nuts on the ground need to be swept into windrows for pickup. We run Flory 7455 sweepers, which are purpose-built for almond harvest and designed to handle the conditions of Central Valley orchard floors. Sweepers use air and rotating brushes to move the nuts from under the tree canopy into a windrow down the center of the row middle.
A smooth, well-maintained orchard floor makes sweeping more efficient and reduces dirt and debris in the harvested product. This is another reason why proper orchard floor management throughout the year matters.
Windrow harvesters pick up the nuts from the windrows and load them into trailers for transport to the huller. We operate Flory 7480 harvesters for pickup operations. These machines pick up the windrow, separate the nuts from dirt and debris through a series of screens and fans, and elevate the clean product into a bankout wagon or trailer.
After harvest, sticks and debris that fell during shaking need to be removed from the orchard floor before the next season. Our Stick X machine handles this efficiently, picking up sticks and pruning debris that would interfere with the following year's harvest operations if left on the ground.
After harvest, almonds must be hulled and shelled before they can be marketed.
The hull (the outer fleshy covering) is removed first. Almonds are dried to the appropriate moisture level (typically 5–7%) and then run through hulling equipment that cracks and separates the hull from the shell.
After hulling, the in-shell almonds are cracked and the kernels separated from the shell material. The kernels are then sized, graded, and prepared for sale to handlers or processors.
Custom Farm Services operates a hulling and shelling facility in Ballico, CA, providing local processing for Central Valley growers. Having a huller close to your orchard reduces trucking costs and transit time, getting your nuts processed faster and reducing the risk of quality degradation.
Our Ballico facility processes almonds from growers across Merced, Stanislaus, Madera, and surrounding counties. We focus on careful handling to maximize kernel quality and minimize damage—because the price you receive for your almonds depends heavily on the condition of the kernels that come out of the shelling process.
Hulls and shells are valuable byproducts. Hulls are used as dairy feed—a major market in the Central Valley where the dairy and almond industries are deeply interconnected. Shells are used for livestock bedding, co-generation fuel, and soil amendment.
A producing almond orchard requires continuous management to maintain yields and profitability.
Annual brush shredding after winter pruning is one of the most cost-effective management practices in almond production. Shredding pruning brush and mowing orchard floor vegetation improves harvest efficiency, reduces pest habitat, and recycles nutrients back into the soil as the shredded material decomposes.
At Custom Farm Services, brush shredding runs $20 to $35 per acre, depending on the volume of brush and orchard conditions. At that price, the return on investment is immediate—cleaner orchard floors mean faster, more efficient harvest with less dirt and debris in the product. We recommend shredding as soon as possible after pruning is complete and before the orchard floor needs to be prepared for harvest.
Almond orchards need regular pruning to maintain tree structure, optimize light penetration into the canopy, manage tree height for harvest efficiency, and remove dead or diseased wood.
In the Central Valley, most commercial orchards are pruned December through February during dormancy. Mechanical hedging has gained popularity for managing tree height and row width, supplemented by hand pruning for detailed structural work.
Long-term orchard productivity depends on maintaining soil health. Practices that matter:
Almond orchard development in the Central Valley is a significant investment. Here's a realistic picture of the costs and timeline to profitability.
| Development Item | Per-Acre Estimate |
|---|---|
| Orchard removal (if applicable) | $800 – $2,000+ |
| Deep ripping | $200 – $500 |
| Land leveling | $200 – $600 |
| Soil amendments (gypsum, compost, etc.) | $200 – $800 |
| Fumigation | $500 – $1,200 |
| Trees (bare root) | $1,500 – $3,000 |
| Planting labor | $200 – $400 |
| Irrigation system (drip, filtration, automation) | $1,500 – $3,000 |
| Total development cost | ~$5,000 – $12,000 / acre |
Once the orchard is in production, annual costs typically run $2,500 to $4,000 per acre, including irrigation, fertilization, pest management, pruning, harvest, and hulling and shelling.
At current almond prices (which fluctuate significantly), a mature orchard producing 2,200 pounds of kernel per acre generates gross revenue of approximately $4,400 to $6,600 per acre at $2.00 to $3.00 per pound. After production costs, net returns are typically $1,000 to $3,000+ per acre in a good year.
Most growers reach breakeven on their total investment (development costs plus accumulated production costs minus revenue) somewhere in Year 6 to Year 8, depending on yields, almond prices, and how efficiently the orchard was developed and managed. From that point forward, each year of production builds return on the original investment.
Custom Farm Services has been developing almond orchards in the Central Valley since 1969. As a fourth-generation family operation based in Winton, CA, we bring over 55 years of hands-on experience to every project. From initial ground clearing and our industry-leading 60-inch deep ripping through harvest operations with our Orchard Rite, Flory, and Stick X fleet, to hulling and shelling at our Ballico facility—we're with our growers from ground prep to the finished kernel.
We're not just contractors—we're your neighbors. We farm this Valley, we understand this Valley, and we're committed to helping Central Valley almond growers succeed. Ready to start planning your new almond orchard? Contact Custom Farm Services today or call (209) 358-1759.
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Orchard Management
The most important groundwork happens in winter—from deep ripping hardpan to pre-emergence herbicides and building soil health with compost.
Ground Prep
Everything you need to know about removing aging orchards, from push-and-pile to whole-tree grinding, and how to plan your replanting timeline.
Harvest
How our Orchard Rite shakers, Flory sweepers and harvesters, and Stick X equipment bring in a clean almond crop from August through October.
From 60-inch deep ripping and ground prep through harvest and hulling—one experienced team handles every phase.