Almond growers plant, cultivate, and facilitate pollination of almond trees, among other things. They also know when to pick the almonds. Some almond growers own packaging companies that clean and package other almond growers’ crops for market. Almond growers, for the most part, run almond farms that produce all of the world’s almonds.
Almonds are grown on almond farms on trees. The almond growers simply refer to these groves of almond trees as almond groves, rather than almond orchards. The trees are pruned and topped in the same way that an apple tree is, and they need to be trimmed every now and then to keep them looking good enough to produce almonds. When the almonds are fully ripe, the growers use large vibratory machines to grab the trees and shake the almonds out. To avoid missing too many of the dropped almonds, the almonds are collected in a canvas tarp that is placed around the tree before it is shaken.
Growers will occasionally attempt to graft two different types of almond trees together in the hopes of creating a new breed of almond that is disease and blight resistant. Almond growers have millions of bees shipped in and strategically placed around the grove of trees during pollination season to assist in the pollination of the almond trees. Bees are the best pollinators for almond trees, and hives are typically left in place until the blooms have almost completely faded from the trees. While placing the various bee hives, the farmers create usable roads and trails for the beekeepers to travel on. Growers have attempted to create a self-pollinating almond tree, but bees have proven to be the most efficient pollination method to date.
At events where the almond is discussed, some almond growers travel and represent the entire almond growing population. Almond growers can be seen pleading their case for clean water, clean rain, and fresh air at government functions and social gatherings. Some almond farmers grow almonds for export, while others grow almonds exclusively for a specific region of the world, a specific company, or for local consumption. Growers on the largest farms not only pick the almonds, but also smoke, salt, and blanch them before packaging and shipping them to market.