No Debt—Then Low Almond Price is Not So Painful

No Debt—Then Low Almond Price is Not So Painful

Patrick Cavanaugh
Patrick Cavanaugh
Mike Bava is a third generation almond grower in the Stanislaus County area of Hughson.

“Our situation is kind of unique. I'm third generation grower. And even though we have, we farm small acreage, 200 acres or less, essentially over the years, we've done all of our own harvesting. We have all our own machinery. We don't have to have anything custom done, which makes a big difference in your price,” Bava said.

“Our land is paid for there's no, we don't have debt. We built on that with the idea of, we will, be self sufficient, keep the debt to minimal or nothing,” he noted

And Bava said, he's expecting a big crop this season.

“In a year like this when you have a good crop, with different ages and trees that need to come out. And so on. I'm probably expecting about a 3,000 pound average. And let's say we are in the $1.50, to $1.70 who knows where it's going to land, but at that will be definitely profitable just because we've had to become as a small grower, much more efficient,” Bava said.

“Without the debt service, having our own machinery without relying on anything or anybody we've been able to withstand tough years and make ourselves very comfortable along the way,” he noted

And the almond harvest has started particularly in the Southern San Joaquin Valley. It's going to be a big crop, at 3 billion pounds.

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