A Farmer Decides to Grow Almonds
Charles Crivelli, is an almond and Walnut grower in Stanislaus County? He started growing almonds in 1970.
“I bought my first 20 acres of almonds in 1970. I was still working for Farm Credit and you know, as I worked for a lot of growers, I recognized that almonds were a profitable crop, not labor intensive, and something I could do on the side--- evenings and weekends. And I used to refer to my farm as kind of my retreat, getting away from the pressures of banking,” Crivelli said
Crivelli said there are plenty of times when you needed to be in that orchard. “While I thoroughly enjoyed banking, there was a period of time when there was a lot of stress. The farm economy on a national level went through a rather chaotic period, the early to mid-eighties. And, I could go out there and get on a tractor and farm those almonds and enjoy and kind of leave everything else behind,” Crivelli said,
And while most of his farming duties have been handed off to his son-in-law and granddaughter, he's still out there every day, helping on 300 acres of almonds and walnuts. “You know, I’m still involved in the farming operation, and have sat on the Blue Diamond Almond Board, since I retired from the bank in 2000,” said Crivelli. “And so, it's something that causes you to get up every morning. And you've got a challenge, something to look forward to.”
