Tree Nut Market Rebound

This is Tim Hammerich of the Ag Information Network with your Farm of the Future Report.

While COVID brought many challenges for commodity markets, signs of recovery are emerging, especially in the almond industry. Still, rebuilding financial strength will take time and will require staying proactive, says Terrain specialty crop analyst, Matt Woolf.

Woolf... "Well, definitely it's still lingering impacts. If you think about the almond market, for instance, you know, we had this massive buildup of inventory when we couldn't get almond shipments out of California during COVID. And so we just had this buildup of inventory, which put downward pressure on prices. And if you look at prices now, prices have recovered in a big way in the last year or so. But, it doesn't mean that farming operations, if you get down to that micro-level, are completely recovered, you know. A lot of operations have seen a lot of liquidity in their business kind of drain out in the past two years."

Almonds aren’t the only tree nut to experience this. Walnuts, too, have plummeted and partially recovered.

Woolf..."Both almonds and walnuts have recovered in a really impressive way. You know, they still have the long-term challenges with regards to water. I would add demographic challenges to that list, but at least for the short term, you know, things are looking much, much better than they did a year or two ago."

Again, that’s specialty crop analyst at Terrian, Matt Woolf.