From the Fields: Blake Wilbur, Tulare County farmer 

By Blake Wilbur
Tulare County farmer 

Most of our harvest has wrapped up—between pistachios, almonds and corn silage. We’re going to be picking cotton in the next two weeks. 

We’re doing our fall tillage to prep the ground for next year. I almost wanted to delay it because it’s a heavy fuel consumer, but at a certain point in the season you have to just take the hit because soon the weather is not going to cooperate and you won’t have enough time in the day. The high diesel prices are hurting. 

Pistachio harvest was a big failure due to warm spring temperatures during pollination, which woke up the male trees while the female trees were still dormant. Pollen went out without females that were receptive. That’s the understanding of what happened. We’re seeing a massive loss in our older pistachio trees. We didn’t shake probably half our acres, and what we did shake produced only around 10% of the expected yield. That was a big disappointment. 

Our almond crop was average. The price was substantially better than last year. That’s a bright spot. 

We normally see a little bit of a dip in milk production in September and October, and we’re seeing that this year. Our cows have endured a long summer. Milk right now is barely making you break even. If it wasn’t for the high beef prices, we would probably be losing money. 

We’ll see what happens with the super El Niño. Farmers are preparing to take any water we might get from flood-control releases for groundwater recharge. That’s par for the course now. Some people are starting to construct recharge basins on their farms, and a lot of guys are just going to keep their ground open so they’re able to take water for recharge if the water does come down the canals when it’s too early to irrigate. I try not to let any water go by me without putting it somewhere. 

Reprint with credit to California Farm Bureau. For image use, email agalert@cfbf.com.

In this edition…

• View full issue
• 2026 Voter Guide
• Advocacy in Action: Legislation, diesel and wolves
• Roadless Rule has kept forests from being managed
• Farm Bureau team seeks solutions in D.C.
• Diesel price spike increases financial stress for farmers
• New date crop hits market as fruit goes 'mainstream'
• From the Fields: Ray Yeung, Yolo County farmer
• From the Fields: Joe Zanger, San Benito County farmer
• From the Fields: Blake Wilbur, Tulare County farmer
• From the Fields: Paul Vermeulen, Stanislaus County almond grower and huller
• Vineyards turn to UV-C light to fight powdery mildew
• Pumpkin growers target trends, Halloween demand
• Calls open for Agricultural Educator of the Year award
• How to effectively manage stored grain fire risks