Almond trees throughout the Turlock area are beginning to bloom due to a warmer than normal winter. Despite a record low rainfall total so far this year, almond grower and Turlock Irrigation District Director Ron Macedo said he expects a good harvest.

“We are fortunate in Turlock that we have access to water through irrigation. The low rainfall won’t affect us that much locally,” he said. “It’s been a great spring with mild weather that really helps the pollination process.”

Last spring almond growers faced chilly, wet weather and a shortage of honey bees for pollination. Despite the challenges, the late cold weather actually lengthened the bloom, bees managed to pollinate and weather damage to the almond trees was minimal. California growers produced an all-time record harvest last year of 1.95 billion meat pounds based on 750,000 almond bearing acres.