An evening in the Almond Orchard

I would dare bet that an almond orchard is not the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a California farmer…but perhaps it should be.  California produces 41% of the worlds almonds with the next closest producer being Spain at only 13%. This is only one of the amazing things I learned from my recent visit to my good friend Brent Boersma’s beautiful almond orchards in the central valley of California.

Brent married his high school sweetheart Brooke, and worked in Youth ministry just outside of Compton for the first part of their lives together. They always knew that eventually they wanted to come back to the family buisness of Growing Almonds. Brent, Brooke and their 3 children now live right across the road from their beautiful orchards . What a breathtaking view to have in your yard!

Brent is a third generation almond farmer who came back to his families orchard to help carry on the family tradition of growing almonds. His Grandfather bought the farm in Ripon in the 40′s . He farms with his father & his uncle . They grow almonds on about 800 acres in Ripon. It started out as an experiment in between fields of alfalfa, then over the years they’ve gradually changed it all out to almonds.

Brent has a huge presence in the social media world and is one of the best at bridging Ag with the other areas of his life. He knows the importance of building good relationships through genuine conversations between farmers and the rest of the world. You can find Brent on twitter @4Gfarms also Brent Boersma Facebook

In case you missed our first featured farmer… Its right here…