OF NOTE

2010 Almond Acreage Forecast and Almond Subjective Forecast

The National Agricultural Statistics Service, California Field Office (NASS/CFO), announced the 2009 acreage report and the 2010 acreage forecast on Apr. 30 at noon. The 2009 total acreage was estimated at 810,000 (720,000 bearing acres) and the forecast for 2010 acreage is 740,000 bearing acres.

On Thursday, May 6, NASS/CFO announced a 2010 almond subjective forecast of 1.53 billion pounds. Stay tuned for the almond objective forecast which will be announced at noon on Wednesday, Jun. 30 PDT, by NASS representatives in the ABC conference room. You are welcome to come hear the announcement in person. However, if you are unable to attend, you may access the 2010 almond objective forecast shortly after it is released by NASS/CFO, by visiting the "In the News" section on the ABC Web site.

 

Ag Day at the Capitol

Thousands of visitors gathered in Sacramento to celebrate the annual Ag Day at the Capitol, and the Almond Board of California was there, providing almond samples and literature. Governor Schwarzenegger and CDFA Secretary A.G. Kawamura are both huge supporters of this event and expressed their appreciation to ag industry members who help make California the Golden State. While adults received California Almond facts and best-loved recipes, children received "An Almond Story," an activity book created to educate school-aged children about the life cycle and nutritional value of California Almonds.

 

The Almond Board Is Tweeting!

The ABC has recently embarked on a new social media communications tool—Twitter! We believe this will be an effective way to reach out to our industry members, especially the social-media savvy younger group. Our goal is to share relevant, timely information with our industry members in 140 characters or less.

Visit twitter.com/almondboard to see what we are Tweeting about!

 

Building Demand for Almonds in Food Trends

As part of its food professional PR program, ABC participated as a sponsor of the 2010 Research Chefs Association Annual Conference & Culinology^® Expo. The Conference attracts 1,200+ members practicing the art of Culinology, many of whom are top research and development professionals for volume foodservice chains and prepared foods. ABC developed and hosted one of the event’s highest attended symposiums, "Translating Emerging Consumer Trends into Market-Ready Food Products." The speakers dialed into the versatility of almonds in food trends, including applications in Middle Eastern, breakfast and vegetarian cuisines. The ABC booth featured more innovative concepts such as "Almond Milk Chocolate Air" and hosted an "Almonds & Ale" pairing providing ideas for the ultimate snacking experience.

The recipes can be found at almondboard.com/foodprofessionals.