California almond industry faces bee shortage concerns

SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY, Calif. — As the almond blossom season wraps up, industry leaders are sounding the alarm about two problems that could raise prices. The California Farm Bureau says there may not be enough honeybees to pollinate the 2025 crop, and industry leaders in San Joaquin County say blooms haven’t been strong across the board.

“Almonds are one of our top five crops,” said Andrew Genasci, Executive Director of the San Joquin Farm Bureau Federation. “This year has been particularly bad. There was a good bee kill over this winter. Not sure exactly what happened or why, but the bee numbers just aren’t there like they have been in the past.”

Longtime Escalon-area almond grower Phillip Brumley says he hasn’t been impacted by the pollination problem but has heard from others who have been.

“We need cross-pollination and so bees are what helps accomplish that. So we’ve got to have the bees out here,” said Brumley. “From my standpoint, things look good right now.”

According to Genasci, fewer bees to go around will lead to less crop and possibly an increase in prices when coupled with the second issue. 

“I heard from a lot of guys that the blooms just weren’t quite as strong; they didn’t have quite as many as they typically get. Thoughts were that this could relate back to the real hot stretch we had last August,” said Genasci. “It’s interesting how many variables are in all of these plants. It’s Mother Nature.”

Genasci and Brumley say they are also monitoring talks in Washington, DC, about tariffs and a potential trade war that could impact prices.

“We do the best we can with what we’ve got,” said Brumley. “We’re setting a crop and hopefully, it can be worth some money and we’ll be able to pay all the bills.”

Watch more from ABC10: California almond farmers worry about potential tariffs