After 15 years of publishing, my respect for the people growing our food has only deepened. This industry has become personal to me. When I think about the readers of West Coast Nut, I think about the families and businesses behind the orchards and how much they have invested in getting another crop to harvest.
October brings a lot of that work into focus. You can finally see the results of decisions made months ago. At the same time, you are looking at expenses, watching what the crop will return and thinking about what comes next. Finishing one season and preparing for another tend to happen at the same time.
And anyone who has spent time around growers understands that a good crop does not automatically mean a good year.
You can make sound decisions, put in the work and still face circumstances you cannot control. The market does not price your crop according to how hard you worked. An unexpected expense does not wait for a convenient time. Yet the responsibility for keeping the operation moving still lands on your desk.
I run a business, and I know what it feels like to carry responsibility for employees and family. Farming adds another dimension to that responsibility. You make investments that take years to develop, care for land that may have been in your family for generations and make choices that the next generation may inherit. There is a lot riding on getting it right.
That deserves to be understood whenever we talk about the future of this industry.
It is easy to talk about change in broad terms. On your operation, change has a cost, a timeline and a consequence. A new practice has to fit your orchard. A piece of equipment has to justify the investment. A promising idea has to hold up when you put it to work. Those are the realities that need to guide what we put in these pages.
That is where West Coast Nut has a role to play. Our work is to bring useful research, knowledgeable people and practical experience closer to the decisions you are making. Whether the subject is orchard health, water management, harvest practices or the business of growing nuts, the value comes from helping you see your options more clearly.
Over these 15 years, the relationships have become the most meaningful part of this work. I value the willingness of people in this industry to share what they have learned, ask a difficult question and help a neighbor think through a problem. There is tremendous knowledge in this community. Connecting more growers with that knowledge is work worth doing.
As you assess this season, I hope you also give yourself credit for what it took to get here. The problems still needing attention can consume the whole conversation. There is also the work your crew completed, the problem you caught early and the decisions that kept your operation moving. Those things count.
Thank you for making West Coast Nut part of your business and for the relationships we have built along the way. We care about what happens in your orchards and what it means for the people behind them. As you look toward another season, we will keep putting our relationships and resources to work for you.
Originally published in the October / November 2026 issue of West Coast Nut, beginning on page 4.
From the Orchard
to Your Next Good Decision.
