Valley nut harvests kick up dust. Grants to growers can help residents breathe easier
Almond and walnut growers can get grants of up to $150,000 toward harvesting machines that reduce dust in the San Joaquin Valley air.
The region’s Air Pollution Control District has $12.5 million in state and federal money for its latest effort to protect residents’ lungs, announced Tuesday.
The nuts are among the highest-grossing crops in Stanislaus County, but the harvests that start in late summer can be dusty.
One machine shakes the trees. Another spreads the fallen nuts into windrows so they can be picked up by still another and loaded onto trucks bound for processors.
The amount of dust per acre has fallen sharply in recent years thanks to industry and government efforts. Exact Corp. of Modesto, Flory Industries of Salida and Jackrabbit Equipment of Ripon have made many of the lower-dust rigs at work today.
But dust remains an issue because of increased acreage, especially almonds. Stanislaus had 216,265 acres of this nut in 2019, versus 134,003 a decade earlier, the county agricultural commissioner reported. Walnuts went from 29,628 to 37,044 acres over that span.
The key concern for Valley residents is PM10, or dust particles measuring 10 microns or smaller. They can get deep into the lungs and aggravate asthma and other conditions.
“This program will significantly reduce the impact on Valley residents during the harvest season,” said Todd DeYoung, director of strategy and incentives for the district, in a news release.
The grants cover half of the cost of machinery that reduces dust by at least 40%, with a cap of $150,000. Details are at valleyair.org/grants or 559-230-5800.
The district shared an online video of almond grower Trevor Myers, who used a previous grant to replace machines on about 3,000 acres near Firebaugh. He noted that his new Flory equipment also works faster and has lower maintenance costs than the old models.
The district got the grant money from the California Air Resources Board and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
This story was originally published February 11, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
