David Louis Johnson: Kicking up less dust would make almonds cost more
Re “I love almonds, but not the dust” (Letters, Sept. 25): Much less dust could be raised at almond harvest time, but it might raise the price. When I was young, you knocked the almonds onto a canvas pulled around the tree from both sides, from trailers before knocking them. After a few trees, the crew would pull the canvas and deposit them in long low trailer pulled by a tractor on each side of the tree.
Not too many years later I worked in the peach orchards for my grandfather’s brother; he had a machine that used a similar process, canvas was extended out by metal arms, a nut-tree shaker was on one of the units.
Such a device for almonds could be developed on the same with little effort. I talked to some vendors at Duarte’s Nursery Friends Day in Hughson, apparently, they are in the works.
David Louis Johnson, Waterford
This story was originally published September 26, 2017 at 6:23 PM with the headline "David Louis Johnson: Kicking up less dust would make almonds cost more."