The almond is a species of small tree from the genus Prunus, cultivated worldwide for its seed, a culinary nut. Along with the peach, it is classified in the subgenus Amygdalus, distinguished from the other subgenera by corrugations on the shell (endocarp) surrounding the seed.
Stanislaus County is a county located in the San Joaquin Valley of the U.S. state of California. As of 2023, its estimated population is 564,404. The county seat is Modesto.
Modesto is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,069 according to 2022 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, it is the 19th largest city in the State of California.
Salida is a census-designated place (CDP) in Stanislaus County, California, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the CDP population was 13,722. It is part of the Modesto Metropolitan Statistical Area. Cultivation of almonds has historically been a significant activity in the vicinity, including a major Blue Diamond processing facility nearby. The plant is involved exclusively in processing whole brown almond kernels with a "dry" process involving no water, heat or chemicals. Salida is within the East Stanislaus Resource Conservation District which comprises 984 square miles (2,550 km2) of land area and attends to a variety of environmental conservation and best management agricultural practices.
Pollination of fruit trees is required to produce seeds with surrounding fruit. It is the process of moving pollen from the anther to the stigma, either in the same flower or in another flower. Some tree species, including many fruit trees, do not produce fruit from self-pollination, so pollinizer trees are planted in orchards.
The San Joaquins is a passenger train service operated by Amtrak in California's San Joaquin Valley. Six daily round trips run between its southern terminus at Bakersfield and Stockton, with onward service to Sacramento and Oakland.
Almond milk is a plant-based milk substitute with a watery texture and nutty flavor manufactured from almonds, although some types or brands are flavored in imitation of cow's milk. It does not contain cholesterol or lactose and is low in saturated fat. Almond milk is often consumed by those who are lactose-intolerant and others, such as vegans, who avoid dairy products. Commercial almond milk comes in sweetened, unsweetened, vanilla and chocolate flavors, and is usually fortified with micronutrients. It can also be made at home using a blender, almonds and water.
The Sacramento Bee is a daily newspaper published in Sacramento, California, in the United States. Since its foundation in 1857, The Bee has become the largest newspaper in Sacramento, the fifth largest newspaper in California, and the 27th largest paper in the U.S. It is distributed in the upper Sacramento Valley, with a total circulation area that spans about 12,000 square miles (31,000 km2): south to Stockton, California, north to the Oregon border, east to Reno, Nevada, and west to the San Francisco Bay Area.
The Altamont Corridor Express is a commuter rail service in California, connecting Stockton and San Jose during peak hours only. ACE is named for the Altamont Pass, through which it runs. Service is managed by the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission, and operations are contracted to Herzog Transit Services. The 86-mile (138 km) route includes ten stops, with travel time about 2 hours and 12 minutes end-to-end. In 2022, the line had a ridership of 389,100, or about 2,500 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2023. ACE uses Bombardier BiLevel Coaches, MPI F40PH-3C locomotives, and Siemens Charger locomotives.
The McClatchy Company, commonly referred to as simply McClatchy, is an American publishing company incorporated under Delaware's General Corporation Law and based in Sacramento, California. It operates 29 daily newspapers in fourteen states and has an average weekday circulation of 1.6 million and Sunday circulation of 2.4 million. In 2006, it purchased Knight Ridder, which at the time was the second-largest newspaper company in the United States. In addition to its daily newspapers, McClatchy also operates several websites and community papers, as well as a news agency, McClatchy DC Bureau, focused on political news from Washington, D.C.
A blue diamond is a diamond whose color is blue.
Diamond Foods was an American packaged food company based in San Francisco, that marketed nuts and other snack foods. Diamond Foods was acquired by Snyder's-Lance in 2016, and as of 2018, Campbell Soup Company owns Diamond Foods's former snack brands; Diamond of California, Diamond Foods's nut business, is owned by Blue Road Capital.
HP Hood LLC is an American dairy company based in Lynnfield, Massachusetts. Hood was founded in 1844 in Derry, New Hampshire, by Harvey Perley Hood. After two years in Derry, Hood took his milk south and established a factory in Charlestown, Massachusetts. Recent company acquisitions by HP Hood have expanded its reach from predominantly New England to the broader United States. Today, the company has an annual sales revenue of about $3.2 billion and more than 3,400 employees.
The Save Mart Companies is an American grocery store operator founded and headquartered in Modesto, California. It owns and operates stores under the names of Save Mart, Lucky, Lucky California, FoodMaxx, and Maxx Value Foods. The stores are located in northern and central California and northern Nevada.
California produces 80% of the world's almonds and 100% of the United States commercial supply. Although almonds are not native to California, a hot, dry Mediterranean climate and developed water infrastructure create favorable conditions for commercial cultivation of the crop. In 2020, there were 1.25 million acres (5,100 km2) devoted to almond farming in California, producing 2.8 billion pounds (1.3 Mt).
Walnuts are an indigenous fruit species of California. Juglans californica is native to Southern California and the Central Valley, whereas Juglans hindsii is native to the northern parts.
The Manteca Transit Center is the primary public transit hub of Manteca, California. The bus station features five bus bays with Manteca Transit as the primary operator; the agency also maintain their offices at the facility. San Joaquin Regional Transit District and Altamont Corridor Express shuttle routes also serve the transit center. Modesto Area Express service began in July 2020. Altamont Corridor Express commuter rail service is expected to commence at a newly constructed platform along the Union Pacific rail line by 2026.
Turlock station is a future Altamont Corridor Express station in the city of the same name. It is expected to open to revenue service in 2029 as part of the second phase of ACE's expansion to Merced. The station is located at the intersection of Golden State Boulevard and Front Street. The platform is planned to be connected to the Turlock Transit Roger K. Fall Transit Center via an elevated pedestrian bridge. The station is also adjacent to the city's Greyhound Lines bus stop.
Livingston station is a future Altamont Corridor Express station in Livingston, California. It is expected to open to revenue service in 2030 as part of the second phase of ACE's expansion to Merced. The station is located on Main Street. Turlock was selected over Atwater as a stop due to the distance between adjacent stations potentially resulting in fewer bottlenecks for freight trains.
California Almond Growers Exchange (CAGE), is historical building in Sacramento, California, built in 1915. The first successful almonds farmer owned cooperative was the California Almond Growers Exchange founded in 1910. The California Almond Growers Exchange working as group improved almond production and marketing. The Exchange help developed machines processing almonds, reducing cost and time to market. California Almond Growers Exchange built a new mechanical cracker for shelling almonds. California Almond Growers Exchange building is California Historical Landmark No. 967, registered on October 1, 1985. The California Almond Growers Exchange building is at 1809 C Street in Sacramento. The California Almond Growers Exchange became the Blue Diamond Growers in 1980, the cooperative is privately held. Before the California Almond Growers Exchange the Almond marker was chaotic and sometiome unprofitable. Pooling together helped all growers. The cooperative was idea of J. P. Dargitz, an almond grower from Acampo. He founded the California Almond Growers Exchange on May 6, 1910, as statewide group. Nine local cooperatives, representing 60 percent of almond production going to market, join to make the California Almond Growers Exchange. One of California Almond Growers first standard products was sold in 1912, Four pounds of packaged unshelled almonds called Blue Diamond Almonds, the product was sold in stores across the United States. In 1922 the California Almond Growers Exchange started a publication called The Minute Book, to keep the grower informed on the cooperative operation and activities, as sales grew in 1922. At its peak, in 1931 four thousand almond growers were part of the Exchange. The first local Almond Growers Association cooperative was in 1897, the Davisville Almond Growers Association. In 1962, the California Almond Growers Exchange built a three-story cold storage warehouse so sells would not need to be seasonal. Also in 1962, the California Almond Growers Exchange built a processing warehouse that also could refrigerated 4,000 tons of shelled almonds. In 2013 a new plant in Turlock, California was opened by Blue Diamond, in addition to the Sacramento plant.
