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Current price is just under $500 for an acre-foot of water, and you have to buy in increments of 10 acre-feet. If you are unfamiliar with that unit of measureme

Current price is just under $500 for an acre-foot of water, and you have to buy in increments of 10 acre-feet. If you are unfamiliar with that unit of measurement, it’s pretty much what it sounds like. It’s the amount of water needed to cover one acre of land in one foot of water and is equal to 325,850 gallons. It is standard in agriculture to measure water output to crops in inches and feet because this makes the calculations for water usage much easier. For additional context, almonds use about 4 acre-feet of water per year and over the last ten years have generally been able to gross from a low end of $5000 an acre to upwards of $15000 depending on yield and price. Considering costs remain essentially fixed regardless of gross in almonds, this water price would therefore range from ruinous to fairly inconsequential.

m1ckey 6y ago
1 acre-foot = 1233m^3 = 1233000L 0.41$ / m^3
themodelplumber 6y ago
> almonds use about 4 acre-feet of water per year Q: What unit of almond measurement uses that measurement of water?
jelliclesfarm 6y ago
The troubled and now almost defunct Hyflux has contracts in Singapore (on a multi-year committed contract at volume) back in 2011 for desalinated water at $0.45/m^3 or $554/acre foot. 1 acre foot = 1233 m^3. very close to where the spot market right now is for water. water futures are trading at almost the same price as is the cost of desalination. make of it what you may.. meanwhile: almonds in california..https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almonds_in_California https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almonds_in_California [..] 1.Almonds were California's third most valuable agricultural product in 2016, accounting for $5.2 billion (about 11%) of agricultural output. The state produces 80% of the world's almonds and 100% of the United States’ commercial supply. 2. Almonds are California's most valuable export crop. Farmers exported $4.5 billion worth to foreign countries in 2016, about 22% of the state's total agricultural exports. The majority of these exports went to the European Union, China and India. While the EU is the largest consumer, the latter two countries are expanding markets where the state's Almond Board has actively marketed the nuts as a healthy snack. As part of the 2018 China–United States trade war, China has imposed a 50% tariff on almonds. As a result, some Chinese businesses have resorted to importing almonds from other producers in Africa and Australia. 3. California suffered a severe drought from 2011 to 2017. In addition to economic consequences for the state's almond growers, the industry came under criticism for its water use. As of 2015, almond cultivation consumed about 10% of the state's water. Furthermore, almond acreage increased by 14% from 2007 to 2014, while almond irrigation increased by 27%. Critics have pointed out that the state's 6,000 almond farmers use roughly 35 times the amount of water as the 466,000 residents of Sacramento. To supplement reduced deliveries from the state's water system, many almond farmers increased groundwater pumping, which can unsustainably deplete aquifers and cause land subsidence.
simonebrunozzi 6y ago
> almonds use about 4 acre-feet of water per year An acre with almond trees, to be specific. 4 acre-feet of water per acre, per year.
latte 6y ago
I wonder what makes people launch new products using non-metric units in 2020. Oil trading has a tradition of using barrels, but crop areas are measured in hectares and water volumes in cubic metres in most parts of the world.
- gnopgnip 6y ago
  These water futures are in California, and would predominately be used by farmers. The units fit the use. Water futures in another part of the world would use units that fit their use.
s1artibartfast 6y ago
$5,000 is the average gross for almonds in california[1] and $15,000 is a red herring. Average costs are ~$4,500/acre[2]. Water is the second largest costs of production following land[3], so I would argue that there is no inconsequential increase in water price. Also, Water/acre is meaningless without considering yield/acre or calories/acre. The caloric output/unit water for almonds is on par per calorie with many fruits, and much lower than many meats.[4] https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/California/Publications/Specialty_and_Other_Releases/Almond/Forecast/201905almpd.pdf https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/California/Pub... http://progressivecrop.com/2020/04/economic-trends-in-almond-production/ http://progressivecrop.com/2020/04/economic-trends-in-almond... https://www.almonds.com/sites/default/files/content/attachments/economics_of_growing_almonds_revised.pdf https://www.almonds.com/sites/default/files/content/attachme... https://waterfootprint.org/en/water-footprint/product-water-footprint/water-footprint-crop-and-animal-products/ https://waterfootprint.org/en/water-footprint/product-water-...
- opinion-is-bad 6y ago
  Almond prices pushed $4 a pound just a couple years ago, and yields can easily exceed 4,000 an acre (I just got 4,100 on a fifth leaf orchard not even in full production). 15,000 is not the norm, but plenty of farmers have gotten that yield at least once over the last five years.
  - s1artibartfast 6y ago
    I don't know what to tell you. I am just going by the average production and price for california bearing acreage in California from the USDA and CA department of food and agriculture link I posted. This is an average, so it makes sense that there would be a spread. Regarding the price, the ~$2.5 seems to match other sources I found [1]. That said, I understand any processor bonus's aren't included in this, so YMMV. I have experience with other nuts, but not almonds, so I will have to take your word for it regarding the high end yields. That said, when talking about water policy and the impact on farmers, I think the mean is the most important number. https://www.merlofarminggroup.com/almonds/California%20Inshell https://www.merlofarminggroup.com/almonds/California%20Inshe...

m1ckey 6y ago

1 acre-foot = 1233m^3 = 1233000L 0.41$ / m^3

themodelplumber 6y ago

> almonds use about 4 acre-feet of water per year Q: What unit of almond measurement uses that measurement of water?

jelliclesfarm 6y ago

The troubled and now almost defunct Hyflux has contracts in Singapore (on a multi-year committed contract at volume) back in 2011 for desalinated water at $0.45/m^3 or $554/acre foot. 1 acre foot = 1233 m^3. very close to where the spot market right now is for water. water futures are trading at almost the same price as is the cost of desalination. make of it what you may.. meanwhile: almonds in california..https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almonds_in_California https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almonds_in_California [..] 1.Almonds were California's third most valuable agricultural product in 2016, accounting for $5.2 billion (about 11%) of agricultural output. The state produces 80% of the world's almonds and 100% of the United States’ commercial supply. 2. Almonds are California's most valuable export crop. Farmers exported $4.5 billion worth to foreign countries in 2016, about 22% of the state's total agricultural exports. The majority of these exports went to the European Union, China and India. While the EU is the largest consumer, the latter two countries are expanding markets where the state's Almond Board has actively marketed the nuts as a healthy snack. As part of the 2018 China–United States trade war, China has imposed a 50% tariff on almonds. As a result, some Chinese businesses have resorted to importing almonds from other producers in Africa and Australia. 3. California suffered a severe drought from 2011 to 2017. In addition to economic consequences for the state's almond growers, the industry came under criticism for its water use. As of 2015, almond cultivation consumed about 10% of the state's water. Furthermore, almond acreage increased by 14% from 2007 to 2014, while almond irrigation increased by 27%. Critics have pointed out that the state's 6,000 almond farmers use roughly 35 times the amount of water as the 466,000 residents of Sacramento. To supplement reduced deliveries from the state's water system, many almond farmers increased groundwater pumping, which can unsustainably deplete aquifers and cause land subsidence.

simonebrunozzi 6y ago

> almonds use about 4 acre-feet of water per year An acre with almond trees, to be specific. 4 acre-feet of water per acre, per year.

latte 6y ago

I wonder what makes people launch new products using non-metric units in 2020. Oil trading has a tradition of using barrels, but crop areas are measured in hectares and water volumes in cubic metres in most parts of the world.

gnopgnip 6y ago
These water futures are in California, and would predominately be used by farmers. The units fit the use. Water futures in another part of the world would use units that fit their use.

s1artibartfast 6y ago

$5,000 is the average gross for almonds in california[1] and $15,000 is a red herring. Average costs are ~$4,500/acre[2]. Water is the second largest costs of production following land[3], so I would argue that there is no inconsequential increase in water price. Also, Water/acre is meaningless without considering yield/acre or calories/acre. The caloric output/unit water for almonds is on par per calorie with many fruits, and much lower than many meats.[4] https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/California/Publications/Specialty_and_Other_Releases/Almond/Forecast/201905almpd.pdf https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/California/Pub... http://progressivecrop.com/2020/04/economic-trends-in-almond-production/ http://progressivecrop.com/2020/04/economic-trends-in-almond... https://www.almonds.com/sites/default/files/content/attachments/economics_of_growing_almonds_revised.pdf https://www.almonds.com/sites/default/files/content/attachme... https://waterfootprint.org/en/water-footprint/product-water-footprint/water-footprint-crop-and-animal-products/ https://waterfootprint.org/en/water-footprint/product-water-...

opinion-is-bad 6y ago
Almond prices pushed $4 a pound just a couple years ago, and yields can easily exceed 4,000 an acre (I just got 4,100 on a fifth leaf orchard not even in full production). 15,000 is not the norm, but plenty of farmers have gotten that yield at least once over the last five years.
- s1artibartfast 6y ago
  I don't know what to tell you. I am just going by the average production and price for california bearing acreage in California from the USDA and CA department of food and agriculture link I posted. This is an average, so it makes sense that there would be a spread. Regarding the price, the ~$2.5 seems to match other sources I found [1]. That said, I understand any processor bonus's aren't included in this, so YMMV. I have experience with other nuts, but not almonds, so I will have to take your word for it regarding the high end yields. That said, when talking about water policy and the impact on farmers, I think the mean is the most important number. https://www.merlofarminggroup.com/almonds/California%20Inshell https://www.merlofarminggroup.com/almonds/California%20Inshe...