If we can talk about this one fruit in a more adult way, maybe we can have better conversations about the crops at the center of the American plate.

Happy to be out in the orchard. Impatient that I'm on foot, not on the ATV. SO SLOW!

Some empty beeboxes await new tenants among the mustard. #avocados in the background.

Keiko inspects cleared ground where additional trees will be planted in Santa Paula. 93060 is the leading #avocado zip code in the US by acreage.

Boom!

Was thinking about a thoughtful, zen post about perfection captured in a single tree. Then Keiko busts through the frame and confronts a previously unseen skunk 50 feet to my right. Standoff did not result in any harm. But the zen moment had passed.

High avocado consumption in Chile and Mexico warms my heart. 1) it shows what is possible and 2) keeps the fruit from the US market.

This time of year is when our soil moisture monitoring system pays for itself. Being able to see when we have saturated the root zone instead of guessing saved about 150,000 gallons of water today.

This bucolic image of Roscoe in the #avocado orchard really happened this morning and is entirely unlike the bulk of the day spent paying bills and working with bankers and lawyers on co-op stuff. In life as social media, things can look very different depending on your focus.

Keiko enjoying a little time on the comfy dog bed in the office. And watching the treat.

Summer is here

As a warm day draws to it's close, Keiko enjoys the shadiest, muddiest spot she can find.

Split image. Top: Unloading #avocado trees for planting 6 years ago today. Bottom: Those same trees yesterday afternoon. We will be harvesting fruit from them next week.

Fertilizer day. This time of year, our nutrition plan emphasizes developing #avocados with Potassium, Zinc, and Calcium.

I agree. An industry that is prohibitive to enter/exit will not stay healthy. Currently the only ways into farming are birth, marriage, or outside $. Virtually impossible to get started and then payback borrowed money.

Neighboring trees grumble: "Nobody like a show-off.".But they're wrong. I do. I certainly do.

Taking a break from #avocado pics to acknowledge our hard working soil. Mulch, #covercrop, and time make it what it is. And that makes avocados.

Proud of my county Farm Bureau.

RT @Patrick_Wyman: The people of Los Angeles are Americans. Southern California is America. The vast majority of the people who live there….

Provocation needs to be met with determination, focus and discipline. Please don't advance Trump's narrative.

Surprised it took this long, but first large scale ICE activity targetting Ventura County agriculture is underway this morning. Well trained staff at their primary target turned them away for lack of a warrant.