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California’s almond industry aims to reduce dust during harvest

California’s almond industry aims to reduce dust during harvest

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — The almond harvest is easy to spot in many of the valley’s communities.

Machines shake up dust as they collect nuts from the garden floor.

“The big push in the industry over the last few years has been to go dust-free,” says Craig Arnold of Arnold Farms in Atwater.

UC Merced engineering students are working on efficiency projects.

Harvester modifications immediately transfer the almonds to a cart for transport.

“The whole process, starting with harvesting from the ground using real land machines, involves moving the almonds,” says Stefano Foresti. “Not even letting them touch the ground.”

“One of our main goals is to make it sustainable and efficient, because when almonds are harvested, as they are now, they leave a lot of waste,” says Hasan Imran.

Wet almond husks can stick to the sides and bottoms of trailers, forcing workers to use poles to free clumps of almonds.

Students came up with a solution for warehouse aeration.

“We use vibration pads, connect them to the hopper trailer using compressed air, and it essentially shakes the whole trailer,” Imran said.

These innovations give students experience solving real-world problems.

“It’s great to discover new horizons in technology,” says Manuel Ortega.

Arnold wanted the students to find a way to dry the almonds in a big pile.

“They figured out a way to use the ambient air to dry these piles,” he said. “We no longer need propane or electric heat to heat the air and dry the almonds.”

Arnold says these ideas show great potential. The next step is to test the process on a large scale.

“By the next harvest, we’ll be ready to test with farmers who want it,” Foresti said.

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