Background

California produces approximately 80% of the world's almond crop. During the l980's and l990's, because of increasing demand,³ almond production in the state rose dramatically. Almonds remain a top agricultural commodity for California.

Almonds grow on almond trees in orchards throughout the state. The almond meat (almond) is enclosed by a hard shell, which is in turn enclosed in a soft, pulpy outer covering known as the hull. The almond is not attached to the shell. The hull is attached to the tree and the shell. Over time, as the almond matures, the hull hardens. In some cases, around August, the hull begins to open while the almond is still on the tree, exposing the shell.

In at least 50% of cases,⁴ hulling and shelling occur away from the orchard at which the almonds are grown.⁵ Almond growers may join a hulling and/or shelling cooperative or may contract with a commercial hulling and/or shelling operator. Cooperatives usually require the growers to pay a fee to join, but sometimes return to the grower all or part of the value of the hulls (which may range from $40 to $70 per ton) and the shells (whose energy value may be $20 per ton). Almond hullers and/or shellers may also receive the hulls and shells, which can then be sold, as compensation for this work.⁶ Commercial operators generally charge higher fees and do not return any of the hulls or shells to the grower.

Almond hulling and shelling is a seasonal operation, which usually begins in August and ends in December or January. Although there are some variations in the process, the hulling and shelling process generally occurs as follows:

· Removal of Almonds from the Tree/Drying of Almonds on the Orchard Floor. First, the almond trees are shaken by a device known as a "shaker," knocking the almonds, which are still enclosed in the hull and shell, to the orchard floor. The almonds remain on the orchard floor for approximately 7 to 10 days for drying. The almonds are then raked into rows by a sweeper machine and are left on the orchard floor for several more days.

· Sweeping of Almonds from Orchard Floor/Transportation of Almonds to Huller/Sheller. After drying, the almonds are removed from the orchard using large mobile bins, which either have rotating paddle-like appendages to sweep the almonds into the bin or vacuums to suck the almonds into the bin. As the almonds are swept or vacuumed into the bins, leaves, twigs, and dirt from the orchard floor (trash) are also swept into the bins. The almonds and the trash are then transported to the hulling and/or shelling facility. Hulls and shells sometimes break away as the almonds are propelled into the bins, are transported to the huller/sheller, or are unloaded at the hulling and/or shelling facility.⁷

After drying, the almonds must be promptly removed from the orchard floor and should generally be hulled within 90 days, in order to avoid insect infestation or the development of fungus, mold, mildew and salmonella, which make the almonds inedible.⁸

· Separation of Almonds from Trash By Vibrating Screens. At the hulling and shelling operation, the trash is separated from the almonds by putting the material through a series of vibrating screens, sometimes called scalping decks. The almonds fall through the vibrating screen, away from the trash which remains in the screen.

· Cracking/Breaking of Hulls and Shells by Shear Rolls and/or Hulling Cylinders. The almonds are then placed on conveyor belts and moved to shear rolls and/or hulling cylinders. Shear rolls are hard rubber rotating cylinders. The conveyor belt moves the almonds under the sheer rolls in order to crack the hulls. The almonds move under a series of shear rolls, each of which has a smaller clearance between the cylinder and the almonds, so that the hulls crack gradually.

A small portion of almond hulling and shelling is accomplished with hulling cylinders. Hulling cylinders are rotating drums, which have prongs and bars inside. The almonds are placed in the hulling cylinders, which bang the almonds against the prongs and bars, causing the hull and shell to crack. Hulling cylinders are generally used in addition to shear rolls, rather than instead of shear rolls.

The hulling and shelling equipment squeezes the hulls and shells, causing them to crack, splinter and fracture.⁹

· Removal of Loose Hulls and Shells by Vibrating Screens. The almonds are then moved to vibrating screens. The vibrations knock the loose hulls and shells and pieces of hulls and shells off of the almonds. The hulls and shells fall through the screens, leaving the raw almonds unhulled and unshelled.

· Use of Aspirators to Blow Away Lighter Pieces of Hulls and Shells. As the almonds move along the conveyor belt, aspirators blow air on the almonds, which also blows away lighter pieces of the hulls and shells.

· Separation of Unhulled/Unshelled Almonds from Hulled/Shelled Almonds by Gravity Tables. The almonds then move to gravity tables, which are vibrating tables with a slight incline. The vibrations separate any heavier unhulled or unshelled or partially unhulled or unshelled almonds from the hulled and shelled almonds.

· Repetition of Hulling/Shelling Process if Almonds Are Not Fully Hulled or Shelled. If the hull or shell has not been fully removed, the almonds are put back through the shear rolls or hulling cylinders. The almonds often go through 14 to 22 shear rolls before the hulls and shells are fully removed and the process is complete.¹⁰

· Shelling Process as Distinguished from Hulling Process. Most of the time, the same operator performs both hulling and shelling at the same facility. However, in a smaller percentage of cases, operators hull, but do not shell, the almonds.¹¹ In this case, hullers use the same process as described above, but generally put the almonds through only 7 or 8 shear rolls so that the shell will not be removed.

Hullers and shellers may also perform additional functions required by the federal government, such as weighing the almonds, sorting them by size, fumigating them to prevent insect infestation, and inspecting the almonds to remove any which are damaged or inedible.

According to the California Almond Board, approximately 92% of almonds sold in California are both hulled and shelled at the time of sale. Approximately 79% of these almonds are sold as raw, whole almonds, and approximately 19% undergo a manufacturing process, such as roasting, blanching, slicing, slivering, or salting, before sale. Approximately 80% of almond sales in California are to industrial users who use almonds as an ingredient in manufactured food items, such as cookies, cakes, etc.

In-shell almonds comprise approximately 8% of almonds sold in California. Approximately 84% of these almonds are sold to India and China. The governments of India and China have specified that only in-shell almonds may be sold to their countries, in order to provide their citizens with jobs shelling almonds. When almonds are sold to India and China, the huller is asked to set the shear rolls to make slight indentations in the shell so that Indian and Chinese workers can shell the almonds more easily.

On a national level, approximately 67% of almonds sold within the United States are shelled, and 2% of these almonds are sold in their shells, and the rest of the 31% of almonds sold in the United States undergo some manufacturing process before sale.

Approximately 75% of the almonds exported out of the United States are shelled, and only 11% of these almonds are exported in-shell. Approximately 14% of the almonds exported out of the United States undergo a manufacturing process before sale.

There is no market for in-hull almonds because of health risks associated with the high moisture content in the hull.

However, a significant market for almond hulls, to be used as cattle feed, exists in California. For example, California produces approximately 800,000 tons of almond hulls, which have a market value of approximately $100 per ton, or 80 million dollars.¹² Complainants alone sell over 500,000 tons of almond hulls annually, which at even $50 per ton, have a value of 25 million dollars.¹³ According to Complainants, the shells may be sold for approximately 1¢ per pound.¹⁴ Complainants produce approximately 190,000 tons of almond shells annually,¹⁵ which would have an approximate value of $3,800,000 per year.