By Charlie Lapastora
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SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY, California (KOVR) — Farming remains one of the cornerstones of California’s economy, particularly in the Central Valley and San Joaquin County.
The San Joaquin County Office of the Agricultural Commissioner released its 92nd annual crop report, which shows almonds have climbed to the top of the county’s agricultural industry by value. But for the farmers growing them, the milestone comes with mixed emotions.
The report shows the value of the county’s almond crop reached $584 million in 2025. That’s up from more than $492 million in 2024, an increase of more than $90 million.
CBS News Sacramento got an inside look at almond harvest season with a Ripon father-and-son farming team, who say the numbers are encouraging but also reflect broader challenges facing farmers across the region.
Mike Weststeyn and his family farm about 700 acres of almond orchards in the Ripon area.
For Mike, farming almonds is more than a business. It’s a way of life he’s known since childhood.
He said California is one of the best places in the world to grow food and is particularly well suited for almonds, producing about 80% of the world’s supply.
His son, Erik Weststeyn, recently graduated from Cal Poly with a degree in agricultural systems management. Instead of leaving the Central Valley, he decided to return home to Ripon to work alongside his father.
“Just being able to work with your son is quite an honor,” Mike said. “Sometimes he runs me a little hard. I’m getting older. But I’m glad to do it to help him out, help him get started.”
For Erik, coming home means continuing a family tradition.
“Just the family legacy, I guess, and it’s what I love to do,” Erik said. “Even when I’m away at college, sometimes all I want to do is get back and go to work, come back on the weekends and help my dad.”
That legacy was especially apparent during this year’s harvest, when the two worked together to finish harvesting one of their 250-acre orchards in Oakdale.
Mike said his own path into farming began with his father, although he didn’t get much time to farm alongside him.
“I’ve been farming since I farmed with my dad,” Mike said. “That’s how I started. I went to Fresno State and came back to the ranch. My dad passed away when I was pretty young. I really didn’t get the chance to farm with my dad, per se. But I had a bunch of other good farmers in the area that took me under their wing.”
Now, Mike is doing the same for his son.
Although Erik never had the opportunity to know his grandfather, he said he continues to hear stories about him and occasionally gets reminders that some things run in the family.
One recent encounter happened at a doughnut shop in Ripon. Erik had stopped to pick up doughnuts for the crew working the almond harvest. His truck has the Weststeyn name displayed on the side.
“One of the guys sitting there — I said, ‘Hello’ and this and that. He goes, ‘You sound just like your grandpa,'” Erik said. “So I was like, ‘I don’t know, I might have some of his voice in me.’ “
For the Weststeyns, that connection between generations is part of what makes farming meaningful.
San Joaquin County Agricultural Commissioner Kamal Bagri said agriculture remains one of the county’s largest industries, with a total value of more than $7 billion.
She said almond prices and demand have recovered after the industry faced challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, including difficulties exporting almonds.
“Almonds, it’s a real investment,” Bagri said. “It’s a 25-year crop. So if you put those trees in year after year after year, you have to stick with that because there are a lot of input costs that go into raising the trees.”
Bagri said the global demand for almonds has helped California growers, including those in San Joaquin County.
“It does make me feel good that my almonds are being sold and consumed by not just Californians or the United States, but across the world,” she said. “So I’m really proud of our growers — to continue to grow good crops here.”
While almonds moved into the No. 1 spot, other commodities struggled.
Grapes fell two spots to No. 5, with a crop value of about $272 million.
Mike said the decline reflects the difficulty grape growers are facing as production costs remain high and the wine industry deals with declining demand.
“There’s a lot of grape acreage going out of production,” Mike said. “They can grow grapes all over the world and other places. The problem is … you can’t get enough money for your grapes for what it costs to grow them here in California.”
Bagri said more than 8,000 acres of grapes came out of production in 2025. She said growers are losing contracts with wineries and, in some cases, are leaving grapes unharvested because they cannot sell them.
Some growers are considering replacing grapevines with other crops or waiting another year in hopes of better market conditions.
“Let’s hope for the best because the grape industry is really hurting currently because of the downward trend in sales of wine,” Bagri said.
Milk ranked second in San Joaquin County by crop value, while walnuts ranked third.
Bagri said she was surprised to see grapes fall so far after traditionally ranking among the county’s top commodities.
“All agriculture industry is very important to me as an ag commissioner,” Bagri said. “I’m here to support all my growers.”
For the Weststeyns, seeing almonds take the top spot is certainly good news — but Mike said it’s difficult to celebrate when other farmers are struggling.
“We had a little price increase last year, but I think it’s more of a bittersweet thing that we’re in the lead now,” Mike said. “The other commodities are just losing ground a little bit.”
Erik said he doesn’t view the rankings as a competition.
“It’s just kind of how the chips fall right now, and it could change in the future, too,” he said. “It could swap some other way.”
The bigger concern for both father and son is the rising cost of farming.
“The value of the crop has gone up, but our expenses have gone up too,” Mike said, pointing to the high cost of diesel and other inputs.
Despite the uncertainty, the Weststeyns are already thinking about the future.
Some of the almond trees at their Oakdale orchard had reached the end of their productive life cycle after roughly two decades and were removed.
The plan is to plant new trees — ones that could eventually become part of the next generation of the family farm.
For Erik, that long-term perspective is part of what makes the work special.
“Seeing that crop come all the way from the beginning of the year to getting it in the trailers like we’re doing today, that’s something a lot of people never get to experience,” Erik said. “I’m grateful I get to do it with my dad. I get to spend time with him, just produce some food for the nation. It’s something very special that I get to be part of.”
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