The State of the Harvest: Innovation, Inflation, and the El Niño Outlook

It's full swing here in California's Central Valley. Everything is being harvested: Almonds, Pistachios, Sweet Potatos, Cantaloupe, Tomatoes, and so much more. On top of that, the weather has changed from Death Valley temperatures to San Diego temps. It's glorious. The weather change comes perfectly after a road trip vacation to Mount Rushmore and elsewhere. It feels like fall early, for once. It's been a long time since coming into football season and it not being 107 degrees at 7 p.m. This week, there's a lot of talk about El Niño as it starts to ramp up. Also, there's a lot of fun stuff: almond hulls as a food ingredient, robots in strawberries, World Record Fish in the Central Valley, and why drugs are bad. Let's dive in, but first, please subscribe. Subscribe now Almond hull powder has received a stamp of approval for human consumption. The independent review panel approval means it could be used as a human food ingredient in items like cereals, granola, and baked goods. Almond hulls have primarily been used for livestock feed. Now, transforming almond hulls into high-value food ingredients could create an entirely new revenue stream and reduce postharvest waste. Almond hulls are now being tested with specialized cleaning systems to produce food-grade material. READ MORE: Almond Hulls As a Food Ingredient Citrus fruits could help combat obesity and related metabolic disorders. The new research says active plant compounds like the flavonoid nobiletin found in sweet oranges and tangerines help out. Studies involving animal models on high-fat diets have demonstrated that nobiletin can significantly reduce weight gain, lower insulin resistance, improve blood lipid levels, and even help reverse existing metabolic symptoms such as arterial plaque buildup (atherosclerosis). These findings could play a valuable role in future treatments for obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. Researchers still say further clinical trials in humans are necessary to determine what dosing would be needed to be safe and effective outside of laboratory settings. READ MORE: Citrus Could Help Fight Obesity Here's another reason to eat tomatoes. Researchers from Tufts University say that phytoene (a lesser-known, colorless compound found in tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables) may help protect against fatty liver disease. In animal studies, mice given phytoene developed significantly less severe fatty liver disease while consuming a high-carbohydrate diet. They say the compound appeared to help the liver burn excess fat for energy rather than storing it. Researchers also say that phytoene is easily absorbed by the body. Further human clinical studies are needed. Researchers believe that encouraging the consumption of phytoene-rich foods like tomatoes, carrots, and peppers could offer a promising dietary strategy for preventing or slowing liver disease. READ MORE: Tomatoes Could Help Fight Fatty Liver Disease Fresh produce prices have surged significantly over the past year. This is driven by a combination of extreme weather, agricultural labor shortages, rising fuel and fertilizer costs, and shifts in trade policy like new tariffs on Mexican tomato imports. Broad price relief is unlikely to arrive quickly. To combat food inflation, shoppers can pivot toward less inflation-impacted staples like bananas, oranges, potatoes, and dried legumes, or substitute fresh fruits and vegetables with canned and frozen alternatives. These have a longer shelf life and have experienced much milder price increases. READ MORE: Fresh Fruit Prices, Why the Rise? Share The long-range outlook for the 2026–2027 winter points toward a major Super El Niño. For California and the Central Valley, this Super El Niño signature historically favors an active, wet pattern with substantial rain predicted. There is a good chance for above-normal rain in the valleys and significant snowpack accumulation across the Sierra Nevada. While temperatures across the northern U.S. are projected to run well above average, California's temperatures typically remain cooler and more stable due to persistent cloud cover and frequent storm systems moving through the region. Transitioning to current late-summer conditions, recent hot and dry weather, combined with a persistent lack of winter snowpack, has driven the expansion of moderate drought conditions across northern California. While some surrounding parts of the West experienced cooler-than-normal temperatures, northern California's short-term dryness and above-normal warmth are not helping right now. Hopefully, El Niño shows up and fills up the reservoirs and brings much-needed snow and rain to lower the state's drought. READ MORE: Winter 2026/2027 First Forecast READ MORE: Drought Monitor Robots are helping the strawberry industry. Startup TRIC Robotics has scaled rapidly, moving from half-acre trials in 2021 to treating over 1,500 commercial strawberry acres. They have fleets that are using up to 15 autonomous robots. The company uses large, diesel-powered machines equipped with ultraviolet-C light and bug vacuums to control pests and fungal pathogens. The robots operate at night to avoid daytime chaos in the fields. This is a chemical-free alternative that helps improve plant health and extend the growing season. The company utilizes a 'robots-as-a-service' (RaaS) business model. They charge farmers per application per acre rather than buying the robots up front. This closely reflects how strawberry growers traditionally pay for chemical spraying services. READ MORE: Robots and Strawberries The White House is launching a collaborative cybersecurity program. 'Project Watershed 250' will help defend critical water and wastewater utilities against a rising wave of foreign cyberattacks. Companies like Microsoft, Google, AWS, and others are in partnership to provide free federal and private resources, red-teaming, and vulnerability-assessment tools to local water providers. This comes after a sharp surge in malicious cyber activity targeting operational technology in U.S. water systems. These attacks are often linked to foreign nation-state actors like Iran. The White House aims to shore up defenses for under-resourced local and rural water authorities whose vulnerabilities have left them increasingly exposed to operational disruptions. READ MORE: Cyberattacks on Water Systems in The United States O'Neill Forebay in Merced County has been recognized byWorldAtlasas one of the top destinations in the country for catching giant landlocked striped bass. The local reservoir earned this national distinction due to its legendary fishing history. They highlighted the catch by Hank Ferguson. He caught a 67-pound, 8-ounce striped bass on May 7, 1992. Although that fish briefly held the global record and was later surpassed nationally, Ferguson's catch remains the official California freshwater record for striped bass. That fish helped the Los Banos-area waterway become a premier destination for anglers targeting trophy fish. READ MORE: Merced County Reservoirs' World Record Two men received 15-year federal prison sentences after Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents uncovered more than 700 pounds of methamphetamine inside a commercial trailer shipment of cucumbers in Gainesville, Georgia. Investigators say back in 2025, the two men were arrested in a nearby vehicle after watching the rig, which contained thousands of individually wrapped drug packages hidden across 20 pallets of produce boxes. Both men pleaded guilty. Court records said one of the men was a Mexican citizen with no legal status in the U.S. He was also a twice-convicted and twice-deported felon who additionally pleaded guilty to illegal reentry following previous drug-related deportations. Following their prison terms, each defendant will serve 10 years of supervised release. READ MORE: Smuggling Drugs is Bad This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.