The California almond marketing order has a calendar problem: assessment collections and program bills do not necessarily arrive together. For the Almond Board of California, that mismatch became a cash-flow challenge to evaluate, rather than something an orchard manager could fix with a change in field practice.
USDA has set a referendum on a proposed amendment to the federal order. The amendment would give the Board a way to manage the gap through a seasonal line of credit from financial institutions.
A bridge between collections and bills
The proposed authority is for the Board to borrow, not a new lending program for almond growers. The financing would address the timing of order revenue and program spending; the proposal does not itself specify a change to orchard operations.
The Board began identifying and evaluating the cash-flow challenge in 2020. At its Aug. 8, 2024, meeting, it recommended adding borrowing authority to the order, according to USDA’s account of the Board’s recommendation.
The authority still needs a vote
The referendum runs from Nov. 2 through Nov. 20, 2026, under the proposed rule and referendum order. Until the process is complete, the amendment is a proposal, not authority the Board can use.
For growers, the story is about the plumbing behind the order, not a new practice to put on the spray or irrigation calendar. The practical question is whether the referendum permits the Board to use credit to cover a seasonal mismatch in its own finances.
The financing details will matter to anyone assessing the order’s longer-term costs: the size and terms of any credit, and how borrowing would be repaid, shape what a seasonal cash-flow tool means in practice.