The first almond blooms have started to appear among 25,000 plus acres of almond orchards in the Manteca, Ripon, and Escalon area.

The start of the almond bloom season will be on the minds of the South San Joaquin Irrigation District directors when they meet Tuesday to discuss when to start the irrigation season. The meeting is at 9 a.m. at SSJID headquarters on East Highway 120 in Manteca.

SSJID General Manager Peter Reitkerk said district canals will be ready to start operations March 1 thanks to the herculean effort of district crews in cleaning up and repairing storm damage.

Reitkerk said the staff, though, is recommending March 8 as the irrigation season start date.

“That decision, of course, is up to the board,” Reitkerk said.

The reasoning behind the March 8 date is the district would be better able to mange water if there was a strong demand.

By more or all growers taking water, the district will be able to operate the first run of the season more efficiently. That means a minimal amount of water would end up flowing out of the system and into outlets to be returned to the San Joaquin River.

The recommendation aimed at conserving water is based on late and heavy rains that have provided moisture for almonds. As such, a number of growers may not need water on March  1 especially if temperatures stay mild.

Almonds are the No. 1 crop in San Joaquin County.

 The 2021 almond crop was valued at $453,764,000 out of the overall farm production of $3,193,234,000.

At the same time, bearing acreage increased from 104,400 acres in 2020 to 109,200 acres in 2021.

To put that in perspective, the acres currently planted in almonds in San Joaquin County cover an area more than 3½ times larger than the City of San Francisco.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com