Van Gogh probably would have loved California's almond pollination season, known as "the world's largest agricultural event," involving the nation's beekeepers trucking in 2.5 million bee colonies to pollinate a million and a half acres of almonds.

The season usually begins around Feb. 14, Valentine's Day. California grows some 80 percent of the global almond supply.

Rick Kushman, media relations manager of the Almond Board of California, says that the state's total almond acreage dropped again in 2024, making it three consecutive years that acreage has decreased, something that has not happened since at least 1995.

"Total acreage dropped by about 40,000 acres from 1.56 million acres in the last crop year to just over 1.52 million in 2024," Kushman related in a November news release. "Bearing acres--orchards producing almonds and planted in 2021 or earlier--increased by the smallest amount in more than two decades, just 9,000 acres." 

Bee scientists estimate it takes two bee hives to pollinate an acre. Both beekeepers and growers are concerned about widespread bee losses. The bee industry reported a "catastrophic" loss of 1.1 million colonies this year. Growers are worried there aren't enough bees to pollinate their crops. The San Francisco Chronicle reported Feb. 22 that "this year's bee bee die-off is reminiscent of the last major bee disaster: colony collapse disorder, a phenomenon with still-elusive origins that scientists estimate killed between 750,000 and 1 million colonies over the winter of 2007-08." 

The culprits threatening the bees? Some scientists point to the four P's: pesticides, parasites, pathogens and poor nutrition. Widespread bee hive thefts exacerbate the problem.

Meanwhile, a drive through Dixon countryside shows the almond orchards in full bloom--the almond trees that Van Gogh said represent awakening, hope and joy.

(Interested in becoming a beekeeper or learning more about bees? Access the UC Davis-based California Master Beekeeper Program (CAMBP), founded and directed by bee scientist Ellna Lastro Niño, associate professor of Cooperative Extension and a faculty member of the Department of Entomology and Nematology.)