Our Crops

Rice

California rice is grown on roughly 500,000 acres in California’s Sacramento Valley. The ground at the Gorrill Ranch is made up of heavy clay soils that hold water, like a bathtub, which is perfect for an aquatic plant like rice. With careful attention to every step in the cropping cycle in our warm Mediterranean climate, nowhere in the world is rice production more advanced than in California. Our rice is planted in April and May and harvested in the fall. Additionally, did you know rice fields are where nearly 230 wildlife species come for food and shelter? Our rice fields are a haven for millions of ducks and geese that migrate along the Pacific Flyway.

Almonds, Walnuts, and Pecans

At the Gorrill Ranch, we also grow almonds, walnuts, and pecans--each of which take care and investment year-round. After a tree nut sapling is planted, it can take 3-8 years for it to grow into an adult tree suitable for harvesting! We carefully manage water, nutrients, and insect or disease pressure from bloom to harvest. Harvest starts with almonds in August and we end with pecan harvest in the late fall. Each of our tree nut crops is harvested by shaking the nuts off the tree, sweeping them into rows and then picking them up and loading them into trucks for delivery to the processor.