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At Stewart & Jasper, we are completely vertically integrated. This means we control the product all the way from the farms where our almonds are grown to the delivery of our almonds around the world. This control over everything from growing to hulling to shelling to processing to packing and to shipping allows us to provide the highest levels of quality and service to our customers.

 

Since planting our first orchards back in the 1950’s, we have watched the rapid growth of almond production throughout the state of California as worldwide demand has grown. Today we are marketing a crop that is more than five times as large as when we first began to process and market the Stewart & Jasper brand. Despite this exponential growth and the dynamic market landscape for California almonds, we remain committed to preserving the values, wisdom and hope upon which we were founded. Our success is clearly due to our amazing team and our unwavering focus on hard work, integrity, long-term relationships and innovation.  We are confident that these same qualities, traits, and vision cast by our founders, are still evident today at Stewart & Jasper, and will propel the company forward as we continue to grow and advance in the industry.

Growing

Located in the Central Valley of California, where the soil and climate is ideal to grow almonds, Stewart & Jasper has enjoyed some of the best growing conditions available.

 

Our winters are cool, allowing our almond trees to go dormant.  Our spring and summer are dry enough that our blossoms don’t rot.  It is this perfect combination of elements that allows us to grow such a beautiful almond.

 

Today, Stewart & Jasper manages over 2,000 acres of our own almond orchards. Experienced orchard management from our own farming professionals provides oversight at every phase of growth.  Throughout the year, this excellent team is monitoring our trees and their growth.  Even the delicate and responsible handling of bees for the important role of pollination during bloom is an important step that is carefully managed by our farming team.

 

Maximum yields and superior quality start in the orchard where careful attention is given throughout the growing season. Each spring, anticipation builds as our trees prepare to exit their barren, dormant, winter season.  From the proper selection of almond varieties and complimentary rootstocks for new orchards to the selection of modern, water-saving irrigation systems, great attention is given to the development, care, and nurture of our orchards. As farmers, we have always been committed to sound agricultural practices.  We feel a strong obligation to be good stewards of the land, regardless of whether our orchard is certified as organic or farmed conventionally. This includes employing beneficial strategies for pest control, food-safe fertilization, and the fine-tuning of our water use for conservation.  At Stewart & Jasper, we strive to ensure that our farming practices are ecologically friendly and sustainable in every respect.

Harvesting

As the crop develops through the spring and into the summer, we harvest green almonds, a seasonal delicacy that features the nut in its gelatinous state.  These seasonal delicacies are often featured as a cooking ingredient or a garnish by celebrity chefs and private connoisseurs around the country.

 

Later in the summer, the almond crop is ready to be harvested. Still in their shells and protected by their open hulls, almonds are removed from the trees row by row using custom shakers.  After being allowed to dry to the desired moisture content, they are swept into windrows where they await a harvester that will move down each row picking up the almonds and transferring them into bank-out wagons.  These bank-out shuttles deliver the almonds to large open-top, hopper-style trailers which will transport the nuts to our processing facility.

 

Since our founding in 1948, we have invested in technology to evolve and improve our processes. The mechanization of the harvest is one example of this investment and it has increased our efficiency and our quality. This includes side-mounted shakers and orchard-floor sweepers and harvesters that are much more efficient and thorough at cleaning up the product as we are picking it up off the orchard floor. Our investments in innovation and technology have truly been investments in providing the highest quality product possible to our customers. 

Hulling & Shelling

After the almonds are harvested and collected in bank-out wagons, they are transferred to our hulling and shelling facility. Stewart & Jasper provides hulling and shelling services featuring two complete hulling and shelling plants – parallel operations with excess capacity that enables faster and safer handling of crop deliveries – thus reducing the risk of loss in the field, shortening the time from delivery to inventory, and providing the most efficient throughput rates for the best quality output. This is particularly critical when you consider that all our other operations are year-round processes, while the huller/sheller must complete its work in just three short months. Despite the tight timeline, we never take our eye off our commitment to quality.

 

The first step in the hulling and shelling process is unloading the almonds at our pre-cleaner. The pre-cleaner removes any orchard debris such as rocks, sticks, and other large foreign material from the almonds prior to them entering the huller. 

 

Once inside the hulling facility, the almonds are conveyed across a variety of shakers and screening devices that will separate the hulls from the shelled almond.  The hulls are removed from the building by way of large pneumatic conveying systems that transport them outside into pyramid-shaped hull piles formed by elevated augers.  The hulls, which are rich in protein and fiber, are marketed to commodity feed users serving the dairy and other related industries.

 

After the hulls are removed, almonds enter the shelling process where hard-shell crackers use gentle shear-roll technology to remove the nut from the shell without damaging it.  The nuts are now ready for sizing, processing, and packaging to meet the demanding specifications of our many fine almond buyers around the world.

 

Just like in growing our distinctive California almonds, throughout hulling and shelling, quality is always top of mind.  This is especially important to us because we don’t just process our own almonds.  In fact, 90% of the almonds we receive for hulling and shelling are from outside growers who trust us to handle their valuable almond crop.

Processing

Once they are through hulling and shelling our almonds are ready to be processed. Processing includes sizing, grading, and packaging and can also include flavoring and roasting – all done to meet our customer’s exacting specifications. 

 

At Stewart & Jasper, we depend heavily on technology to provide an uncompromising level of excellence in food safety and product quality. Laser sorters and state of the art imaging systems examine every nut. The first stage of processing is sizing, where we implement the first level of electronic sorting to identify and remove defects, imperfections, and foreign material. Almonds then pass through a sizer which separates every nut into one of eight bins by size,  identifying every nut on a count-per-ounce basis.

 

Samples are drawn from every bin of nuts that we process and are taken to our own in-house laboratory for quality analysis. Each sample is analyzed and is the results are entered into a database for marketing, which we then use to perfectly match our inventory with our customer demands. Throughout processing, quality is continually checked to meet or exceed USDA standards.

 

After sizing, almonds pass through three more laser and optical sorters to detect and remove any remaining defects.  Hand sorting is used as a final step, to be certain that any imperfect almonds do not make it into the final product, and to ensure that we meet or exceed our customers’ expectations.

 

As an added service, steam pasteurization is available from an on-site facility providing an additional level of food safety, if requested or required.

 

Once processed, our almonds are packaged in a variety of containers, and always to order.  Every box,  bin, or sack will reflect the Stewart & Jasper brand which is recognized and respected around the world.  Shipments are carefully prepared by our own product handling specialists who are accustomed to loading full containers or LTLs, according to customer requests and specifications. During every step of handling, from hulling and shelling all the way through to shipment, our dedicated team takes every necessary step to ensure efficiency, minimize waste, and preserve our precious environmental resources. Stewart & Jasper depends on a nearly 2 Megawatt Solar array to provide clean, renewable energy to our facility, and we are committed to responsible and sustainable farming and good manufacturing practices.

Global Marketing

At Stewart & Jasper, we are committed to exceeding our customer’s needs. We do this by aligning the right customer with the right product and by making sure our products are of the highest quality possible. One example of our commitment to quality happens during the processing stage where we target half of the allowable defect tolerances for our customers. This means instead of trying to get as many defects into the box as we can, we are putting up the nicest box we possibly can in order to exceed our customer’s expectations. This kind of customer service is what makes us stand out and it’s why our customers come back to us year after year.

 

Today we export our almonds to many countries all over the world with our primary markets being  Japan, Korea, Canada, and Turkey as well as many countries in the EU such as Germany, France, and the UK.

 

When it comes to our customers, we seek to be the best in service, communication, product quality, and on-time performance.  In fact, it is not only about the satisfaction of our customers and the perfection of our product, but about the way we see ourselves as well – still learning, still growing, still striving.  By investing in technology, remaining committed to continuous improvement, and always extending gratitude to our dedicated employees, we will continue to provide the best products and highest level of service to almond users around the world.

Retail

When it comes to our retail products, Stewart & Jasper distinguishes itself through product innovation and product quality.  We enjoy watching and anticipating consumer trends and then meeting those trends with our delicious and healthy snacks.  We also recognize the quality that comes from our commitment to small-batch production.  When roasting our almonds, we don’t oil roast, we dry roast. All of our seasoned almonds are packaged in cans. It’s a more traditional way of packaging almonds, and it also ensures a longer shelf life.  With over 70 years in business, we see the value in balancing tradition with innovation to produce the finest products possible. What began as a service to Stewart & Jasper employees, friends and growers have expanded into a popular line of retail products featuring roasted almonds, unique almond snacks, dried fruit, confections, other treats, and even corporate and Holiday gift packs.  We produce these delicious products under a variety of popular brands including Stewart & Jasper, Nunes Farms, Jake’s Nut Roasters, and Jasper Ranch. They can be found at specialty retailers, at any of our four retail stores, or purchased through our online store.