John Duarte Shares Bold Nursery Innovations and Warns of Prop 50 Threat

The September 29 edition of the AgNet News Hour kicked off the week with a deep dive into the future of California agriculture. Hosts Nick Papagni and Josh McGill sat down with John Duarte, president of Duarte Nurseries, for a conversation that blended innovation, new crops, and urgent political warnings.

Duarte, whose family nursery dates back to 1989, explained how forward thinking has kept the business at the cutting edge. From pioneering virus-free grapevines to advancing clonal rootstocks for almonds and pistachios, Duarte has made science the foundation of orchard success. He revealed that Duarte’s new Yorazani almond variety has broken records, producing 2,700 pounds per acre in just 36 months. “It resets the economics of almond growing,” Duarte told listeners, stressing that productivity is the key to surviving low nut prices.

The nursery’s work doesn’t stop with almonds. Duarte said their pistachio vigor clonal rootstock has shown a 30% improvement over seedlings in long-term trials. Looking ahead, he is most excited about a new frontier: avocados in the Central Valley. With breakthroughs in micropropagation, Duarte expects to deliver widely available avocado trees to California growers by 2027. “Consumers are telling us they want avocados — and the Valley can deliver,” he said.

But Duarte’s optimism was tempered by political concern. He called Proposition 50 a direct threat to Central Valley farmers, warning that the measure would gerrymander rural communities out of fair representation. “If Prop 50 passes, the Valley loses its voice in Washington,” he said, urging farmers and listeners to mobilize against it.

Duarte also tied California’s farm challenges to the larger issue of food security. With a $32 billion agricultural trade deficit, he argued that relying on imports makes the U.S. vulnerable. “Working families are the ones paying the price,” Duarte said, noting that higher costs and lower quality imports hurt everyday Californians most.

From almonds and pistachios to the promise of Central Valley avocados, Duarte continues to bring solutions at a time when agriculture needs them most. Farmers left this episode with both new ideas and a clear warning: the future of California farming depends on innovation and political engagement.

Catch the full interview with John Duarte on the AgNet News Hour by clicking below, or on your favorite podcast app.