<p></p><p>BAKERSFIELD, Calif. <br></p> <p>Almonds are America's favorite nut, surpassing peanuts in popularity in 2014. <br></p> <p>"You eat the nut, but you also eat almond butter, almond flower. It's used for a variety of things in the confectionary industry," said almond farmer Jenny Holtermann. <br></p> <p>And while Holtermann said almonds are highly versatile, their price is highly volatile. <br></p> <p>Their popularity caused their wholesale price to soar to $4.70 a pound last August. Many farmers jumped on the almond bandwagon causing a saturation of the market which drove down the price to $2.60. <br></p> <p>Defaults by traders in Asia and the Middle East created uncertainty for buyers which also contributed to lower prices. <br></p> <p>Holtermann said she has yet to feel the effects of the price drop. <br></p> <p>If she does, she'll have to make adjustments. <br></p> <p>"We may not buy as many tractors or as much equipment this year as may have in the last past years," Holtermann said. <br></p> <p>She said some farmers with older orchards may have to take them out and replace them with younger, higher-producing trees. <br></p> <p>And while almonds are one of the highest yielding crops in the county, second only to table grapes, the county assessor's office said in the big picture, it's a drop in the bucket for county revenue. <br></p> <p>"When it comes down to it, a decrease in the commodity price of almonds really isn't going to affect the county in any way shape or form," said supervising appraiser in the agricultural department Jerel Hansen. <br></p> <p>Holtermann said she works with a lot of other industries to harvest and transport her crop, so it's not just growers that will be affected by low prices.<br></p><p></p>