After meeting the previous 39 years in Modesto, the Almond Board of California's 40th annual Almond Industry Conference opened its three-day run Tuesday at the Sacramento Convention Center.
Overall, about 750 are expected to attend, along with various vendors and groups.
The convention bureau said conference attendees will occupy nearly 2,200 hotel rooms during their stay, and the conference will have an estimated economic impact of more than $1 million for the city of Sacramento.
The list of speakers includes U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson. The conference-closing gala will feature internationally known entertainers Penn Jillette and Teller.
The Sacramento gathering also is convenient for Sacramento-based Blue Diamond growers, a dominant force in the state's massive almond industry.
The 3,000-plus grower cooperative recently held its 102nd annual members meeting in Modesto, where Blue Diamond announced that it had joined the $1 billion club with a record sales revenue year ending Aug. 31.
Blue Diamond employs about 1,000 in Sacramento and plans to add 100 jobs in Turlock by May next year as it completes the first phase of its new manufacturing and processing plant in Stanislaus County.
California's almond crop, estimated to come in at around 1.9 billion pounds this year, is marketed to all 50 states and more than 90 foreign countries, making almonds California's largest food export.
