Central Valley almond growers are expecting a banner year, but a bigger crop means a bigger target for thieves.

Last year, more than 660 thousand pounds of almonds were taken over a 13 month period and at $4.00 a pound that's millions of dollars in lost revenue..

Those almonds ended up spread out across the world, but all the shipments had one common factor, a bay area freight company.

The California Farm Bureau is pointing its finger at organized crime.
California produces 80 per cent of the world's almonds.

We spoke with the Kern County Rural Crime Unit and they tell us there has been no problem locally because most of the central valley's harvest is shipped up north.

Growers say this year, they'll use GPS technology to protect their $1.5 billion dollar industry.