The heart and perseverance that fueled a very young man’s ambitions are bedrock at Almond Ace.

Twenty five years ago, I was a very young man with a dream of becoming a farmer. I was born and raised in this small farming community in the fertile valley known for its premium farming. As a young boy, I pushed a broom at my uncle's auto parts store on Main Street, until I graduated high school. I drove an El Camino, didn't come from a farming family, and didn't have any money. I worked the night shift at a local almond sheller. With little more than a few dollars in my pocket, I found an abandoned orchard that needed tending, knocked on the owner's door, and after a conversation and a handshake, left that orchard with a smile. It was that day that I became the first Tilbury farmer. So at twenty years old, I borrowed another farmer's equipment for trade, and I did pruning and upkeep as payment. My Grandfather Harry Tilbury came alongside me and like my parents, he believed in my dream. My Grandfather helped me prune that first orchard, tree by tree. I saved every dime from my first year of farming, and the following year leased my first 20 acre ranch. Then it was 33 acres. That was my beginning, sharecropping, handshakes, big dreams, and making good on promises...you get the picture. In 1997, I had the lucky break of a lifetime, and married my wife Jan. By the time we were expecting our first child, I'd been successfully farming for 10 years. We began operating our Almond shelling business. In 2010, we purchased that sheller that I first worked the night shift at 20 years ago! In 2011, we found the opportunity to purchase Almond Ace. As growers, shellers and processors in the central area of the fertile San Joaquin Valley, we know exactly what growers and buyers expect, need and deserve. We aren't just any California processing company. We are committed to be the best at what we do. We are in the finest growing region of Central California bordered by the San Joaquin Delta River. We are vertically integrated, and family owned. At Almond Ace, we are passionate about delivering the finest premium quality almonds with superior customer service, and we have an amazingly dedicated management team and group of employee team members to deliver on our promises.