Pacific Nut Producer Magazine

Category: Almonds

  • Almond Board Fueling Farm of the Future with $5.9 Million Research Investment

    The Almond Board of California (ABC) today announced an investment of $5.9 million dollars in 85 independent research projects exploring next-generation farming practices. With this commitment, the California almond community has invested $89 million in research since 1973 to build a foundation of knowledge on responsible farming practices, food quality and safety and almonds’ impact on human health.

    A tangible example of the almond community’s commitment to continuous improvement, the Almond Orchard 2025 Goals, launched in January 2019, will leverage this research as farmers strive to meet measurable objectives with the goal of growing almonds in better, safer and healthier ways. The Almond Orchard 2025 Goals Roadmap, released today, outlines the almond community’s sustainability journey in four goal areas, as well as the metrics that the industry’s progress will be measured against.

    “The California almond community takes a long-term view of success based on respect for the land and local communities. Earlier this year, the California almond community set four ambitious goals aligning with our vision to make life better by what we grow and how we grow,” says Holly King, chair of the Almond Board of California. “The Almond Orchard 2025 Goals build on decades of progress, fueled by research. Fulfilling these commitments will require hard work, dedication and resources, including funding independent research to test new technologies and sharing the results as these approaches are proven.”

     

    Further Reducing the Water Used to Grow Almonds  

    Of this year’s projects, ten focus on water with an investment of $678,000. Since 1982, California almond farmers have committed $8.1 million dollars to 221 different water research projects spanning irrigation efficiency, groundwater recharge and water quality. Together this investment has helped reduce the amount of water needed to grow each pound of almonds by 33 percent over the past 20 years.[1] By 2025, the California almond community commits to reducing the amount of water used to grow a pound of almonds by an additional 20 percent.

    Progress towards this goal is being measured against almond farmers’ annual irrigation water applied per unit of crop yield. While 77 percent of almond farms utilize efficient microirrigation,[2] nearly double the 42 percent average for California farms, further improvements are underway. ABC is working with farmers to support their progress up the Almond Irrigation Improvement Continuum, a roadmap created by irrigation experts that outlines key irrigation management practices and how to achieve increasing levels of precision in each area.

     Achieving Zero Waste by Using Everything the Orchard Grows

    Almonds grow in a shell, protected by a hull, on a tree, and the California almond community ensures that each of these coproducts is put to beneficial use. Since 1977, ABC has funded 79 research projects totaling $3.5 million exploring the best ways to utilize these materials, establishing traditional uses such as dairy feed, livestock bedding, and electricity generation. Thirteen new studies have been funded this year with a commitment of $607,000 dollars to determine how almond coproducts may address needs in other sectors, with promising leads in strengthening recycled plastics, creating biofuel and more. By 2025, the California almond community commits to achieving zero waste in orchards by putting everything grown to optimal use.

    Given that almond coproducts are widely utilized already, progress toward this goal focuses on reducing the industry’s environmental footprint and adding value – economically and environmentally – via three key measures. These include: 1) significant increases in recycling trees into the soil when an orchard is removed, using the trees’ woody biomass to build healthier soils and address climate change via increased carbon sequestration, 2) diversifying applications for hulls and shells beyond current uses in the California dairy industry and 3) the effective elimination of open burning as a means to dispose of woody biomass.

    Additional Opportunities for Innovation

    In addition to water sustainability and coproduct utilization, investing in research has also resulted in significant advancements in the areas of nutrient management, air quality and honey bee health. For example, farmers work closely with beekeepers and follow research-based best practices to ensure the safety of honey bees, essential to pollinating almonds. ABC has funded more research related to honey bee health than any other crop group,[3] with 125 projects funded to date. This year, California almond farmers have added to that investment with five new research projects totaling $336,000.

    “I often think of us as surfers,” said ABC chair, Holly King. “Surfers are strategic about where to catch a wave, and we’ve done that over the years with our research investments, catching the wave that will bring the greatest return. Today’s investment will not only help farmers grow almonds more efficiently, but also ensures we’re solidly riding the wave to a more sustainable farm of the future.”

    ABC research projects are funded through an assessment placed on each pound of almonds grown in California. After review by third-party research advisors and workgroups focused on distinct almond farming topics, projects are selected by a committee of almond farmers and processors based on strategic alignment to industry needs and anticipated impact of the research.

    For more information about ABC’s 46 years of almond farming and environmental research, and to explore how this research supports the California almond community in growing the farm of the future, visit Almonds.com/GrowingGood.

     About the Almond Board of California

    California almonds make life better by what we grow and how we grow. The Almond Board of California promotes natural, wholesome and quality almonds through leadership in strategic market development, innovative research, and accelerated adoption of industry best practices on behalf of the more than 7,600 almond farmers and processors in California, most of whom are multi-generational family operations. Established in 1950 and based in Modesto, California, the Almond Board of California is a non-profit organization that administers a grower-enacted Federal Marketing Order under the supervision of the United States Department of Agriculture. For more information on the Almond Board of California or almonds, visit Almonds.com or check out California Almonds on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagramand the California Almonds blog.

  • California Almond Harvest Update with Blue Diamond Growers

    California almond harvest is almost complete for the 2019 crop. Growers have enjoyed a nice harvest season with minimal pest damage, but what can we expect this year as far as crop size and quality?  Watch this brief interview with Blue Diamond Growers’ Mel Machado, and don’t miss the annual State of the Almond Industry address at the Tree & Vine Expo in Turlock on Nov. 12th and the Grape, Nut & Tree Fruit Expo in Fresno on Nov. 19th.

    Please thank our sponsor Duarte Nursery for their industry support by visiting them at their booth at the following November Events: Tree & Vine Expo, the Grape, Nut & Tree Fruit Expo & Blue Diamond Growers Annual Membership Meeting.

  • EU Once Again Largest Importer of California Tree Nuts: USDA-FAS Report

    Last year, the European Union-28 (EU-28) was once again the largest export market for U.S. tree nuts. In 2018, U.S. shipments of tree nuts to the EU-28 reached $2.8 billion. U.S. almond sales (both in-shell and shelled) totaled $1.6 billion, followed by pistachios with $516 million, and walnuts with almost $344 million. The growing popularity of healthy snacking, higher incomes, and global market dynamics are making the EU nut market more attractive than ever. As of December 14, 2019, a new framework Regulation (EU) 2017/625 will update the implementing regulations setting specifics on the recognition of the Pre-Export Check (PEC) program for almonds, and on the increased control levels for pistachios. Read the Full Annual Report from the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service HERE.

  • California Almond Growers Vote to Continue Almond Board of California

    The Almond Board of California (ABC) is pleased to announce that California almond growers recently voted to continue their almond federal marketing order program for five more years. The vote, held from August 5-16, 2019, resulted with 95 percent of eligible growers who voted, and 97 percent of the volume represented by those voting in the referendum, favoring continuation of the marketing order.

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is required to conduct a continuance referendum every five years (see USDA release). The last referendum was completed in 2014 and resulted in 91 percent of eligible growers who voted, and 94 percent of the volume represented, favoring continuation of the marketing order.

    The vote represents the California almond industry’s confidence in the Almond Board and the many programs it administers and funds with industry assessment dollars. Those programs include an extensive production and environmental research program coupled with education and outreach that has been funded to help growers continue to meet the challenges facing agriculture. This research was also fundamental to the launching of the Almond Orchard 2025 Goals, which demonstrate the California almond industry’s commitment to continuous improvement in four areas: reduce the amount of water used to grow a pound of almonds by 20%, increase adoption of environmentally friendly pest management tools by 25%, achieve zero waste in orchards by putting everything grown to optimal use and reduce dust during harvest by 50%.

    The 2025 Goals are only one of the innovative programs undertaken by ABC. The Honey Bee Best Management Practices, released in 2014, continue to educate industry members and affiliates on how to best protect and improve honey bee health. ABC has funded more than 120 research projects supporting honey bees since 1995. And, speaking of health, ABC’s commitment to human health and nutrition remains strong and is demonstrated through its over 100 projects funded to investigate almonds in relation to heart health, diabetes and metabolic syndrome, weight management, satiety and gut health, and even skin health and cognition.

    Other key program areas for ABC include domestic and international marketing, the collection and dissemination of industry statistics, and food quality and safety programs. The Almond Board, along with the growers and handlers who fund and support ABC through assessment dollars and by participating in committees and workgroups, has enabled the industry to develop the tools needed to assist growers, to build demand ahead of supply and to achieve the considerable success experienced over the years.

    Industry members with questions about the Almond Board’s programs or how assessment dollars are spent are encouraged to
    attend one of ABC’s many public committee and Board of Directors meetings held throughout the year. A meeting schedule may be found at Almonds.com/Events. Also, all industry and allied industry members are invited to join ABC at The Almond Conference 2019, held this year at Cal Expo in Sacramento on December 10-12. Register today and book your hotel at AlmondConference.com.

    ABC looks forward to continuing to work with and represent California almond growers and handlers!

    Courtesy of the Almond Board of California

     

  • Want a Strong Start to the Crop Year? You Need To Mummy Shake

    Even though growers are just completing this year’s harvest, it’s never too early to start thinking about winter sanitation.

    Winter is the time to remove and destroy mummy nuts that harbor navel orangeworm (NOW) larvae, which can hatch in the spring and wreak havoc in the orchard. By removing the nuts, growers are eliminating both a shelter and food source for these overwintering pests. This practice falls in line with the strategic and effective Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program for NOW, one that includes different tactics depending on the time of the year.

    “Winter sanitation is the core of IPM programs,” said David Haviland, a UCCE farm advisor in Kern County who specialist in entomology and pest management.

    Here are some quick tips growers should keep in mind when preparing to remove mummy nuts from their orchards, a.k.a. “mummy shake”:

    • Mummy nuts become most obvious after trees have shed their leaves, and growers should look to knock all the mummies off the trees no later than Jan. 15.
    • A good time for winter sanitation is when dew has formed or after it’s rained because mummy nuts will have absorbed some moisture, making them heavier and more likely to fall. In addition, a wet orchard floor helps to increase NOW mortality rates.
    • Growers can remove mummy nuts by bringing the shaker through their orchards or hiring crews to knock mummies to the ground using long poles.
      • To note: Both hard- and soft-shell varieties can harbor overwintering NOW, so growers must be sure to remove mummies in both types.
    • Growers should aim to have fewer than two mummers per tree before bud swell (around Feb. 1). However, growers in the San Joaquin Valley should aim for less than one mummy per tree.
    • Once on the ground, mummy nuts should be swept into windrows and destroyed, either with a flail mower or by disking them into the soil, by March. 15.

    Removing mummy nuts and reducing NOW levels using environmentally friendly techniques is key to helping the California almond industry achieve its Almond Orchard 2025 Goals, one of which is to increase adoption of environmentally friendly pest management tools by 25% by 2025.

    Josette Lewis, the Almond Board’s director of Agricultural Affairs, said growers must realize that in the end the cost of efficient winter sanitation pays for itself.

    “It is important to recognize that the return on investment comes from both a higher yield after shelling and a higher price premium at the handler,” Lewis said. “In other words, without good winter sanitation, yield loss occurs due to rejection of mummy nuts from the previous year and heavily NOW-damaged nuts from the current season.”

    To help remind growers to break the link between mummy nuts and NOW, the Almond Board of California created a parody song that’s sure to be an “orchard smash.” It’s “The Mummy Shake” — and if you and your family dance and sing along, you’ll be in the running to receive tickets to a luncheon at The Almond Conference 2019 in Sacramento in addition to either tickets to Disneyland or a $500 Amazon gift card! Visit Almonds.com/NOW to learn more.

    Courtesy of the Almond Board of California

  • Seeds For Bees Deadline Approaching

    Growers who would like to participate in the Seeds for Bees program have until Nov. 22, 2019 to submit their applications. Seeds for Bees is organized by Project Apis m. (PAm.), one of the nation’s leading honey bee research organizations. The program encourages the planting of bee forage as part of riparian areas or cover crops in and around California orchards, farms and vineyards to increase and provide variance in forage available to pollinators.

    Why is forage important?

    Planting additional forage is good for bees and good for pollination. Research funded by the Almond Board of California (ABC) shows that supplementary forage does not compete with almond blossoms for pollination and improves bee health, allowing for more robust hives. As the California Fish and Game Commission considers listing native bees under the state’s Endangered Species Act, being a good partner to all bees is in agriculture’s best interest.

    In addition to providing food and habitat for bees, Almond Board-funded research shows cover crops also provide other benefits to an orchard by:

    • Adding organic matter to soil
    • Increasing water infiltration and water-holding capacity
    • Reducing erosion
    • Providing a natural weed control
    • Suppressing parasitic nematodes
    • Driving carbon back into the soil

    During the 2018-19 Seeds for Bees program, PAm. reported that 149 California almond growers planted 8,005 acres of cover crops in and around their orchards, representing 27 counties throughout California.

    “We’re trying to expose this program to more and more growers,” said Billy Synk, director of Pollination Programs at Project Apis m. “We believe there’s more opportunity for cover crops to be utilized, and while we don’t think cover crops are appropriate on every inch of every orchard, they have worked from Bakersfield to Chico. We want to provide the information to help growers make the right decision.”

    The Almond Board joins Project Apis m. in its efforts to preserve honey bee health. Last year, the Almond Board updated its Honey Bee Best Management Practices, originally produced in 2014, which provide simple, practical steps that almond growers, together with beekeepers and other pollination stakeholders, can take to protect and promote bee health in and around their orchards, and in their surrounding community. These management practices also include information about the benefits of cover crops where orchard conditions are favorable (see pages 16-17).

    “Overall, the indication is that planting additional forage for bees helps pollination,” said Josette Lewis, director of Agricultural Affairs for the Almond Board. “Investing in bee health makes sense in the short term by improving pollination, and in the long term it promotes hive health after the bees leave our orchards. Healthy hives will also help bring down the cost of pollination services in the future.”

    To participate in Seeds for Bees, growers can apply to receive seed mixes specifically designed to “bloom at critical times of the year when natural forage is scarce but managed and native bees are active,” according to Project Apis m. There are five different seeds mixes to choose from, each one best suited for specific soil types, climate and nearby crops.

    Synk said cover crops should be planted in October and early November in order to help bees during the critical bloom in February. He encourages growers to check out the PAm. website for more information on Seeds for Bees and opportunities to learn more about the value of cover crops, including dates and times for in-orchard cover crop demonstrations being held next spring.

    Courtesy of the Almond Board of California 

     

  • 2019 Market Facilitation Program Workshops

    USDA’s Market Facilitation Program (MFP) is continuing for the second year, providing almond growers with an opportunity to apply for direct payments to help alleviate the damage resulting from the global trade situation. Unlike the 2018 program when payments were based on delivered pounds, the 2019 MFP program is based on bearing acreage. To learn more about the changes to the 2019 program, and how you can also apply for 2018 payments, the Almond Alliance of California and Almond Board of California are co-hosting workshops with local USDA Farm Service Agency offices.  Pacific Nut Producer Magazine will also be hosting workshops at our annual Tree & Vine Expo at the Stanislaus County Fairgrounds on November 12th and the Grape, Nut & Tree Fruit Expo at the Big Fresno Fairgrounds on November 19th, featuring Chris Keeler, California District Director with the USDA Farm Service Agency.

    Come learn about the program and how you can apply!

    For more information contact Toni Arellano tarellano@almondboard.com regarding Almond Board workshops or Matthew Malcolm at matthew@malcolmmedia.com regarding the Ag Expo workshops.

  • Black Soldier Fly to Support Almond Industry

    With a growing almond industry and an increasing supply of coproducts, such as hulls and shells, researchers are searching for new and resourceful ways of utilizing the extra material as an asset.  Breaking these coproducts down to a form that may be utilized back in the soil or as a feed supplement has been a challenge in the past; but this may all change with the introduction of a new helpful fly on the block.  Watch this brief interview with Eric Tilton from Hermetia Pro Inc. regarding this Black Soldier Fly, and read more about it in Pacific Nut Producer Magazine.

     

    Please thank our sponsor Duarte Nursery for their industry support by visiting them at their booth at the following November Events: Tree & Vine Expo, the Grape, Nut & Tree Fruit Expo & Blue Diamond Growers Annual Membership Meeting.

  • Supporting Candidates that Support the Almond Industry

    Dear Industry Partner:

    Agriculture, water, trade and pest management policy decisions directly impacting the California almond industry are decided every day in Sacramento and Washington, D.C. Our industry continues to be in the national spotlight as elected officials debate issues regarding retaliatory tariffs, water, pest management and labor. In this unprecedented political climate, it is essential that the almond industry advocate for our legislative and regulatory priorities. We have worked hard to successfully build the Almond PAC to support candidates who value the almond industry and take the time to understand it.

    I am writing to you today asking you to join hundreds of your colleagues statewide who actively participate in the Almond PAC. By contributing to the Almond PAC, you help support candidates who care about agriculture and are concerned about the future of the California almond industry.

    There are numerous policy and legislative decisions that negatively impact California agriculture. The Almond PAC raises donations to support champions who continue speaking out about these issues and how they negatively impact the California almond industry. We must educate and fight back!

    Contributions must be made by check and made payable to California Almond Industry PAC. Please be advised a remittance form (Click Here) must be completed in its entirety and accompany each contribution. Political contributions are not tax deductible.

    Thank you in advance for your support. If you have any questions pertaining to the Almond Industry PAC, please contact Annie Romero at (209) 300-7140 or aromero@almondalliance.org. For more information about the Almond PAC, Click Here, or visit our website at www.almondalliance.org. Thank you for your consideration and support and may you have a bountiful harvest season.

    Sincerely,

    Elaine Trevino

    California Almond Industry Political Action Committee

  • Employee Meal & Rest Period Violation Prevention (Farm Liability Series Part 1 of 3)

     

    Farmers are some of the best people on the planet.  They work hard and do their very best to keep food on the table in homes all over the world.  Like anyone though, sometimes they make mistakes too and can overlook some of the ever-changing laws and requirements for their farm employees, and end up in court over violations that could have been prevented.  To keep farmers out of the court room, we have put together a series of three videos with simple tips and employee requirements featuring Ag Attorney Stacy Henderson, as shared in her presentation earlier this year at the annual Convention of the Almond Alliance of California.  Watch these brief videos to help reduce liabilities on the farm and read more in Pacific Nut Producer Magazine.

     

    Please thank our sponsor Duarte Nursery for their industry support by visiting them at their booth at the following November Events: Tree & Vine Expo, the Grape, Nut & Tree Fruit Expo & Blue Diamond Growers Annual Membership Meeting.