Almond Industry Hosts Regulators for 2010 Environmental Stewardship Tour

The sixth annual Almond Environmental Stewardship Tour in mid-May provided an opportunity for almond growers, regulators and industry leaders to come together and demonstrate what the industry is doing to be good environmental stewards and good almond growers. The tour is sponsored by the Almond Board of California (ABC).

Local, state and federal regulators toured the Nickels Soil Lab in Arbuckle and a nearby family farming operation to learn how research and technology are helping almond growers make the most of irrigation water and other limited resources.

Nearly two dozen regulators from agencies including the U.S. EPA, Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board, California Department of Pesticide Regulation, State Air Resources Board, and USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), toured the 200-acre research farm that has helped launch many practices now common in California almond orchards.

UC irrigation specialist Larry Schwankl shared details of a project comparing the irrigation uniformity, efficiency, economics and yield of various configurations of micro-irrigation systems, including single- and double-line surface drip, subsurface drip and microsprinklers.

UC Davis plant sciences professor Ken Shackel also discussed a new ABC-funded project to help growers deal with years when water availability is extremely limited. The project hopes to answer questions about which of several strategies will have the least long-term impact for the orchard under restricted water availability.

Regulators on the tour also had the opportunity to see how research developed at facilities such as Nickels is implemented in a commercial orchard. At Peart Ranch, a two-generation family farming operation in Yolo County, grower Don Peart shared how technology and research have allowed him to maximize the efficiency and utilization of his inputs over the last 40 years.

Peart said the adoption of new techniques and technologies has significantly reduced annual rates or increased the yields for the rates applied of nutrients, water and pesticides. The orchard is farmed completely on drip irrigation and inputs are applied based on an extensive monitoring program.

The tour also highlighted the many partnerships the Almond Board and almond growers rely on to continually improve growing practices for almonds. Examples presented included the UC Cooperative Extension, Pest Management Alliance funded by DPR and managed by CAFF, the California Almond Sustainability Program, and USDA-NRCS.