September/October 2024 - 24

ALMOND BOARD OF CALIFORNIA
" What we've learned is after nine years of recycling your
orchard compared to burning your residues, you're
going to have a greater water-holding capacity. "
Amelie Gaudin
of Agriculture (USDA) and California Certified Organic
Farmers (CCOF).
Being the oldest of the three terms, today's organic
farming community has built many successful system
designs with established market channels, and growers
often receive a premium for their organic goods.
Climate-smart
Climate-smart on the other hand, is a newer term
developed primarily by policymakers to more explicitly
improve climate change adaptation and mitigation
potential. The intent of climate-smart agriculture is to
prioritize gains in efficiency while also substituting inputs
and diversifying both conventional and organic systems.
When using this term, the goal of policymakers is to
emphasize practices which provide solutions for climate
issues, especially as it relates to greenhouse gas reductions.
Regenerative
Regenerative encompasses a redesign of the farming
system and stacks multiple sustainability practices
together. To be truly regenerative, systems must
implement a wide array of ecological practices, use no
synthetic input and re-integrate livestock. Unlike the other
two terms, it has an equity and social justice element.
While an entry level regenerative system is designed to
primarily build soil health, cycle, and sequester carbon, a
deeper regenerative system also optimizes for biodiversity
and conservation. The deepest level of regenerative
supports individuals and communities, strives for equity
and reverses decades of extractions.
Though regenerative is the newest buzzword these
days, Gaudin said it's also the most prone to being falsely
promoted as a marketing tactic.
" Regenerative agriculture is emerging globally right
now, but we need to be careful about greenwashing and
missing an opportunity to build on this momentum to
truly transform the way we are producing almonds while
targeting drivers of ecosystem decline " she said.
24 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024
Where's the value for farmers
While all farmers strive to be good stewards of their land,
it's important to also convey the value these practices have
to production agriculture. To that, Gaudin said we need to
move beyond definitions and focus on current knowledge.
" Whether you're talking about organic, climate-smart or
regenerative, those systems must rely on biodiversity to be
effective in shifting the narrative and outcome, " she said.
Gaudin explained that this can mean biodiversity in
time and space, or above and below ground along with
strategies that limit disturbances - an area almonds are
already succeeding in.
Almonds have an advantage being a perennial, no-till
crop, with multiple methods of cover cropping and several
choices of species.
" This is where almonds can win, " she said. " We don't till the
soil much, and there's a winter period where we can diversify
the alleys and borders and effectively stack many basic
principles of regenerative systems with low potential yield lag. "
Gaudin added that even with sustainability costs, almonds,
on average, have remained a high value crop with lower
implementation challenges compared to annual crops.
Real life practices that make a difference
It's clear that the push to be more sustainable in
agriculture is not going away and growers must learn to
adapt to keep up with the times. If you're wondering where
to start, below are a few realistic options with proven
success in the almond industry.
Whole orchard recycling
Whole orchard recycling was created as an alternative to
burning when an almond orchard has reached the end of
its productive life cycle. It has become highly encouraged
among the industry as a way to increase water efficiency
and boost the overall health of your next planting.
" What we've learned is after nine years of recycling your
orchard compared to burning your residues, you're going
to have a greater water-holding capacity, " Gaudin shared.
September/October 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of September/October 2024
