Between mid-February and mid-March, almond tree buds burst into beautiful white and light-pink blooms. During this time, beekeepers bring hives into the orchards to help pollinate the crop. As the trees blossom, honey bees forage for pollen and nectar, bringing it back to their hives as their first natural food source of the year.

When the bees move from tree to tree, they pollinate almond blossoms along the way by moving pollen between the different tree varieties grown within each orchard. Every almond you eat exists because a honey bee pollinated an almond blossom. And bee hives that help pollinate almonds consistently leave stronger than they arrived, 1 providing a healthy start to their year.

After almonds, beekeepers bring their honey bees to different locations across the United States, pollinating more than 90 other crops and making honey. From March to June, almond kernels mature and grow to full size, with the shell hardening around it—both protected by a fuzzy outer hull.

Once the spring rains stop and the weather heats up, farmers begin irrigating their orchards to support the growing crop, taking great care to ensure each drop of water is used responsibly and efficiently. Also at this time, green almonds can be harvested for various culinary uses. In July, almond hulls split open, exposing the almond shell and allowing it and the kernel inside to dry.

Shortly before harvest, the hulls turn a straw-yellow color and open completely. From August through October, mechanical tree "shakers" harvest the crop by vigorously shaking it to the ground. Most of these models used a Gaussian distribution with the Gauss-Hermite approximation set to 1 corresponding to the Laplace approximation; Bates et al.

However, when examining TSC and TSN between the 3,—6, Mg ESM layers the GLMM had to be built using a Gamma distribution. Additionally, the integer scalar was set to zero which optimized the random and fixed-effects coefficients in the penalized iteratively reweighted least squares step Bates et al.

Due to the current interest in utilizing regenerative management to sequester carbon we isolated the effect of each regenerative practices by analyzing the effect of all the regenerative management practices and soil clay percentage on TSC via multiple regression. While the data itself tended not to be normally distributed, the residuals from the one-way ANOVA models tended to be normally distributed allowing for the use of one-way ANOVA for most of these analyses.

Plant species richness was assessed using one-way ANOVA analysis and ground coverage was assessed using Mood's Median test.

This normalized the data allowing for the use of Welch's paired t -test to analyze this data. To analyze the relationship between invertebrate biodiversity and pest damage we built separate GLMM's.

These models used a Gaussian distribution with Gauss-Hermite approximation set to 1 corresponding to the Laplace approximation Bates et al. To analyze differences in nutrient levels and the distribution of nutrients within the almonds we used a GLMM.

These models used a Gaussian distribution with Gauss-Hermite approximation set to 1 corresponding to the Laplace approximation; Bates et al. This data was normally distributed, resulting in the use of Welch's paired t -test to analyze this data.

Regenerative orchards contained higher levels of Water Extractable Organic Matter WEOM , which is comprised of WEON and WEOC. Regenerative orchards also had higher levels of total Phosphorus, inorganic Phosphorus, available Phosphorus, Calcium, and Sulfur.

Conventional orchards had significantly more aluminum than regenerative orchards. The soil quality index, Haney Soil Scores, were higher in regenerative orchards Figure 1. Table 2. Figure 1.

The soils in regenerative orchards had lower bulk densities and more effectively infiltrated water. The mean surface BD in regenerative orchards was 1. Gravimetric soil moisture percentage was higher in regenerative orchards when comparing all the orchards and when only the orchards were compared orchards in which we tested for water infiltration.

Figure 2. Water infiltration rates were measured once per orchards during bloom and fruit development in A smaller number means that water infiltrated into the soil at a faster rate. Regenerative orchards had significantly higher levels of TSC, TSN, through all the ESM strata 0—6, Mg ESM layers; Figure 3 ; Table 3.

Through the 6, Mg ESM layer, regenerative orchards contained 5. The TSC:TSN ratio in regenerative orchards through the 6, Mg ESM layer was 9.

Figure 3. The differences in carbon and nitrogen through the 0—6, mg Equivalent Soil Mass ESM layer ~0—60 cm in regenerative and conventional almond orchards mean ± SEM.

Table 3. The differences in carbon and nitrogen at different soil depths in regenerative and conventional almond orchards. Total Soil Carbon and TSN varied by treatment among the different soil depths. In the top 1, Mg ESM of soil, regenerative orchards had significantly more TSC and TSN, regardless of how much soil clay was present Table 3.

Clay became a significant factor in determining TSC at the 1, Mg ESM layer, but with TSN, clay was not a significant factor until the 3, Mg ESM layer Table 3. The greatest percentage of TSC was found at the 0— Mg ESM layer. The duration that these orchards had been in their respective systems had significant effects on soil carbon.

Ground cover was the parameter best correlated with TSC through the soil column. Conventional orchards never had greater metrics of microbial community structure than regenerative orchards. Table 4.

The soil microbial community in regenerative and conventional almond orchards. Figure 4. This sampling occurred during the fruiting period. Regenerative orchards had significantly more plant cover on the soil surface than conventional orchards. Additionally, regenerative orchards averaged more plant species on the floors of their orchards.

The mean number of plant species on the orchard floor in regenerative orchards was 7. We identified different invertebrate morphospecies arthropod morphospecies from almond orchards, totaling 12, individuals.

Larvae and adults were considered separate morphospecies, as adults and larvae serve distinct ecological functions Pecenka and Lundgren, Supplementary Table 2. The invertebrate species consisted of eight classes across 23 orders: Araneae, Blattodea, Coleoptera, Dermaptera, Diptera, Entomobryomorpha, Geophilomorpha, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Julida, Lepidoptera, Lithobiomorpha, Neuroptera, Oniscidea, Opiliones, Opisthopora, Orthoptera, Psocoptera, Solifugae, Spirobolida, Stylommatophora, Symphypleona, Thysanoptera.

The orders containing the highest number of morphospecies were: Coleoptera 99 , Hemiptera 39 , Araneae 36 , Diptera 30 , and Hymenoptera The most abundant orders were Entomobryomorpha 3, , Opisthopora 2, , Hymenoptera 1, , Coleoptera 1, , Oniscidea , Araneae , Diptera , Hemiptera , Dermaptera , Lithobiomorpha Invertebrate community structure was significantly different in the regenerative and conventional orchards.

Invertebrate biomass in regenerative orchards was 5. Invertebrate abundance in regenerative orchards was The mean arthropod abundance in regenerative orchards was Mean earthworm Lumbricina abundance in regenerative orchards was Figure 5.

Invertebrate communities were collected during the bloom, fruit development, and harvest periods. Regenerative orchards were significantly richer in invertebrate and arthropod morphospecies, while having more evenly distributed arthropod communities.

The mean species richness of all invertebrates in regenerative orchards was The mean species richness of arthropods in regenerative orchards was Pest damage was similar in regenerative and conventional orchards. Using the stricter criteria of zero pest damage the mean percent of undamaged almonds in regenerative orchards was Without this outlier the mean percent of undamaged almonds in regenerative orchards increased to Using the less strict standard, no serious pest damage, the mean percent of almonds without pest damage in conventional orchards was Almonds in regenerative orchards contained higher levels of magnesium Table 5.

To better understand this difference, we ran a GLMM with years under regenerative management and years under conventional management as fixed factors.

Regenerative orchards were approximately twice as profitable as conventional orchards Figure 6. The profitability of regenerative orchards not accounting for value-added products was significantly higher in the regenerative orchards vs.

Figure 6. A producer survey was used to determine management practices, costs, and revenues that contributed to the direct net profitability of each operation.

One conventional and two regenerative orchards were not included. Principal Component Analysis confirmed our distinct treatments, and revealed that nearly all management practices were correlated with improved soil and biological properties of the orchards. Two distinct clusters separated along the first principal component, relating to farms being designated as regenerative or conventional Figure 7.

Additionally, the correlations showed that, moving toward the left side of the plot along principal component 1, orchards had lower soil bulk densities, higher levels of TSC, TSN, and TSP, greater microbial and actinobacteria biomasses, and larger and more diverse invertebrate communities Figure 7.

These correlations demonstrated that these are the critical management practices driving the improved soil quality and biological community metrics associated with regenerative orchards. Of the soil quality and biological community metrics, only microbial and actinobacteria biomass were significantly correlated with the second principal component, with none of the management practices significantly correlating to the second principal component Figure 7.

These correlations showed that moving down the plot toward the bottom results in greater microbial and actinobacteria biomasses. However, as none of the management practices correlated to the second principal component, it seems likely that there may be other correlated factors outside of the analysis that may not be causal Figure 7.

Figure 7. Principle Component Analysis of 16 almond orchards based on eight soil quality and biological community metrics. Blue points represent farms defined as regenerative and red points represent farms defined as conventional in the study.

Coefficients in bold indicate significant correlations following False Discovery Rate Adjustment. Regenerative management in almond orchards improved soil quality and increased biodiversity while producing almonds profitably. Nearly every major metric soil carbon and micronutrient levels, water infiltration rates, and soil health indices were improved on regenerative orchards vs.

their conventional counterparts. Soil microbiology, plant community, and invertebrates including earthworms were also enhanced in regenerative systems, while pest damage to the nuts were equivalent in the regenerative and conventional orchards, with increasing invertebrate biodiversity correlating to reduced pest damage.

Overall almond nutrient levels and yields were equivalent in the two treatments. Finally, profits were nearly doubled in the regenerative systems relative to their conventional counterparts. The soil and biological properties of the orchards were interconnected and produced by a combination of management practices, rather than just by one or two practices.

The soils in regenerative orchards contained higher levels of total phosphorus, inorganic phosphorus, available phosphorus, calcium, and sulfur, while receiving higher Haney soil quality scores.

Multiple studies have found that soils with minimal disturbance and permanent ground cover provide significant benefits with regards to BD, soil carbon, and the labile SOM pool Kosmas et al. With global supplies of phosphorus being depleted, and soil erosion being recognized as a key factor Alewell et al.

Calcium and sulfur are important nutrients for balancing soil texture and pH, and are essential nutrients for plants Duke and Reisenauer, ; Tuteja and Mahajan, Although regenerative practices increased the abundance of specific nutrients, additional research is necessary to know whether regenerative systems have a more favorable balance of these nutrients for plant and animal growth Parent et al.

The Haney soil health score helps to give a picture of the overall balance of the soils chemical and biological properties that theoretically should reflect the relative abundances of micronutrients like calcium and sulfur, since these nutrients affect the health and productivity of soils. We hypothesize that the higher nutrient levels in the soils of regenerative orchards are due to these orchards integrating multiple regenerative practices which foster robust microbial and invertebrate communities and build topsoil, with conventional orchards probably losing topsoil to erosion Martínez-Mena et al.

These results generally align with Soto et al. The greatest percentage of TSC and TSN occurred in the upper soil levels, with the highest percentage in the 0— Mg ESM layer and no difference among regenerative and conventional orchards in the 3,—6, Mg ESM layer Table 4.

Furthermore, the concentrations of TSC and TSN in the upper soil layers suggest that orchards' stock TSC and TSN are sensitive to orchard floor management decisions Demestihas et al. This notwithstanding, there was value in sampling 15 cm below the root zone of almond orchards, as we did in this study Olson and Al-Kaisi, We only observed changes in soil carbon and nitrogen in the 0—3, Mg EMS layer 0—30 cm Table 4 , which may be because nearly all almond roots are in the 0—45 cm depth.

While this study did not conduct a carbon life cycle analysis, the fact that regenerative orchards contained an additional The duration of conventional or regenerative management strongly affected soil carbon levels.

The literature suggests that orchards which eliminate spatiotemporal events of bare soil while integrating organic amendments may be able to eliminate their carbon losses and build soil carbon over time Kosmas et al. This study's models support this hypothesis with the models, indicating positive correlations between years in regenerative farming and increasing soil C.

In a meta-analysis of cover cropping and soil carbon sequestration rates, Poeplau and Don found that the integration of cover crops increased soil carbon sequestration at a rate of 0. Our findings suggest that regenerative management in almond orchards can play a critical role in preventing carbon losses, while also sequestering carbon.

However, longer term studies, particularly transitional studies, are needed to ascertain a more exact rate at which regenerative orchards are building TSC and conventional orchards are losing it.

Additionally, our results show soil clay percentage to be a significant determinant, supporting the inclusion of soil textures in future studies on this topic. When compared to conventional orchards, regenerative orchards had lower soil bulk densities, higher gravimetric moisture percentage, and faster water infiltration rates.

The same patterns were observed before and after irrigation. Research indicates that greater porosity is found in soils with lower bulk densities, thereby allowing water to infiltrate more effectively through the soil Weil and Brady, The higher soil moisture percentages found in the regenerative orchards suggest that regenerative orchards more effectively retained water than their conventional counterparts.

Additionally, Martínez-Mena et al. Higher levels of soil carbon in the regenerative orchards can be attributed in part to ground cover protecting soil aggregates, reducing erosion rates Kosmas et al.

Of all the management practices analyzed in the model, permanently maintaining orchard floor ground cover was significantly correlated with TSC at the 0—6, Mg ESM layer. Although maintaining ground cover is important, multi-functional almond orchards require an interwoven system of regenerative practices to be successful Fenster et al.

As the primary avenue through which energy enters the ecosystem, plants are a critical component of the carbon cycle Weil and Brady, , and drive the biodiversification of the entire system Zak et al. Additionally, plant communities play direct and indirect roles in determining soil quality in orchards Demestihas et al.

In this study, there were several ways that farmers diversified the plant communities, including allowing resident perennial vegetation cover to persist, and deliberately planting annual cover crops and hedgerows to foster biodiversity in their operations.

Furthermore, microbial biomass and Actinobacteria biomass were significantly correlated to improvements in TSC, TSN, phosphorus, BD, and the invertebrate community. More robust microbial communities are associated with improved nutrient cycling and higher functioning soils Steenwerth and Belina, ; Vukicevich et al.

Actinobacteria, which share behavioral traits with both fungi and bacteria, produce growth-promoting compounds and metabolites such as antibiotics which are critical in helping host plants ward off pathogens Subramanian et al.

The growth promoting compounds that Actinobacteria produce help their host plants acquire nutrients under severe abiotic conditions, including droughts and times of nutrient deficiency Subramanian et al.

Finally, Actinobacteria assist in nutrient solubilization and mobilization, mycorrhizal symbioses, biological nitrogen fixation, all while producing geosmin - a key indicator of soil fertility Subramanian et al.

AMF species can assist their plant hosts with salinity tolerance Ye et al. These myriad benefits culminate in enhanced growth and yield of AMF-associated plants Kumar et al. Finally, our findings align with Kallenbach et al.

The epigeal invertebrate community directly and indirectly affects decomposition and nutrient cycling, sometimes in complex ways Weil and Brady, In Santos et al. Further, Cifuentes-Croquevielle et al.

Additionally, Colloff et al. Our results suggest that a diverse and robust invertebrate community plays a key intermediary step in the process of plant litter.

becoming TSC. If growers are using practices that harm the invertebrate and microbial communities in their orchards, they are likely capping their orchards' ability to build carbon and increase fertility. There was no difference in the pest damage to almonds among regenerative and conventional orchards.

We hypothesize that the mechanisms in which these two managements regimes attained low pest densities are fundamentally different. Conventional orchards largely eliminate their ground cover with herbicides, and respond to pest outbreaks using multiple insecticide applications per year.

Regenerative replaced synthetic pesticides with more robust ground cover on their orchard floors, and this in turn supports more diverse and abundant invertebrate populations.

This agrees with this study's GLMM's, which found significant correlations between increased invertebrate diversity and reduced pest damage. These results support previous research that shows pest populations are inversely related to that invertebrate diversity in agricultural systems Lundgren et al.

Regenerative management did not seem to reduce almond yields. This similarity in yields between ecologically intensive food systems and conventional systems has been seen elsewhere Ponisio et al.

To accomplish this, regenerative orchards replaced synthetic agrichemical inputs with more robust microbial communities, diverse ground covers, organic amendments, and invertebrate diversity that increased soil nutrient levels, made more water available to the trees, and managed pest pressure to a similar level.

A common claim is that regenerative orchards improve the nutrient density of the farm product; this may be true in some systems, but we found that magnesium was the only nutrient that was significantly improved in this study.

Examining these data under different cropping conditions, and within the context of how agrichemicals might affect the bioavailability of these nutrients for almond consumers, warrants additional attention.

To our knowledge, this is the first published examination of relative nutritional contents of regenerative farm products. Despite having similar yields, regenerative orchards were twice as profitable as conventional orchards. The greater revenue of the regenerative orchards was due to the premium paid for almonds grown in regenerative systems.

All the regenerative producers in this study were certified organic, allowing them to receive the organic premium in the wholesale market.

One other paper found similar profitability of regenerative farms relative to conventional LaCanne and Lundgren, , but in that case there were substantial treatment effects on production costs in the regenerative and conventional corn fields.

Our work indicates there may be greater opportunity to cut costs in regenerative orchards than in conventional orchards as regenerative systems become more widespread. Although there was no difference in operating costs on average between the two systems, these costs were consistent in the conventional orchards, whereas they varied substantially in regenerative orchards.

These smaller scale regenerative producers paid significantly more labor and amended their harvesting practices.

They recoup these costs by direct marketing their products and by appealing to niche markets. Regenerative agricultural systems are a fairly recent evolution of our food system, and a consistent formula of practices have yet to be defined by farmers to characterize regenerative systems; this variability in systems may contribute to the variability in the expenditures observed in regenerative orchards.

The end result was that regenerative almonds are more profitable than conventional systems, and because yields were equivalent, and the potential for reducing input costs, the profitability of regenerative almonds is expected to be equal or greater than conventional almonds, even if regenerative almond producers do not receive a premium for their product.

Overall, the performance of regenerative orchards is a result of them developing a full regenerative system that stacks multiple regenerative practices into a single operation. Their performance is not due to any one management practice. Rather, increasing the number of regenerative practices correlates to improved performance Fenster et al.

This analysis adds a layer of nuance to the stacking concept, suggesting that there is a core set of practices that establish a foundation for improving soil quality and biological community metrics. One would expect abstaining from tillage to be a key management practice.

The success of regenerative orchards is the result of these agroecosystems being more robust, with additive or synergistic interconnections among components of the system Figure 7.

Our results support the notion that converting agriculture over to regenerative systems could contribute to remediating several imminent global problems, including climate change, diminishing water resources, biodiversity loss, agricultural pollution, human health problems, and diminishing rural economies.

TF and JL conceived and designed the study. JL, TF, and PO helped to develop the methodology, analyze the results, and prepare the manuscript. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.

This work was supported by Ecdysis Foundation, Patagonia Foundation, and W-SARE graduate student fellowship GW Ward Laboratories provided the soil macronutrient and micronutrient testing, as well as PLFA analysis free of charge.

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers.

Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher. We thank Chris Bradley, Charles Fenster, Ian Lundgren, Ali Mohammedsabri, and Hilary Vanderheiden for helping collect field samples.

We thank Dr. Erica Wildy for providing logistical support. Kelton Welch and Mark F. Longfellow helped to identify the invertebrates for the analyses.

We thank Ward Laboratories for running the PLFA analysis, as well as the soil macronutrient and micronutrient testing.

We thank Regen Ag Labs for running the almond nutrient density testing. Inge Armbrecht for serving as the editor of the manuscript. Abdalla, K. Soil and organic carbon losses from varying land uses: a global meta-analysis. doi: CrossRef Full Text Google Scholar.

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Bates, D. Fitting linear mixed-effects models using lme4. Beard, J. Pesticide exposure and depression among male private pesticide applicators in the agricultural health study. Health Perspect. Bentley, W. BIOS and conventional almond orchard management compared. Bianchi, F. Sustainable pest regulation in agricultural landscapes: a review on landscape composition, biodiversity and natural pest control.

B , — Blanco-Canqui, H. Building resilient soils through agroecosystem redesign under fluctuating climatic regimes. Soil Water Conserv. Blanco-Moure, N. Soil organic matter fractions as affected by tillage and soil texture under semiarid Mediterranean conditions.

Soil Tillage Res. Brian, A. Modern Applied Statistics with S. New York, NY: Springer. Bugg, R. Google Scholar. Butte Butte County Crop and Livestock Report. Oroville, CA. California Almond Board California Almond Industry Facts. Almond Board of California. California Department of Pesticide Regulation Summary of Pesticide Use Report Data CDFA California Agricultural Statistics Review —19 by CDoFa Agriculture.

Chaplin-Kramer, R. A meta-analysis of crop pest and natural enemy response to landscape complexity. Cifuentes-Croquevielle, C. Soil invertebrate diversity loss and functional changes in temperate forest soils replaced by exotic pine plantations.

Colloff, M. There are several initiatives in the almond industry for becoming sustainable. This starts with the harvest of almonds and continues with processing and packaging. The Almond Board of California , an industry association, represents over 7, growers and 99 processors, providing support and creating a community that promotes a high level of innovation and sustainability.

Since , the Almond Board of California has led nearly research projects, advancing the industry as a whole with vital information, innovation, and resources. One of their recent efforts includes a pilot project that rewards "California almond growers for conservation practices that result in measurable climate impacts".

These impacts include "increased soil carbon, reduced greenhouse gasses, improved water quality, and water use conservation". With market expertise and the support of The Almond Board of California, almond processors like Harris Woolf Almonds are able to create healthy networks of growers, customers, and employees, promoting sustainable almond production.

Since , HWA has prioritized sustainability by integrating positive impact into everything we do. The almond industry is a multifaceted supply chain that begins with growing and harvesting almonds. There are a lot of resources that go into growing almonds, and our farmers are faced with a variety of unique challenges.

The harvesting of California almonds starts in late July each year. The harvest season typically lasts for two to four months. The actual length of almond harvest is determined by any changes in the:.

Almonds are harvested mechanically with tree shakers that knock the crop off of the almond trees. After they are removed from the tree, the almonds will remain on the orchard floor for 7 to 10 days to dry. After the almonds dry on the orchard floor and are swept into rows, sweepers pick them up, dump them into trailers, and they make their way to almond processors to be processed.

Many of our sustainability initiatives apply to the early steps of an almond's life cycle. Here are a few initiatives that guide the HWA growing and harvesting process. The California Almond Stewardship Platform CASP is a program led by the Almond Board of California that acts as a resource for almond growers and other key stakeholders.

This platform encourages participation in sustainable growing efforts and builds a network of important information. These tools and pieces of information are vital to almond farmers, particularly in California. With up-to-date almond data, almond harvesters and processors can improve yields and food safety standards.

In addition, having self-assessments helps our growers learn more about how best practices can apply to their unique farms. At HWA we are promoting participation in the online system to encourage our growers to be a part of industry advancements and to interact with valuable information and tools.

Soil quality is a key part of maintaining high-yielding orchards. From salinity to nutrient management to cover crops, improving soil health is important for both environmental impact and for the efficient production of almond crops.

CASP has become a key part of sharing innovative solutions to improve soil quality. On top of external resources, HWA's experience in the market has allowed us to reflect on the best practices for soil management. Woolf Farming one of our founding farms , for example, has utilized effective tracking technologies to reduce the amount of tractor time needed to farm, resulting in higher soil quality and reducing our carbon footprint long-term.

Whole Orchard Recycling is another way HWA growers commit to both soil health and waste reduction. Chipping trees and reincorporating their nutrients into the soil sequesters carbon in the ground and minimizes the emission of greenhouse gases, promoting a positive impact all around.

A single almond tree requires up to 44 inches of water each year, according to the University of California UC. Some areas of Northern California receive up to inches of rainfall a year, which makes almond growing suitable for the climate.

However, in Southern California and Death Valley, the annual total rainfall is more like one inch a year.

In the short term, The Almond Project aims to identify approaches to almond farming that improve soil health, increase biodiversity, and empower local farming communities. We are a rare coalition of cross-functional advocates — farmers, scientists, brands, technical services providers, processors, and customers — working together to evolve the health of our food system.

Soil health is increasingly recognized as the underpinning of productive and resilient agricultural systems. As an emergent property of biological, chemical and physical interactions, the monitoring and evaluation of soil health requires a holistic, integrated approach.

If results trend positive, a verification is granted and the farm is entered into the Land to Market Verified Regenerative Supplier Roster, which will, in turn, make it easier for food manufacturers to source and customers to purchase foods farmed using regenerative practices.

After some of the practices were introduced though, I could visualize and imagine how they could actually improve it. Although these practices were a little unconventional, we felt that we needed to learn more about them and see if we could make them work in our day-to-day operations.

We have already noticed better irrigation infiltration and are excited to see what other positive results will come. In agriculture, the health of the land, eaters, and farming communities are intimately connected.

The Almond Project represents an exciting opportunity to grow our collective understanding of how regenerative management principles can build holistic ecosystem and farm community resilience in almond production. Farming in harmony with nature is an art, and takes experimentation and time, but that experimentation can mean added risk for farmers.

The Almond Project is an opportunity- and what we see as a responsibility — for Daily Harvest and our partners to invest in the success of organic and regenerative farming by supporting that research and sharing the risk with farmers. The Almond Project is a 5-year study based on regenerative agricultural practices that involves time, effort, and risk for growers.

The resources needed for research are something so worthy of sharing in the responsibility. We all win if we can increase life through the whole ecosystem, from soil to tree to community. For questions or additional information, please reach out to info treehousealmonds. Your browser does not support the video tag.

The Almond Project Advancing Soil Health for California Agriculture. Our Mission The Almond Project is a multi-year, farmer-led partnership created to identify more sustainable farming methods and pave the way towards a more resilient future for almonds.

Soil Health Practices These practices aim to improve natural soil biology and fertility, sequester carbon, conserve water, and increase biodiversity.

The Why. The Founding Partners We are a rare coalition of cross-functional advocates — farmers, scientists, brands, technical services providers, processors, and customers — working together to evolve the health of our food system. Learn more. Setting a new standard for frozen food.

We grow it. We slice it. We dice it. From our family to yours. Restoring Our Ecosystem through Agriculture Learn more.

Chipping trees and reincorporating their nutrients into the soil sequesters carbon in the ground and minimizes the emission of greenhouse gases, promoting a positive impact all around.

A single almond tree requires up to 44 inches of water each year, according to the University of California UC. Some areas of Northern California receive up to inches of rainfall a year, which makes almond growing suitable for the climate.

However, in Southern California and Death Valley, the annual total rainfall is more like one inch a year. Therefore, farming almonds in Sacramento and other Northern CA cities is necessary for water conservation purposes. This reduces the need to irrigate from reservoirs and aqueducts in order to provide enough water for the highest quality almond trees to grow and produce.

Extensive research has been conducted regarding tools and techniques for improving water conservation for almond trees in California. However, reducing water stress and providing more consistent watering even during droughts is also important. Drip irrigation typically resolves these issues by offering regular watering throughout the day and growing season and in any weather condition.

Harris Woolf Almonds continuously promotes the responsible use of this precious resource through water flow monitors, drip irrigation as opposed to water-intensive irrigation systems , and the reutilization of wastewater.

We even recapture water used in our almond processing facilities to be reused as irrigation water for our grower's crops. The reality is, without honeybees and other pollinators, there would be no Harris Woolf Almonds.

This is why we support and foster pollinator health by partnering with organizations such as Pollinator Partnership and Xerces Society. One of our founding farms, Woolf Farming is a pollinator health pioneer with over acres of bee habitat for the year-round conservation of honey bees and pollinators.

The importance of sustainability swiftly carries into the processing portion of almond production. Producing high-quality almond products such as almond flour , whole almonds , or almond butter takes a great deal of expertise and efficiency to provide a clean and safe end product.

There are many resources as well as stakeholders to consider throughout this process. Sustainable food processing eliminates excess and streamlines activities to be less taxing as a whole. Higher-quality products and efficiency overall can also increase the potential almond consumption for clients who rely on these valuable ingredient solutions.

The specific steps of almond production will differ based on the end product, but generally, you can expect the following:. Our Coalinga facility is the first step in the processing journey, where we focus on sorting, cleaning, shelling, and hulling our almonds.

The pre-cleaning process involves methods to separate foreign material and product defects including any soil, grass, twigs, stones, or any almonds with insect damage.

The kernels then pass through a variety of machines that utilize different methods to remove the hull and shell of the almonds. Once removed, the individual kernels will be sent to the end of the line.

The almond kernels are bulk packed into bins, consistently tagged with relevant information to keep track of the batch throughout the production process. The packages are randomly sampled for USDA grading purposes as well as internal grading efforts.

After being sorted, the almond batches are sent to the processing plant, where they will be transformed into high-quality almond products.

The rest of the process will depend on the end goal for the almond, but generally, the almonds are sent through a variety of optical sorting machines to separate the almonds based on size, customer specifications, and USDA grading parameters. We offer both natural and blanched almonds for most of our wholesale product options.

Further processing for almond flour, protein powder, almond oil, and paste will include roasting our almonds and milling them into a paste or pressing them into defatted cakes that result in almond oil and are grounded for almond flour and protein powder. All of our production processes meet the standards of the FDA's Good Manufacturing Practices GMP and earn Safe Quality Food SQF 's highest rating.

Harris Woolf Almonds facilities prescribe energy-efficient practices. This covers water conservation for irrigation, as well as lighting management indoors.

The carbon footprint for almond processing at Harris Woolf Almonds is on target to be cut by 25 percent by The EOSDA Crop Monitoring platform provides precise agrometeorological information, such as historical temperature and precipitation dating back to , as well as reliable day forecasts of wind speed, solar radiation, relative humidity, and other variables.

If you want even more specifics on growing conditions, you can connect nearby ground-based weather stations to the platform. Start fertilizing your tree in the spring. Small, consistent applications of nitrogen fertilizer to almond trees throughout the growing season are beneficial for young plants, while older plants have a significantly lower fertilizer need.

After your tree has become established and begun bearing fruit, you may promote its growing success with a one-time application of 2 pounds 0. To find out where and how much nitrogen N to give your growing trees, use the vegetation maps provided by EOSDA Crop Monitoring.

Since excessive N-application poses the risk of leaching and polluting soil and water bodies, zoning an orchard according to vegetation indices and then applying variable amounts of nitrogen based on the needs of each zone would help optimize resource allocation and foster a more sustainable agriculture practice.

The navel orangeworm is the most prevalent insect that attacks almond trees. This worm overwinters in nuts that were left on the tree after almond harvesting. Taking all the nuts off the tree will deprive these pests of their food source and keep them away from your orchard.

Given their susceptibility to numerous pests, almond growing farms require regular inspections to protect both the trees and their fruits. But how can you easily locate a problem on a large plantation? EOSDA Crop Monitoring comes into play here, streamlining pest and disease detection and reducing the cost of it, especially in large-scale growing areas.

The first step is to use vegetation indices on the platform to keep tabs on your plantation and spot any unusual shifts in plant health and density. Then, if pests seem to be present, you can send a scout to this specific growing area to confirm or disprove the cause of concern.

The best way to keep tree diseases at bay is to put up a strong defense. Follow these steps to ensure your orchard remains disease-free:. When pruning a mature tree, your primary goal should be to preserve its existing shape. Pruning is a great way to revitalize a mature tree and boost its productivity.

Almond harvesting is a multi-step process that requires specialized machinery and techniques. The almond harvest season is typically early August through late September, though this differs per variety.

Nuts that have fallen from the tree are another sign to begin harvesting. How To Harvest Almonds When almond harvest time arrives, machines called tree shakers go through the orchard and shake the nuts out of the trees.

After 7—10 days of air drying inside their shells, the nuts are swept into neat windrows by a specialized sweeper machine. A harvester, aka a pick-up machine, then gathers the nuts by vacuuming them into a shuttle or cart. Almost every orchard goes through this cycle two to three times because different varieties are gathered at different times.

The work of a farmer does not stop when the crop is harvested. After all, the trees need further care so that they can produce nuts in the next growing season, and the nuts themselves must be processed and stored.

Providing nutrients and water to your trees after they have been harvested is crucial to their long-term health and increased crop yield.

Post-harvest care that is both sufficient and well-balanced helps trees recover and prepare for the growing season. It fosters enhanced root growth and carbohydrate rebuilding, as well as vigorous flower formation and leaf expansion in the next growing season. After being harvested, almonds arrive at a huller facility, where they are cleaned by rolling over a grate.

Clean nuts are size-sorted by a sizing machine and then kept in temperature- and humidity-controlled storage until they are needed for further use. Is growing almonds bad for the environment? Since the trees require a lot of water to develop, they contribute to the spread of drought in places already vulnerable to water shortages, where they typically grow.

Another major issue is the extensive use of agrochemicals. Many of them pose threats to pollinators like honey bees and wild bees. Agrochemicals promote soil erosion and the loss of fertile topsoil. Furthermore, these pollutants may leach into the soil and water, causing damage to the local ecosystems.

On top of that, almond tree growing is a contributor to greenhouse gas GHG emissions. Almonds: Health, Cultivation, and Sustainability. Open Science, MDPI. The upside is that scientists and farming experts constantly attempt to find remedies to these issues, and some of them already have solutions.

Plenty of promising techniques for the sustainable process of growing almonds have emerged in recent years:. If the industry can implement a sustainable farming model, its prospects might grow enormously.

Vasyl Cherlinka has over 30 years of experience in agronomy and pedology soil science. He is a Doctor of Biosciences with a specialization in soil science. In , Dr.

Almond farmers practice a zero-waste approach , ensuring everything an orchard grows is put to use. Almond shells are used as livestock bedding, and hulls are valuable dairy feed, with research underway exploring new potential uses in the areas of recycled plastics, fuel, and regenerative agriculture.

Next stop: the processor for sizing, where the almond kernels drop into separate bins according to size. After sizing, almonds are kept in controlled storage conditions to maintain quality until they're either shipped or further processed into a variety of different almond forms for diverse culinary uses.

And the biggest almond lovers are right here in the U. Almonds are enjoyed in many ways, occasions, and locations! From whole almonds to blanched, sliced and diced ones—as well as almond flour, paste, butter, oil, milk, and more—almonds are incredibly versatile, satisfying, and packed with powerful plant-based nutrition, supporting healthy diets the world over.

Ellen Topitzhofer, et al. Assessment of Pollen Diversity Available to Honey Bees in Major Cropping Systems During Pollination in the Western United States. Journal of Economic Entomology. All Article Page PDF Research Industry News Press Room Video Event Recipe Supplier.

Leaving Almonds. OK Cancel. Then, if pests seem to be present, you can send a scout to this specific growing area to confirm or disprove the cause of concern. The best way to keep tree diseases at bay is to put up a strong defense.

Follow these steps to ensure your orchard remains disease-free:. When pruning a mature tree, your primary goal should be to preserve its existing shape. Pruning is a great way to revitalize a mature tree and boost its productivity.

Almond harvesting is a multi-step process that requires specialized machinery and techniques. The almond harvest season is typically early August through late September, though this differs per variety. Nuts that have fallen from the tree are another sign to begin harvesting.

How To Harvest Almonds When almond harvest time arrives, machines called tree shakers go through the orchard and shake the nuts out of the trees. After 7—10 days of air drying inside their shells, the nuts are swept into neat windrows by a specialized sweeper machine.

A harvester, aka a pick-up machine, then gathers the nuts by vacuuming them into a shuttle or cart. Almost every orchard goes through this cycle two to three times because different varieties are gathered at different times.

The work of a farmer does not stop when the crop is harvested. After all, the trees need further care so that they can produce nuts in the next growing season, and the nuts themselves must be processed and stored.

Providing nutrients and water to your trees after they have been harvested is crucial to their long-term health and increased crop yield.

Post-harvest care that is both sufficient and well-balanced helps trees recover and prepare for the growing season. It fosters enhanced root growth and carbohydrate rebuilding, as well as vigorous flower formation and leaf expansion in the next growing season.

After being harvested, almonds arrive at a huller facility, where they are cleaned by rolling over a grate. Clean nuts are size-sorted by a sizing machine and then kept in temperature- and humidity-controlled storage until they are needed for further use.

Is growing almonds bad for the environment? Since the trees require a lot of water to develop, they contribute to the spread of drought in places already vulnerable to water shortages, where they typically grow.

Another major issue is the extensive use of agrochemicals. Many of them pose threats to pollinators like honey bees and wild bees. Agrochemicals promote soil erosion and the loss of fertile topsoil. Furthermore, these pollutants may leach into the soil and water, causing damage to the local ecosystems.

On top of that, almond tree growing is a contributor to greenhouse gas GHG emissions. Almonds: Health, Cultivation, and Sustainability. Open Science, MDPI.

The upside is that scientists and farming experts constantly attempt to find remedies to these issues, and some of them already have solutions.

Plenty of promising techniques for the sustainable process of growing almonds have emerged in recent years:.

If the industry can implement a sustainable farming model, its prospects might grow enormously. Vasyl Cherlinka has over 30 years of experience in agronomy and pedology soil science. He is a Doctor of Biosciences with a specialization in soil science.

In , Dr. in Biosciences with a specialization in soil science. Vasyl is married, has two children son and daughter. Since , Dr. Cherlinka has been advising EOSDA on problems in soil science, agronomy, and agrochemistry.

The impact of small satellites on the space industry is comparable to that of cell phones on the communications industry. Today, these small devices largely define the trajectory of the space sector.

EOSDA and Sustainera Solutions join forces to revolutionize agriculture and forestry in Azerbaijan and Georgia by fostering the adoption of remote sensing and analytical insights.

Even in rural areas of developing countries, agricultural machinery is no longer seen as unusual. Still, with precision farming, you can bring the use of machines in agriculture to a whole new level. We use essential cookies to ensure that our website functions correctly. For improved user experience and enhanced website traffic analysis we may also use non-essential cookies, with your consent.

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We use different types of cookies to optimize your experience on our website. It should also be noted that better results came from using deliberately planted cover crops usually a mix of peas and oats than from allowing native vegetation to grow. It is recommended that cover crops be planted in the fall as early as possible after the almond harvest.

They sprout on their own with the first rain. When allowed to flower they can help attract bees and other pollinators to the orchard. They then should be terminated in late spring by grazing with livestock, by mowing, or by using a roller crimper opens in new window.

If the plant residue is left on the ground, it provides protection from the sun and reduces moisture evaporation from the soil. If alternative methods of catching the almonds are not employed—such as the use of catch-frame shakers opens in new window —plant residue can be removed before harvest if needed.

Some growers spray after mowing opens in new window and find little-to-no residue by harvest time. Animal manure improves soil fertility by increasing soil microbial density and organic matter, and it can significantly reduce the need for synthetic fertilizer.

But enterprising growers, who are able and willing to diversify, could develop an additional stream of revenue by selling wool and meat and reduce the risks associated with producing a single product by raising their own livestock.

Adding animals, however, does require additional attention. Livestock need to be moved through the orchard at regular intervals to avoid soil compaction. They also need to be entirely removed from the orchards at least days before harvest to comply with FSMA opens in new window requirements.

Some growers have expressed concerns that companies might still be nervous about buying almonds from orchards even under those conditions. This may be true unless they have a specific interest in marketing regenerative products.

But that market is growing opens in new window and consumer demand may shift the situation enough for even large-scale growers to benefit.

Some CRARS mentor almond growers such as Burroughs Family Farms opens in new window and Massa Organics opens in new window market their regenerative products directly to the consumer. They successfully graze sheep in their orchards part of the year, move them to a pasture the rest of the time, and reap the benefits of added income as well as improved soil health without creating issues with food safety.

That said, animal integration is NOT a requirement for an operation to be considered regenerative. Cover crops can be mowed or roller crimped. Compost can be added. Each operation is best advised to study what is possible in their location and what best suits their needs.

Because of high prices, Modern Farmer recommends opens in new window testing your soil to see if cutting back on inputs might be possible at least for a short time. It is exactly these practices that make it possible to stop paying for synthetics and increase profitability.

Soil amendments such as compost and compost tea are materials that can build soil fertility and support and enhance the microbiology of the soil. Compost increases organic matter, improves soil structure, pH, and the water holding capacity of the soil.

Compost tea a liquid brewed from compost can be used to specifically increase microbial abundance and deliver nutrients more efficiently to plants. Both choices have been shown to reduce or eliminate the need for synthetic fertilizers opens in new window in almond orchards while restoring depleted soil and improving carbon sequestration, especially in conjunction with other regenerative farming methods.

One criticism of the use of compost is that it does not necessarily increase yields. Again, increased profitability does not depend on increased yields. However, there is exciting research into the use of whole orchard recycling opens in new window that does indicate that grinding and chipping old trees to use as a soil amendment for new plantings, instead of burning them, can increase yields significantly.

The Almond Board and most CRARS mentor-farmers agree that proceeding carefully and slowly is the road to success. Gabriele Ludwig, director of Sustainability and Environmental Affairs at the Almond Board opens in new window encourages growers to take the time to evaluate their soil type, water availability, and potential options before adding cover crops, for example.