INDUSTRY NEWS
Growing the industry with Almond Hort360
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THE Almond Board of Australia is encouraging more growers to sign up for Almond Hort360, an online best management practice portal. It allows growers to assess their operations and see how they compare to others in their industry. The portal is made up of a series of self-assessment modules on different topics designed to give growers a 360-degree view of their farming operations. The Almond Board of Australia has worked with growers and industry experts to develop eight core modules. Module development was prioritised by the ABA’ s Sustainability Committee based on industry needs and other modules will be made available over the next year and a half. Modules available: Pollination, Irrigation, Pesticide, Workplace Health and Safety, Managing Waste, Energy and Emissions, Biosecurity and Nutrient. Modules to come: Soil, Integrated Pest and Disease Management, People and Place, Biodiversity, Climate, Better Business, and Offsite Impacts. One of the benefits of Almond Hort360 is that data collected by the platform will assist the ABA in pinpointing areas that require additional resources, identifying research and development opportunities, and addressing industry needs. The platform has been trialled by early adopters providing insight into the kind of outputs that can be generated. Each module comprises different subtopics or‘ farm management areas’ which are displayed in the box and whisker diagrams. The box plots summarise farm management area scores into the maximum, 75 % quartile( the value at which 75 % of data points are below), average, 25 % quartile( the value at which 25 % of data points are below) and the minimum. For each farm management area, a score of 75 % or higher indicates that best management practice was met or exceeded. While Almond Hort360 provides valuable insights for the industry, its primary purpose is to help almond growers identify areas for improvement and implement positive changes on farm. Continued next page
In A Nutshell- Autumn 2025 Vol 26 Issue 1
Figure 1. Percentage score per farm management area included in the Pollination module.
Pollination module analysis
For the Pollination module the highest score recorded for each farm management area was between 90 % and 100 %. The mean score was greater than or equal to 75 % for four out of the five farm management areas indicating that best management practice was generally achieved. The average score for pollination efficiency was below 75 % suggesting that there is room for improvement. Although on average participants scored well on the Pollination module, significant variation in scores highlights that there is still room for improvement across all farm management areas.
Figure 2. Percentage score per farm management area included in the Irrigation module.
Irrigation module analysis
Overall participants scored highly on the Irrigation module. For all farm management areas, the highest score recorded was 100 %. The mean score for each farm management area was equal to or greater than 75 % for all farm management areas indicating that participants generally met best management practice. Sustainability strategies showed the greatest variation, with 25 % of participants scoring below 60 %. This highlights an area where improvement is needed.