INDUSTRY NEWS
Program leads to savings, efficiencies
WALKER Flat Almonds in South Australia’ s Murraylands has completed seven of the Almond Hort360 modules. The Assistant Manager at the 167-hectare orchard, Melina Mueller, said it’ s good to identify areas to improve.“ The advantage is you are not competing against anyone else, and you can’ t fail Almond Hort360, you can only improve," she said.“ It’ s just a quick assessment and it prompts you to think about things that can improve.” Melina said a module takes around 20 to 30 minutes to complete if you have all the information, otherwise could take a little bit longer.“ Most of the questions were relatively easy to answer and if you are in a management position you’ ve got the required resources in front of you,” she said. Melina found the modules on Managing Waste and Pesticide to be the most valuable for her business.“ It was a good reminder about the product recycling schemes that are available such as Drum Muster and Big Bag Recovery,” she said. Melina said some growers possibly would be able to identify cost savings by completing the modules and striving for best management practices.“ If you aren’ t as efficient as you could be, there could be an opportunity to save money, particularly in the irrigation, energy and managing waste topics,” she said.“ It really is something that is fast and relatively easy – view it as a self-assessment and a way to improve.” Modules on Biosecurity, Pollination, Irrigation,
Walker Flat Almonds Assistant Manager Melina Mueller says Almond Hort360 has identified cost savings and improvements that can be made on-farm.
Pesticide, Workplace Health and Safety, Managing Waste, Energy and Emissions and Nutrients are available, with more to be added in the future. Growers keen to find out more about Almond Hort360 can sign up online here. Anyone who has already applied to join the program can log in here.
From previous page When each module is completed an action plan is developed which includes:
• A risk assessment for each question, rating responses as‘ very high’,‘ high’,‘ moderate’, or‘ low’ risk.
• Resources to help reduce risk and make positive changes on farm.
• A peer-to-peer performance graph similar to the box and whisker plots in this article, so growers can see how they compare to others in the industry.
Individual data is held with the Almond Hort360 system. Any data that is utilised by the ABA is deidentified. You can view the ABA’ s privacy policy here. Growers keen to find out more about Almond Hort360 can sign up online here. Anyone who has already applied to participate in the program can log in here.
Figure 3. Percentage score per farm management area included in the Pesticide module.
Pesticide module analysis
For each farm management area, the highest score recorded was between 90 % and 100 %. The mean score was 75 % or higher for four out of the five areas, indicating that best management practices were generally met. However, the average score for spray system setup suggests there is room for improvement. Planning exhibited the greatest variation, with some scores as low as 50 %, highlighting a significant opportunity for improvement in this area.”
industry. australianalmonds. com. au
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