AUSTRALIAN ALMOND
CONFERENCE
California ' s sustainable mission
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REDUCING the amount of water used to grow almonds , increasing environmentally friendly pest management tools and achieving zero waste in orchards are key objectives for the Californian almond industry , according to the Almond Board of California ’ s ( ABC ) Chief Scientist . Josette Lewis outlined the ABC ’ s mission to achieve a number of sustainable and environmentally friendly goals by 2025 when she addressed the Almond Board of Australia ’ s recent conference . She spoke about the impressive take-up among Californian almond growers who are using a grower self-assessment tool as part of the California Almond Sustainability
In A Nutshell - Summer 2022 Vol 23 Issue 4
Program , and other tools made available to growers to assist in further reducing the water used to grow almonds . Ms Lewis also spoke about the challenges facing the Californian almond industry when it comes to pollination . Four species of native bees have been listed under the state ’ s endangered species act , with the Californian almond industry cited as a threat to native bees . However , foreseeing a potential problem , Ms Lewis helped establish the California Pollinator Coalition a year and a half ago . The move helped to confirm the industry ’ s support for the protection of native bees .
“ This was getting ahead of the story that says we are the reason these bees are declining and instead saying we are part of the solution ,” she said . “ We can add habitats on our farms and build back the biodiversity systems . “ If you don ’ t do that with farms you can ’ t resource some of these populations because the Central Valley is predominately farmed and private land . “ So we have to be part of the solution and we ’ re stepping up .” Ms Lewis said an enjoyable aspect of her role is to advance the ABC ’ s story of zero waste . “ The zero-waste mold has two value propositions to our industry ,” she said .