Almond Hort360 now live
A NEW portal designed to benchmark on-farm practice against best management practice standards has been launched by the Almond Board of Australia . The Almond Hort360 portal is designed to be a one-stop allinclusive self-assessment tool for growers to use to monitor their progress and identify strengths , weaknesses , opportunities and threats within their business . All the information is confidential and is then aggregated anonymously to allow the growers to measure their performance against the benchmark . This exciting innovation is the result of extensive work completed by the ABA on how to best implement an industry best practice guide . As part of the guide , it has become clear that best practice standards must include aspects of orchard operation that incorporate a commitment to appropriate stewardship of people , planet and profitability . The importance for all growers to take up the Almond Hort360 portal cannot be understated . It is the first step in a process that will help all growers and industry to establish key metrics when challenged on a range of issues by customers and consumers . If you have any queries please call Ella Henson 0435 395 222 .
How does it work ? First you have to
Register for Almond Hort360 . Hort360 is made up of a series of modules or topics , each containing questions that help you describe your current property practices . As you answer each question , the portal will show if you ' re below , at , or above industry standard for each practice . If any practice is below the industry standard , the portal will provide you with information and resources to help you on your journey in achieving sustainable profitability – useful right ? It gets better … We ’ ll roll out four new modules per year . It ’ s important to the ABA that the new modules reflect areas where YOU ( the grower ) want to learn more , as well as areas that are often open to public criticism . The goal ? To help you show improvements in farming practices over time while enabling the industry to demonstrate its social value and long term commitment to sustainability .
How do I access my data ? You will receive a report of your results for each module . This will include information and additional resources to help improve your farming practices . Almond Hort360 is 100 % confidential and you are the only one who is able to access your own data . However , we understand the value in seeing where you sit compared to other growers , so you will also receive a collated peer-to-peer performance graph that allows you to see how you compare across the industry . But don ’ t worry , other growers will only be able to see data which is theirs , all other grower data will remain anonymous .
Why be involved ? Almond Hort360 is a simple and easy tool that allows you to benchmark your farming and business practices and compare them to others in the industry . It provides you with an action plan , complete with clear objectives for each module and allows you to track your progress over time . Almond Hort360 will help you stay ahead of the performance curve , providing a good starting point to achieve Freshcare certification in the future and a platform to market your product as sustainable . Gemma Nunn , Technical Officer at Century Orchards in Loxton , was the first to sign up for Almond Hort360 at the Australian Almond Conference in October . Gemma found the benchmarking portal simple and easy to use . In fact , Gemma found the whole experience worthwhile , “ especially the reports generated . They will be useful for our Board and management team moving forward .” Gemma agreed that Almond Hort360 would benefit herself and other growers . “ It will make us more efficient in what we do ," she said . " Seeing areas where we can improve and where we sit compared to other growers will allow us to optimise our efficiency ."
How will this benefit the almond industry ? In addition to benefitting you , the individual growers , the development of the Almond Hort360 portal will also benefit the almond industry . Data collected will enable the ABA to identify areas of opportunity for research and development , training , and development requirements as determined by grower responses to each question . Almond Hort360 will allow the ABA to develop marketing messages from assessment results and identify measurable and reportable targets to help the industry communicate its commitment to sustainability to consumers and demonstrate our social and environmental value . Register for Almond Hort360 today !
industry . australianalmonds . com . au
9