RESEARCH & EVENTS
You never stop learning
Feedback from workshop participants
“ I think this helped to remind me why certain practices occur agronomically .” - Participant in Sunraysia nutrition workshop
" I will review our current program and compare what we are doing with what I ’ ve learnt today ." - Participant in Riverina nutrition workshop
“ Thanks again for the course one of the better ones I ’ ve been to , and I know that our other team members enjoyed it and took a lot away from it .” - Participant in Riverland irrigation workshop
Over 260 almond growers and other industry stakeholders paricipated in events run by the ABA ' s Industry Development team throughout winter .
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WINTER was a busy time for the Almond Board of Australia ’ s Industry Development team . Staff travelled to all the major growing regions for workshops and several other extension activities with over 260 almond growers and other industry stakeholders participating in the events throughout winter . People with 20 plus years of experience and newcomers both said they benefitted from these sessions . “ You never stop learning ,” was the comment made by one of the industry veterans who came to the nutrition workshop at Irymple in June . A lot of skills are needed to grow quality almonds and inputs are expensive , so you want to get bang for your buck . The nutrition workshops covered a range of topics including almond tree requirements , nutrient balances , fertiliser formulations and types , the supply chain , safety and the environment . While some time was spent sitting in
In A Nutshell - Spring 2025 Vol 25 Issue 3
a classroom , hands on activities were also included . Presenters commented that it was pleasing to see everyone actively participating in discussions and learning from one another . Irrigation was the theme for the workshops in June . Almond growers , irrigation staff , managers and owner / operators assessed soil pits and drip irrigation systems . Presenters also worked with individuals looking at their irrigation designs and soil moisture monitoring data . Irrigation system drainage is regarded as one of the most challenging aspects of achieving efficient irrigation , so the ABA organised a separate workshop on this topic . The four hour session covered measuring system drainage volumes and the extent of the problem , nondrain dripline products , dripline non-leak products , submain design , flushing arrangements , valve
locations , management and grower case studies . In addition to the face to face workshops , webinars were also on offer . More than 160 people tuned into a session run by the University of California about how the Australian almond industry has been attempting to combat carpophilus beetle . Josh Fielke from the ABA , David Madge from Agriculture Victoria , Ben Brown from Select Harvests and Ben Wiblin from Almondco were joined by Californian researchers . You can view a recording of the webinar here . In August a webinar on nutrient monitoring using soil water extractors was presented by SARDI and some of the growers who had participated in the monitoring network . A recording of this webinar will be available shortly . Further information about ABA events can be found on the ABA website .