Welcoming New Partners to The Almond Project

July 19, 2024

When it comes to complex issues, it’s essential to see the whole picture, and California’s $11 billion-dollar almond industry is no exception. You may have heard about the sector’s water consumption or the trucking of bees to pollinate the state’s 1.3 million acres of crops – a practice that may be top of mind in June, during National Pollinator Month. Other headlines have contemplated what fluctuating prices and leveling demand might mean for the industry’s future. Even comedian Bill Maher and Gov. Gavin Newsom poked fun at taking on “Big Almond”on Maher’s HBO show earlier this year. But it’s important to see the forest for the trees – or in this case, the aromatic orchards that bloom in the spring and almond kernels that mature in the summer.

California’s almond industry is large. It’s the state’s leading agricultural export and is responsible for nearly 80% of the world’s almonds. So campaigns demonizing the almond industry aren’t going to get far, and they aren’t helpful in evolving the industry to meet environmental goals and address current issues. Why don’t we instead ask questions about how we can increase water use efficiency and have almond orchards prioritize soil health so that orchards can become an important carbon sink to mitigate global warming? Further, how can almond orchards enable biodiversity and contribute to the overall ecological health of California’s Central Valley and what’s a fair price for almonds that align with these environmental priorities?

That’s how The Almond Project formed – by asking questions about how we can change the industry to meet sustainability goals and pave the way toward a more resilient future for this nutritious and popular crop. We began as a small assortment of stakeholders spanning from third-generation almond growers (Pacific Ag Management) and processor (Treehouse California Almonds), to pioneering food brands (Simple Mills, Daily Harvest, and Cappello’s), and non-profit conveners (White Buffalo Land Trust) but this movement is growing.

We are excited to announce two new partners that are joining The Almond Project in 2024, GOOD TO GO and Justin’s. 

We are excited to partner with GOOD TO GO, a Canadian-based snack brand, because of their commitment to sustainable almonds and nutritious snacking. We are excited to partner with Justin’s because of their commitments to corporate social responsibility, focusing on sustainable packaging and ingredients, pollinator conservation and hunger relief.

Our first project, starting in fall 2021 is a five-year scientific study focusing on both conventional and organic almond orchards in the Central Valley. The farm team is testing practices that should increase soil health, water use efficiency and carbon sequestration (the process by which carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere to mitigate global warming and climate change). Some of the practices being used include cover cropping (planting plants that cover the bare ground to prevent erosion, suppress weeds, enhance fertility, and promote biodiversity); composting; decreasing the use of chemically produced nitrogen fertilizers; and grazing sheep for weed and vegetation control, and as a source of natural fertilizer. 

Although the project is only in the third year of a five-year study, some in-field observations are showing promise. The soil is holding and infiltrating more water. When heavy rainstorms occurred and the cover crops were intact, the water didn’t stand in the field and flood, it soaked in. Both conventional and organic plots have increased their Ecological Health Index score via the Ecological Outcome Verification (EOV) by the Savory Institute, a monitoring tool used to verify trends in ecological function and soil health.

While we’re seeing trends in a positive direction, scientific research takes time, and as a group, we’re ready to ask more questions and seek more answers in an effort to push the boundaries of how the almond industry can evolve. We’ve been looking beyond soil health metrics and focusing on the bigger picture: our relationship to the health of this ecosystem and community. We want to partner with other stakeholders to explore how the act of growing and selling almonds and other crops in the Central Valley can grow the overall health of the region.

New projects that are just kicking off include testing the nutrient density, or the concentration of essential nutrients of the almonds, from the scientific plots; researching how accurate customer facing soil health focused certifications are in comparison to the scientific research results; and convening a farm advisory board to explore creative farm innovations. But the most complex work we want to pursue pertains to economic modeling and the viability of prioritizing environmental goals inside of a commodity pricing structure. Simply put, our collective desire for environmental stewardship and thriving communities is restrained by market forces and that is standing in the way of a more vibrant Central Valley.

This is challenging work and we’re finding that there's often a disconnect between the ways we want to see our agricultural systems improve and the reality of the market forces the industry faces. Commodity pricing that changes drastically globally and the pressure from large purchasers on the farm are the largest barriers to addressing the environmental and social priorities that most of us care about. On top of that, broader issues plaguing the Central Valley like unhealthy living conditions, lack of work, and inadequate access to fresh food within a community that’s growing food for the rest of the country, add to the complexity.

Our new project work is made possible by new partners, like our newly announced partners, GOOD TO GO and Justin’s. To fuel this expansion, our coalition needs more food companies, farmers, retailers, transporters, handlers, processors, and manufacturers to join the effort. Together, we can help ensure a robust future for one of California’s agricultural and economic powerhouses and the people and communities who make it possible. Together, we can move beyond opposition, understand diverse perspectives, and build a brighter future for the Central Valley. To learn more about The Almond Project and join us, visit thealmondproject.com.

Will you join us? We’re seeking partners that are willing to spend time figuring out how we can meet our environmental and social goals while creating thriving farm businesses. Because relying on subsidies, trying to push the almond industry out of California, or continuing to put downward economic pressure on farms while asking them to meet more regulations isn’t going to get us there. We’re going to need to resist our temptation to choose sides and start standing in the shoes of people we’re currently opposed to in order to work together to evolve the almond industry. 

We’ll need to learn more information before taking a stand against issues, like in bee pollination. Yes, bees are trucked around the country for pollination services. However, these bee hives multiply and almost double in size due to the forage they receive from pollinating almonds. Bees are trucked around to be fed. Let’s stop criticizing the system we have and look for ways to work together to evolve it.