The almond industry remains committed to continuous improvement, setting industry goals for continued success and responsible production going forward. The ambitious Almond Orchard 2025 Goals were highlighted during the state of the industry address at the 2018 Almond Conference hosted by the Almond Board of California (ABC) in Sacramento last week.
ABC President and CEO Richard Waycott noted that it was a process to identify “what ended up being four areas that were really the top priorities as we saw them for having the most impact and change in the industry and also issues that are very vital to the sustainability and the survival of this industry.”
The Almond Orchard 2025 Goals include increasing the implementation of environmentally friendly pest management methods by 25 percent and further reducing water usage in almond production by another 20 percent. The industry will also be working towards achieving zero waste and reducing dust during harvest by 50 percent, all by 2025. “So now we’re really setting out not only to make sure the baselines are correct for that but also where we don’t have metrics dialed-in yet to measure our progress, we’re developing those,” said Waycott.
Remaining committed to continuous improvement is a critical aspect of keeping the almond industry competitive in the market. As California’s largest agricultural export and the third most valuable crop for the state, the almond industry plays an important role in the overall economy. Keeping the industry moving forward with sustainable agricultural practices also has an impact on consumer attitudes, on top of benefitting the environment.
“It is a journey and we’re inviting really the world, the public, certainly our customers, and consumers to be part of that,” said Waycott. “With that, we’ll enhance our stature as an industry and we’ll provide customers and consumers with a lot of knowledge and awareness of what we’re doing here in California in terms of agricultural practice.”
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