California celebrated the start of Healthy Soils Week with a focus on sustainability and climate resilience. California Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross joined the Almond Board of California to discuss the benefits of whole orchard recycling. The practice involves chipping and reincorporating old orchard biomass into the soil, which boosts biodiversity, enhances nutrient cycling, and sequesters carbon.
Ross emphasized the importance of sharing these efforts with the public and regulators. “It’s especially important for my friends in the regulatory arena,” she said. “It’s easy to have a perception of what farming is like… as opposed to getting out, having that opportunity to see firsthand… the complexity [of farming decisions].”
The Almond Board’s early research on whole orchard recycling laid the groundwork for this sustainable practice to be recognized in USDA conservation programs.
“The almond orchard was the basis for the early work that the almond board of California funded again. This is about growers identifying opportunities and solutions on the land,” Ross said. “It was their research that was brought to the Department of Food and Agriculture. Healthy Soils Week underscores farmers’ leadership in advancing innovative practices to benefit both agriculture and the planet.
Sabrina Halvorson
National Correspondent / AgNet Media, Inc.
Sabrina Halvorson is an award-winning journalist, broadcaster, and public speaker who specializes in agriculture. She primarily reports on legislative issues and hosts The AgNet News Hour. She was recently named the 2024 Farm Broadcaster of the Year by the National Association of Farm Broadcasting and serves as a Council Member on the World Agriculture Forum. Sabrina is a native of California’s agriculture-rich Central Valley and now divides her time between California and North Dakota.