The California Almond Sustainability Program (CASP) is a tool for growers to help share what they are doing in the orchard with the general public and join the sustainable journey. Almond Board of California Chairman Holly King said the CASP program is a vital tool for the grower and the industry. “That program is designed to collect data in a confidential way, but it’s also designed to be a continuum,” King said. “So as a grower, you identify where you are on that continuum and then take advantage of the resources the program offers.”
Growers who do take advantage of the program often see it in there bottom line as their production costs drop or yield totals rise. Aside from the individual benefit, the data helps solidify the almond story. King said that information had already helped the industry a few years ago. “Quite honestly, in the drought, it really saved our bacon,” King noted. “It gave us the ability to extract information. Things like we have improved our water use efficiency by 33 percent over the last 20 years. If we didn’t have that information, we wouldn’t be able to write a story on what we are doing on the farm.”
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