The Almond Board of California’s (ABC) Industry Roadshow was a hit with growers last month. For three weeks in May, the ABC team made 18 stops throughout the state. Beginning in Corning, the roadshow went as far south as Shafter. The pop-up events offered a chance for growers to pick up some helpful industry information and engage with ABC staff and leadership.
“It was a great opportunity to just get out and see growers, something we haven’t had the opportunities we normally do with COVID,” said ABC’s Senior Manager of Field Outreach and Education Tom Devol. “We had all these materials we wanted to get out that we normally would distribute at the Almond Conference. So, we did this great Roadshow, 1,400 miles driving Fritz the almond van around the state.”
More than 1,000 informational packets covering a wide array of topics were distributed during the Industry Roadshow. Some of the newest information included a guide for nitrogen best management practices. There is also a new pocket guide for identifying pests as well as beneficial insects. “The one big surprise was we had one item that kept disappearing off the table. It was a guide for doing whole orchard recycling, a practice that a lot of growers are looking to do when they redevelop their orchards. So that was a really popular one. Every time we put it on the table it disappeared,” Devol noted.
The response to the Industry Roadshow from producers has led to plans for similar events in the future. Devol said that they will be taking what they learned from the Roadshow and will be incorporating that into future outreach activities. “This opportunity to just get out and talk to growers in their homes was really great,” said Devol. “We will do some form of it; we’re just trying to sort out the best time to do it and when we’re going to start the next one.”
Anyone interested in receiving the informational packets can send an email with their mailing address to fieldoutreach@almondboard.com.
Listen to Devol’s full interview.
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