The Almond Board of California (ABC) will be hosting more soil and irrigation field days in the coming weeks, as part of the Digging In series. Senior Manager of Field Outreach and Education for ABC, Tom Devol said the first set of field days were very well received. Attendees were able to take part in in-person instruction and had the opportunity for a hands-on experience going over important aspects of soil sampling and irrigation approaches.
“It really makes a difference, especially in the case where we’re doing soil sampling. We are teaching how to do the hand field method to estimate soil moisture using soil that you pull with an auger. To be able to actually touch the soil yourself and go through the steps of how to do that makes a huge difference,” said Devol. “You can watch a video on that, but it doesn’t give you that tactile sense of actually feeling the soil in your hands yourself. I think all the talks, having that hands-on experience, made a big difference for the growers there that was much appreciated.”
The next installment of soil and irrigation field days will be a bit different from the ones held in Chico, Dixon, and Stockton in early May. While the overall subject will remain similar, Yara will be stepping in to present information on fertility and irrigation in the second installment of the series. Netafim will also be covering a variety of irrigation devices and how growers can make appropriate decisions. Devol noted that the next set of field days will be held further south, to offer more producers an opportunity to participate.
“We’re going to do another three and we’re going to do them in the south valley starting in Chowchilla, then we’re going to do one in the Lemoore-Caruthers area, and then near Wasco. We’re just finalizing the location for a couple,” Devol said. “We actually do have the dates. They’re going to be June 21, 22, and 23.”
Anyone interested in participating in the field days is encouraged to keep an eye on Almonds.com/Events for further details on the Digging In: Soil and Irrigation Field Day series.
Listen to Devol’s interview below.
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