Researchers looking to test the feasibility of winter water recharge on almond orchards are getting some backing from industry leaders.
Industry Leaders Back Recharge Project
Almond Board of California President and CEO Richard Waycott told attendees at the California Association of Pest Control Advisers annual conference about its involvement with a University of California Davis Project. AgNet West has introduced its listeners to the recharge project before, that’s looking to flood agriculture land with stormwater runoff during winter months. UC Davis assistant professor Helen Dahlke says they have seen good results from alfalfa fields and are planning to expand the research into Central Valley almonds.
Industry Leaders Helping Out
The Almond Board of California is partnering with Sustainable Conservation to help the project over the next two years. The Almond Board will identify farmers who are already using or are interested in trying recharge and enrolling them in a Sustainable Conservation program. Sustainable Conservation is a non-profit that regularly works with growers and they will handle the data collection from landowners testing the practice. That data will then be analyzed by UC Davis research that will be funded by the almond board. Sustainable Conservation and UC Davis will then present the information to the industries involved in hopes to form best management practices.
In its recent newsletter, the Almond Board of California says it is excited to explore the potential of California’s one million acres of almond orchards to recharge Central Valley groundwater. Learn more about the project and the Almond Board of California’s involvement.