Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1084285
equipment, the potential for incentive funding, a study comparing current harvest systems with potential alternatives — such as off-ground harvesters — and more. The cumulative program demonstrated how growers can reduce dust through the adoption of best practices, the use of new tools and equipment and combinations of the two. Given general air quality concerns in the Central Valley, and especially in the San Joaquin Valley, the question is: How can we evolve the almond farm of the future to significantly reduce harvest dust, while gaining other benefits? To tackle this question, ABC convened a Harvest Workgroup in the spring of 2018, one of several workgroups under ABC's Strategic Ag Innovation Committee, to establish how to set harvest dust management priorities and where the Almond Board of California should focus research dollars. Before reaching their first Hold on to your assumptions — she didn't complain about the dust. She was calling to thank almond growers, and she shared how pleased she was with this year's reduced dust compared to previous harvests, which she said produced so much dust that she could wipe it off her outdoor furniture and fill flower pots with it. And after swearing she'd never buy another almond because of those previously dusty harvests, she said she is now excited to support the industry once more. It's a simple fact: Harvest can be a dusty endeavor. And with the increased almond acreage, that dust is affecting more and more of our neighbors. In fact, it is exactly because of our neighbors' concerns about how harvest dust is affecting their quality of life — from sitting outside in a haze to not being able to see down the road — that the ABC Board of Directors committed to the Almond Orchard 2025 Goal of reducing dust during almond harvest by 50%. The Oakdale almond grower who inspired their neighbor to buy almonds again reduced harvest dust this year by using a water truck around the orchard's perimeter and taking care to slow down sweepers and turn off blowers at row ends. Today, growers and their custom harvesters can reduce dust while using current harvest equipment by adopting best practices that are supported by ABC-funded research. These practices are available at Almonds.com/HarvestDust. An even larger reduction in dust can be achieved by investing in new lower dust harvesting equipment. Harvesting equipment manufacturers applied their ingenuity to their engineering to reduce dust from pickup machines. Research has shown that this equipment reduces PM2.5 dust (the smallest sized dust) from pickup by 40 to 60% depending on conditions. 1 At The 2018 Almond Conference, growers had the opportunity to hear directly from industry experts about ways to reduce dust, including best practices with current equipment, assessments of low-dust harvesting Industry Commits to Continued Improvement in Harvest Dust Management During this year's harvest, the Almond Board of California (ABC) received a phone call from a woman who lives next to an almond orchard in Oakdale, California. 4 A L M O N D O R C H A R D 2 0 2 5 G O A L S HARVEST DUST