Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1218525
A L M O N D O R C H A R D 2 0 2 5 G O A L S ZERO WASTE 12 growers who have applied for Air District funding to assist with the purchase of low-dust harvesting equipment or to replace diesel pumps will find the application process similar. "Through November 2018, 182 projects have been completed or approved through the district's Alternative to Agricultural Open Burning Incentive Pilot Program, representing more than $4.5 million in payments to growers. Another 39 orchard recycling projects that may qualify for about $800,000 in incentive funds are currently in review," said Brian Dodds, program manager for grants and incentives at the Air District. Reimbursement amounts range from $300 to $600 per acre, with a maximum of $60,000 awarded per grower. "Our primary purpose is to provide funding to lower the financial hurdle for growers, especially those who are considering whole orchard recycling for the first time as an alternative to burning material," Dodds said. "We have seen a tremendous response from growers." As a result of ABC efforts, the California Department of Food and Agriculture, through its Healthy Soils Program, is also offering financial incentives for WOR this year. 4 "The Air District and CDFA programs are part of an ongoing effort to make sure ag is part of the solution of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and meeting air quality standards," said Josette Lewis, ABC's chief scientific officer. "This is a win for the industry in its efforts to achieve zero waste, and a win for our communities and the environment as air quality is improved." Hulls and shells: looking beyond dairy feed Hulls and shells have been used for decades in livestock bedding and dairy feed. But the California dairy industry is shrinking at the same time the almond industry continues to expand, spurring an effort to find new, innovative uses for coproducts. "The industry needs to transform itself from the current model to optimizing higher-value opportunities, thereby generating additional revenue through improved uses of almond coproducts," said Caleb Gervase, an almond grower and agricultural consultant in San Joaquin County who sits on ABC's Board of Directors and chairs its Biomass Workgroup. Current research includes exploring the possibility of using hulls in poultry, swine and insect feed, as well as determining if shells may be incorporated into recycled plastics, used as soil amendments and even produce biofuel. Researchers are continuing to assess using torrefaction — the burning of almond shells in the absence of oxygen — to create a charcoal-like material that can be ground up and added to plastics to provide stiffness, heat stability and color. "If we can scale this option beyond the lab," said Bor-Sen Chiou, a research chemist for USDA Agricultural Research Service, "this will translate to less new plastic in the world and a valuable, novel use for almond shells." In addition to new uses for shells and hulls, Huang said research is being conducted on value-added uses for prunings and other woody material. One project involves combining sticks that have been partially ground up with dairy manure to create a more nutrient-laden compost. CASP measures industry success The California Almond Sustainability Program (CASP) will be used to quantify progress toward all the 2025 Goals, from water to integrated pest management, dust reduction to zero waste. CASP, now in its 10th year, 5 helps industry members identify areas of improvement across their operations by completing modules that are both informational and educational, providing details on best practices and improvement opportunities. The program is free and confidential; only growers who created their account may view their own information. From the completed modules, ABC can view the information on an industry-wide level, in aggregate, with no specific operation's information shown, to determine how the industry is progressing. In the area of zero waste, ABC will use data from the CASP Air Quality module to measure progress, looking to information on how growers manage and utilize woody biomass. Huang expects additional questions will be added to the module to collect more specific information on growers' zero waste efforts, especially as it relates to WOR. "In addition to needing more growers to participate in CASP, we will need growers who have completed CASP modules in past crop years to go back and reassess their orchards," Huang said. "This new information will provide us with a baseline on which we can measure progress leading up to 2025." Growers ready to improve their operations and help the industry move forward into an era of value-added, zero waste opportunities are invited to visit SustainableAlmondGrowing.org, create a CASP account and start assessing their acreage. 4 Check out cdfa.ca.gov/oefi/healthysoils/ for more information. 5 For more information on the history of CASP, check out pages 11-12 in the Nov/Dec 2019 issue of How We Grow. Get Involved! ABC's Biomass Workgroup explores new opportunities for value-added uses for everything almond trees produce: hulls, shells, prunings and the tree itself. Are you interested in attending an upcoming meeting? Visit Almonds.com/Events for more information.