Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1432253
Considering cover crops? Variety of cost-sharing opportunities & resources available By Dr. Josette Lewis, ABC's chief scientific officer Through the use of cover crops, almond growers are increasingly stepping up for honey bees and native pollinators – in a big way! The Seeds for Bees program through Project Apis m. saw 110 new almond growers join the program last year, adding pollinator habitat to 13,590 acres of almond orchards. The number of almond orchards participating in Pollinator Partnership's "Bee Friendly Farming" Program increased 268% over last year, with more than 111,000 acres now certified in the program. ABC-funded research demonstrates that honey bees are stronger coming from orchards with supplemental forage, such as cover crops. Research also shows that cover crops or hedgerows don't compete with almond blossoms for bee visits, making it a win-win for growers who can add this practice into their operation. This research, together with practical grower experience, is distilled into ABC's new Cover Crop Best Management Practices, which outlines five steps to incorporating cover crops into orchard systems and details the benefits forage provides. While cover cropping may not work for every grower, there are many cost- sharing opportunities available to reduce the risk of investment and guide growers through the process of incorporating the practice. Apply to participate in the Bee+ Scholarship, supported by ABC, which provides up to $2,000 in cover crop seed per grower through Seeds for Bees. ProjectApism.org/Seeds-for-Bees Become "Bee Friendly Certified" through Pollinator Partnership's "Bee Friendly Farming" Program. https://www.pollinator.org/bff Apply for CDFA's Healthy Soils incentive program, which covers a range of habitat options. CDFA.CA.gov/oefi/healthysoils Contact the Natural Resources Conservation Service to take advantage of Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) incentives to execute pollinator-friendly practices. NRCS.USDA.gov Read ABC's new Cover Crop Best Management Practices outlining five steps for incorporating cover crops into your orchard system. Almonds.com/CoverCrops ALMOND ORCHARD 2025 GOAL With the cover crops, Melgard noted that he sees bees more spread out among the tree profile, from top to bottom. "Not only are they pollinating at the very top, but they're also pollinating those lower laterals and branches a lot more. I've seen a crazy number of almonds on the lower half of trees that I normally don't expect to see." Melgard's visual analysis of more nuts throughout the tree canopy translated to higher yields, and while he doesn't say it's entirely due to more pollinator activity thanks to his cover crops, he believes it certainly played a role. "I think the cover crop brought in a lot more pollinators and might have just put an extra boost on their activity. On the Nonpareils, that ranch had never done more than 2,200 pounds per acre and in one year we went up to 3,200 pounds – on a 20-year-old orchard. I did put some money into fertilizers and sprays, but that's a pretty big jump just to attribute to those inputs." Cover crop trial leads to 1,400% increase in plantings Samantha Lopes, operations support manager for Hancock Farmland Services, said the company learned about the Seeds for Bees program at The Almond Conference in 2016. The following year, they made a modest investment on 16 acres outside an orchard in Chowchilla and have since expanded cover crop plantings to more than 250 acres they manage throughout the state. Lopes said the farming operation intentionally started small in 2017 to gauge the effectiveness of the program and gain experience managing the cover crop. Last year, the company began planting inside tree rows in some of its orchards – both to support bees as well as to improve the soil health in those areas. "Our managers planted in every other row to allow for pruning to be chipped in the opposite row," Lopes explained. "Going forward, each year we will alternate rows in hopes of creating a natural compost from the wood chippings and vegetation mulch. We believe this will boost microbial activity in the soil." What lessons has Hancock learned while implementing the Seeds for Bees program? "Water is the key to everything, but it can also be scarce at times," Lopes said. "Our field staff used water trucks immediately after planting to provide enough water on the ground until the first rainfall. Establishing germination is important for the success of the cover crop. Our goal is to plant each year and allow Mother Nature to run its course. We've learned that the more consistently you plant, the more it comes back and a little thicker." Almond Board of California 4