California almonds have a bad reputation for needing significant water in a state frequented by droughts, but agricultural innovations, including enhanced water management and the nuts’ other environmental benefits are elevating their appeal to CPG brands seeking climate-smart ingredients.
“This is a drought prone state and growing region,” acknowledged Danielle Veenstra, a third-generation almond farmer and the senior manger of global stewardship and impact for the Almond Board of California.
But, she added, California is one of the few places where almonds thrive.
“They can only grow in Mediterranean climates,” she said. Which is why she asks instead: “Do we want to eat almonds? Do we want to eat plant-based foods? These really protein dense, nutrient-dense, plant-based foods? My answer is yes.”
As such, the next question she asks is: “How do we do that in a responsible way? In a way that is good steward of this land? In a way that is ever more efficient and precise with our water resources, replenishing them where and when we can?”
One way is to use micro-irrigation – a technique used by 88% of almond farms that involves small systems of tubes, emitters and micro-sprinklers that either drip water directly into the soil or right next to the tree roots.
This is a far cry from the traditional method of flooding the almond fields by opening a valve and letting water run down a gentle slope, which was once common practice among farmers across California and in other regions where almonds are grown.
Rebuilding water supplies
Almond orchards also could help replenish natural stores of water, said Veenstra.
“We know we can do groundwater recharge on almond farms. We see about 12% of growers using this practice,” which involves strategically flooding the orchards in off seasons when the trees don’t need it so that it percolates through the ground into aquifers, she explained.
“It’s a shared resource that everybody can use. It is not just the person who did the recharge,” she added.
Beyond water management: from carbon sequestration to upcycling byproducts
Growers argue that focusing on water overlooks other environmental impacts that almond farmers are working to improve.
One is capturing carbon in the trees.
Veenstra explains that according to the California Air Resources Board, the state’s almond trees can capture and store about 30 million metric tons of carbon, which is equivalent to the annual emissions from cars in California, Washington, Oregon and Texas combined.
If farmers who chip non-productive trees place the wood back into their land they can capture 2.4 tons of carbon more per acre, she added.
“It is the single biggest practice that I am aware of in agricultural terms of carbon capture,” she said.
The almond industry also strives for zero waste by upcycling byproducts, which allows them to “get even more out of the water that we do use to grow almonds,” Veenstra said.
These practices are increasingly relevant for food manufacturers looking to reduce the footprint, enhance the nutritional value of their products and appeal to conscious consumers.
For example, the Almond Board of California recently determined that almond hulls, which are typically used to feed livestock or as ground cover, are Generally Recognized As Safe, or GRAS, and can now enter the human food supply.
“They have a lot of fiber and a lot of antioxidants,” Veenstra said.
Planning for the future
Whether it’s precision irrigation, finding new uses for almond hulls or investing in biodiversity, none of these changes happen overnight. They reflect decades-long decisions made by the people who own and work these orchards.
“We’ve been here for three generations. We’ve planted on my family’s farm. Our third orchard is here. And these decisions stick with us for a long time. We’re very thoughtful about how we farm orchards,” said Veenstra. “Not just because it is our literal backyard, but because we care about this land and passing it down to future generations and our communities that live around us.”
