Almond Facts, May-June 2021

This is chiefly because the farm does not rely on chemical fertilizer, but Paul employs a natural means to keep the land healthy. He creates his own organic fertilizer, which is composed of nitrogen-rich manure from his dairy cows that he feeds into a large separator to remove the water and then mixes the manure with green material composed of almond shells and shredded almond tree limbs from his orchard. This blend is then aged for several months before fertilizing his orchard. This practice is especially useful as the dry season approaches because the compost and organic fertilizer builds the soil better than chemical fertilizer does; the organic materials help the soil hold onto moisture. Along with this, Danbom uses a double line drip irrigation system, which is one of the most efficient ways to water the trees because the water goes directly into the soil, not sprayed into the air. And Danbom hasn’t neglected the honeybee, either. He lets the natural grasses grow in the middle of the rows during winter to broaden the bee forage selection. He also recycles the burlap sacks from the dairy to place over water buckets, so the bees have a steady water source (similar to Blue Diamond ’s “Water for Honeybees” program). Something I’m really proud of is that we produce 7,000 gallons of milk a day, 275,000 lbs of almonds a year, and 10,000 tons corn silage a year, yet our operation only produces three cubic yards of unrecycled waste a week. Everything else is recycled. Top photo: Manure separator hard at work at Danbom farm. Bottom photo: Paul Danbom notices how well the separator works; the manure is dry and ready to be mixed with green material. 2 5 M A Y – J U N E 2 0 2 1