Almond Facts, May-June 2021

CULTIVATING SUSTAINABILITY This April I had a chance to catch up with Blue Diamond member Chris Rishwain to chat about the challenges of producing almonds and how cover cropping plays a role in his operation’s success. Each year more growers than ever are adopting the use of cover crops for assistance with increasing the health and efficiency of their bees and soil. The Seeds for Bees ® program awards growers free cover crop seed and access to advice to help them get the job done and know what to expect. Chris has enrolled in the program every year since 2018. Planting covers between the rows of trees or grapes won’t solve your problems overnight, but even with drought conditions providing no more than five to seven inches of rain, your cover crop will begin improving your soils enough to return a net benefit in about five years. I am convinced in many cases a return is reached much earlier. Field tests indicate cover crops are decreasing sodicity (salt) and increasing infiltration in soil more effectively than gypsum. A high-quality seed mix doesn’t have to be more than $30 per acre. Planting costs will set you back another $10–$15. If your land has required regular mowing of weeds in the past there is no added cost for flail mower work when terminating the cover crop. The exception being more frequent belt replacement on rotary mowers chopping up biomass. This biomass will become the organic matter that increases the water holding capacity of soil with its sponge like properties. The eliminated use of gypsum itself might offset the cost of planting cover crops. But is your gypsum also feeding bees ? Now, let’s hear from Chris. The Soil Builder Mix in mid-April a few weeks before Blue Diamond Grower Chris Rishwain terminated it with a flail mower. Photo courtesy of Billy Synk. Grower Spotlight: Chris Rishwain 2 8 A L M O N D F A C T S