Fecha de publicación: 17/01/2025 Fuente: California Agriculture Today Irrigating Almonds, Four Crops Per Drop
 
By Patrick Cavanaugh, Ag Information Network
 
There are significant myths regarding almonds. Most of it is about how they use too much water, but they get four crops from every drop of water. They’re very efficient.
Clarice Turner is president and CEO of the Almond Board of California. “Part of what we’re doing is just making sure that the public is aware of the facts, Turner said.  “And by the way, it’s not marketing hype because we are a quasi-government overseen by the USDA. Everything we publish has to be fact-based. That’s coming from at least three peer-reviewed academic studies in the traditional process. That’s how we get our information,” she said.
“It’s unfortunate that people think almonds use too much water.  A statement like this grows arms and legs.  When you irrigate almonds, you get four crops per drop— There’s the kernel we eat, which grows inside a woody shell, fuzzy outer hull, and the tree. The trees store tons of carbon each year, the shells become livestock bedding, and the hulls are nutritious dairy feed, reducing the water needed to grow other feed crops,” explained Turner.
About 90% of almond farms are owned by families. “And that’s the sad part: misstatements negatively impact the multi-generation family farms. And I’m pretty sure the end consumer doesn’t understand that either,” noted Turner.
“We’re trying to set the record straight on many things and also continuing to try to help our farmers prosper in the state,” she said.  “I feel excellent about the direction we’re going and the input I’m getting from all over the world. I genuinely hear everywhere you guys produce the highest quality, most consistent volume of almonds worldwide.
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