A WORD FROM THE BOARD: THE ALMOND BOARD OF CALIFORNIA
WHAT’S IN THE PILE?
Almonds and Dairy Team Up to Fund Composting Research By ALMOND BOARD OF CALIFORNIA | Contributing Writer
F
or decades, California’s two leading agricultural commodities have enjoyed a productive and synergistic relationship. Rather than decomposing in landfills, almond hulls and shells often find a home on Central Valley dairies where they are upcycled as a feed ingredient and bedding material for cows. While the movement of almond coproducts from orchards to dairies is routine, ongoing research suggests
that an even stronger relationship may be possible by sending one of dairy’s coproducts, manure-based compost, to almond orchards. “We’re very excited about the partnership between the almond and dairy communities to better quantify the benefits of applying dairy compost to almond orchards,” said Guangwei Huang, associate director of Food Research and Technology at the Almond Board of California (ABC).
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West Coast Nut
October 2021
Pelletized manure and almond woody biomass compost (all photos courtesy Almond Board of California.)
According to Huang, the research also looks at the feasibility of incorporating almond woody biomass, such as tree prunings, into dairy manure compost. The prospect not only has the potential to return economic and agronomic value to growers, but it may also provide a solution for sustainable disposal of woody biomass in the orchard. Funded in part by ABC, the California Dairy Research Foundation (CDRF) and the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Healthy Soils Initiative, the three-year study aims to measure the impacts on soil health and carbon sequestration (the intentional storage of carbon in the soil) from the use of compost derived from a mixture of dairy manure and almond woody biomass. Preliminary results show promise for almond growers, suggesting potential benefits such as diversification of plant nutrient sources, addition of organic material to the soil and improved water holding capacity in the tree root zone.
Finding Mutually Beneficial Solutions
Despite the differences in coproduct materials generated on their operations, almond growers and dairy farmers share a similar challenge of finding increasingly higher-value and environmentally friendly uses for their respective coproducts. Whereas hulls and shells benefit from a more developed market thanks to the state’s dairy economy, options for dealing with almond woody biomass, especially tree prunings and sticks, are