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2025 Goals: Committed to continuous improvement.

The Almond Orchard 2025 Goals are the latest way the California almond community is committed to continuous improvement.

Commitment to Continuous Improvement | 2025 Goals

We’ve done a lot, but we strive to do more.

In addition to growing a healthy food that people love, the California almond community is working to grow almonds in better, safer and healthier ways, protecting our communities and environment.

The Almond Orchard 2025 Goals build off decades of previous achievements and are a tangible example of the California almond community's commitment to continuous improvement.

Released in December 2019, the Almond Orchard 2025 Goals Roadmap outlines the almond community's continuous improvement journey in each of the goal areas as well as metrics that the industry's progress will be measured against.

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Almond Orchard 2025 Goals Roadmap

2025 goals - zero wasteAchieving zero waste in our orchards.

Almonds grow in a shell, protected by a hull, on a tree: products traditionally used for livestock bedding, dairy feed and electricity generation. With changing markets for these coproducts1, the almond community is spurring innovation for higher value and more sustainable uses. By 2025, the California almond community commits to achieve zero waste in our orchards by putting everything we grow to optimal use.

 
2025 goals - water usageFurther reducing the water used to grow almonds.

Over the past two decades, almond farmers have successfully reduced the amount of water needed to grow a pound (0.5 kg) of almonds by 33% via improved production practices and adoption of efficient micro-irrigation technology.1By 2025, the California almond community commits to reduce the amount of water used to grow a pound (0.5 kg) of almonds by an additional 20%.  

 

2025 goals - pest managementIncreasing adoption of environmentally friendly pest management tools.

Responsible almond farming requires protecting the crop and trees from insects, weeds and disease through an integrated pest management approach. This means using tools and techniques like beneficial insects, habitat removal, mating disruption, as well as monitoring pest levels so that pesticides are used only when necessary. To further protect our orchards, employees and communities, by 2025, we commit to increase adoption of environmentally friendly pest management tools by 25%.

 

2025 goals - harvest dustImproving local air quality during almond harvest.

California almonds are harvested by shaking the crop to the ground where it dries naturally inside protective hulls and shells before being swept up and collected, a process that creates dust in our local communities. To address this nuisance, the almond community is taking short-and long-term steps to re-imagine how we harvest and, by 2025, commits to reduce dust during harvest by 50%.

 

1. University of California, 2010. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2012. Almond Board of California, 1990-94, 2000-14.