Almond industry innovation and adoption program (AL19001)
What was it all about?
This investment, which ran from 2020 to 2023, delivered technical advice to almond growers, promoting best practice and facilitating the adoption of R&D. The program identified and developed initiatives to address the capacity-building requirements of the industry.
On-farm adoption of research outcomes was a significant focus of the program, addressing priority areas identified in the industry's strategic plan and responding to industry needs, including irrigation, pollination, pests and disease management, food safety and product integrity; spray application; biosecurity; new production systems; plant improvement and maintaining industry capacity.
The project was delivered by a small team of industry development staff who have well-established grower and stakeholder networks. The team regularly participated in industry events and developed relationships with key stakeholders to identify relevant emerging issues, research findings, new technology, best on-farm practices, trade requirements, biosecurity, climate change and environmental issues, chemical regulation, labour issues and government policy changes.
All published information is held on the grower resources page on the Almond Board of Australia website here.
Key outputs from the program include:
- 9 field days and demonstrations (409 participants)
- 6 workshops (286 participants)
- 12 webinars (466 participants and a further 472 downloads from the Almond Board of Australia website)
- 1 fungicide planner (fertiliser planner in development)
- 3 regional forums, both online and the in the Riverina area (135 participants)
- 1 international guest speaker attending the Almond Board of Australia Conference 2022 – (550 participants)
- 16 hosted domestic tours showcasing local growing regions and processing facilities – (153 participants)
- 19 magazine articles "In a Nutshell"
- 8 videos (620 unique views)
- 17 factsheets, guidelines and grower notices
- 17 presentations to stakeholder groups (635 participants)
- Assisted with program development of 1 R&D forum (260 participants), and 1 Australian almond conference (550 participants)
- 1 study tour (25 participants)
- 2 international study tours to California and attendance at the ISHS almond and pistachio symposium
- 17 Project Reference Group meetings
- 1 Extension strategy 2023-2028
In the six months to March 2021, the project team continued to deliver extension support to growers, with more than 160 activities / products delivered, including:
- A series of five webinars, attended by 189 participants, were held to help growers prepare for a wet season and the impact of adverse weather at harvest as well as maintaining crop quality. Recordings are available via the Almond Board of Australia website.
- Development of 10 topical pages for the Almond Board of Australia website, showcasing industry approach, R&D investment, plus resources on pollination, integrated pest and disease management, almond growth and development, climate and energy, irrigation, soil and nutrition, sustainable chemical use, varieties and rootstocks
- Five grower notices and a factsheet were compiled and shared with industry to provide timely advice on seasonal issues such as mice, biosecurity response to Khapra beetle, chemicals, adverse season management
- Articles and publications in In a Nutshell magazine and Almondbytes eNews
- A grower survey and industry-wide investigation into the extent and potential cause of bud dieback on variety Monterey
- Support and attendance at Almond Board of Australia value chain subcommittee meetings plus issues-based and plant health and biosecurity meetings representing the almond industry.
ACT NOW
Visit the Almond Board of Australia website for more information and to access grower support materials.
This project was a strategic levy investment in the Hort Innovation Almond Fund