The US Farm Bill is important to the California almond industry in the areas of trade, conservation, bioenergy, technical assistance, research and block grants, Almond Alliance of California President Kelly Covello told a recent Farm Bill listening session in Modesto, CA. “It is essential that we increase 2018 Farm Bill program funding levels. We have seen no funding increases in several important titles in the last two Farm Bills while the challenges facing agriculture have exploded," she said.

Held August 5 in Modesto, California, Kelly Covello, President of Almond Alliance of California a trade association representing the interests of the California Almond industry including almond growers, hullers/shellers, and processors offered her comments on the US Farm Bill to a panel consisting of members of the House Agriculture Committee.
Covello said a particularly important program for almond growers is the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) which provides funding to meet increasing environmental standards, which are particularly stringent in California.
The almond industry has used EQIP to upgrade agricultural motors to help the San Joaquin Valley comply with federal air quality standards. EQIP is historically underfunded and always over-subscribed. Additional funding for EQIP would help the California Ag industry meet increasingly strict air quality regulations, she explained.
California almond growers export about 70 percent of their crop and programs such as the Market Access Program (MAP), Foreign Market Development program (FMD), and the Technical Assistance for Specialty Crops (TASC) are crucial for continued economic growth.
Despite the importance and success of these programs, funding under the Farm Bill to the MAP program has not increased since 2006 and FMD funding has not increased since 2002, Covello pointed out.
She urged the panel to increase of MAP funding from US$200 million to US$400 million annually and FMD funding from US$34.5 million to US$69 million annually.
Covello also told the panel the almond industry believes it can eventually produce almonds with zero waste, but current economic and environmental challenges along with bioenergy technological hurdles have slowed the development of bioenergy outlets for almond biomass and byproducts.
An outlet such as open burning is no longer a viable option given air quality and environmental concerns. Cogeneration and biomass energy options are increasingly unavailable due to economics and environmental regulations which are causing biomass plants to close, she said.
Woody biomass produced in orchards and orchard removals can be used as a feedstock for biofuels or bioenergy. However, USDA bioenergy programs have traditionally focused on row crops for ethanol production and did not take into consideration the biomass generated from
speciality crops.
It is imperative that biomass produced in fruit and nut orchards be eligible for the USDA’s bioenergy programs, she said.
The Almond Alliance is in full support of the Farm Bill’s rural business development programs but there is a need to redefine “rural”. Without a re-definition, most truly rural areas of California do not have access to programs to these programs. There is also a need to expand job training programs.
We are at a critical time in California with regards to labour in rural California. In the next five years, we’re going to see a change in the agricultural job landscape of California. With the adoption of labour laws including a new minimum wage and new agricultural overtime laws along with the rapid changes in science, technology and mechanization the ag jobs of today will not be the jobs of the future, Covello cautioned.
Facts
About Almonds
The almond tree (Prunus dulcis) is a species native to the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent and North Africa and commercially grown also in Meditteranean Europe and the US (predominately California) for the edible almond seed contained in the drupe. The drupe (fruit) is is a hull encased hard shell inside of which is the edible almond seed. Almonds are sold shelled or unshelled. The US is the dominant producer of almond in the world producing almost 900 000 tonnes annually of which about 70 percent are exported in shelled form and the rest processed or sold unshelled. Spain produces approximately 230 000 tonnes annually.