Are you familiar with the phrase ‘a rising tide lifts all boats’?
In its most recent incarnation, the phrase was used to suggest the key to improving profitability for everyone in the value chain would be a team effort.
Almond quality is a complex topic, which is why the Almond Board of Australia (ABA) invited growers, agronomists, researchers, processors and marketers to explore the issue.
More than 30 attended, providing valuable feedback about knowledge gaps and where further research and development investment would be beneficial in both the short and long term.
A similar workshop was held in 2011, but back then Australia’s total almond production was less than 30,000 tonnes.
The 2024 harvest is expected to be 164,700 tonnes and in the next few years it will reach 200,000 tonnes.
Things have changed significantly since 2011, processing hasn’t kept up with plantings, so growers are storing their almonds on-farm for longer.
As growers strive for large yields in their orchards, they face uneven ripening.
There’s also new pest pressures to overcome.
Consecutive years of inclement weather have taken a toll on operations, affecting almond sales and grower returns, but there are some innovations that have been used to cope with these challenges and they have the potential to benefit the industry more broadly if widely adopted.
Several presentations in the morning set the scene for table discussions in the afternoon.
Workshop participants worked their way around the room examining all aspects of almond growing, processing and marketing.
While a significant number of research and development opportunities were identified, there were four ranked the most important:
Continued research into carpophilus beetle and effective application methods of pheromone.
Maximising on-farm hulling, storage and fumigation.
Uniformity of hull spit and fruit maturity.
Stockpile management.
The ABA will continue to review the information from the workshop and use the feedback from participants to shape future industry development priorities.
It’s been 13 years since a workshop of this kind has been organised by the ABA and based on the feedback from participants the event will become regular feature on the calendar as we work toward improving quality throughout the supply chain.
The collaborative nature and global profile of Australian almonds means that while competitive tensions do exist within the ranks, JFK’s mantra still rings true when it comes to improving sustainable outcomes.
