As the Almond Board of California’s (ABC’s) director for Sustainability and Environmental Affairs, Dr. Gabriele Ludwig sits at the nexus of research and regulation, ensuring that ABC research funding priorities are aligned with the regulatory landscape, and that pending regulations include real-world data on how California Almonds are grown.
Dr. Ludwig serves as staff liaison to ABC’s Environmental Committee, but also works closely with Bob Curtis and the Production Research Committee as well as with Julie Adams and the Technical Regulatory Affairs Committee (TRAC) on issues related to air quality, water quality, pesticides, sustainability1 and bee health.
Regulatory, Environmental Issues
The Environmental Committee funds research that both directly addresses regulatory issues and helps the almond industry understand its role in environmental issues.
“The research and regulatory sides strengthen each other,” Ludwig said. “Knowing what’s going on in the regulatory world helps drive our industry-funded research, and knowing what’s going on in the research side allows us to talk credibly when it comes to regulations.”
“When people ask what I do, I often joke that ‘I attend meetings,’” she added, explaining that she is often the face of the Almond Board when environmental issues and regulations that impact California Almonds are being discussed. This gives almond growers a valuable seat at the table, and also helps build relationships in the regulatory and scientific communities on behalf of the California Almond industry.
On the international level, for instance, Ludwig’s collaboration with TRAC helps ensure that pesticide registrants include nut crops when submitting data packages to establish maximum residue limits (MRLs) for the export of California Almonds.
International Cooperation
“Through my attendance at international meetings and by talking with registrants and U.S. government officials, they now understand that because almonds are such an internationally traded product, tree nut crops should be one of the first international MRLs they are thinking about,” she said. “Ten years ago, we were not on their radar screen.”
Here at home, Ludwig’s participation in groups such as the Honey Bee Health Coalition, Pollinator Health Task Force and North American Pollinator Protection Campaign will help give almond growers a seat at the table when issues related to honey bee health gain national prominence.
Her expertise on research and regulatory policy issues is also vital in helping secure research and incentive funds for the industry, for instance, when farm bill language is being crafted, when USDA Specialty Crop Block Grants are being awarded, or when Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Conservation Resource Program funds are being allocated.
“We worked, for instance, with the NRCS to get incentive credits for almond growers who use harvest equipment that reduces dust emissions at harvest,” she said.
Instrumental in Sustainability Program
More than a decade ago, Ludwig was instrumental in taking a newly developed definition of sustainability in almonds and developing it into what is now a program based on handler and grower self-assessments. Today, the California Almond Sustainability Program (CASP) provides consumers and buyers with data on sustainable almond production while also encouraging increased adoption of sustainable farming practices. To date, growers representing more than half the state’s almond acreage have participated in at least one self-assessment, and the program continues to grow and evolve.
“Collaboration, both within and outside of Almond Board, is important in what I do because of the complexity and overlap of so many of the issues,” Ludwig continued.
Ludwig serves as a consultant to the newly forged Almond Alliance, helping to provide data and draft comments, for instance, when EPA does risk assessments on key almond pesticides, or when the state Department of Pesticide Regulation proposes onerous new restrictions on air-blast and aerial applications near schools.
These collaborative relationships will continue to be important at the international, national, state and local levels. Each year, Ludwig and the Environmental Committee work to build those relationships by welcoming regulators — from ground-level scientists to top-level appointees — to almond orchards throughout the state as part of the annual Environmental Stewardship Tour.
“Generally, people trust us,” Dr. Ludwig remarked. “The tours help. The meetings help. People understand that we don’t go on the offensive unless we have a strong reason to. We are a credible source of information, and that comes from building relationships and providing reliable information that is as current as we can make it.”
1. Sustainable almond farming utilizes production practices that are economically viable and are based upon scientific research, common sense and a respect for the environment, neighbors and employees. The result is a plentiful, nutritious, safe food product.
