Demand for organic almonds remains strong, but are the premiums worth the risk of reduced yield and higher input costs?
Fifth-generation grower Wes Sperry sees organic production as advancing him toward two of his goals: maximizing financial returns and leaving his land in a better condition than when he started farming it.
Sperry began his transition into organic certification by choosing a 5th-year orchard on a 125-acre block that’s isolated from his other 1,000 acres of conventional almonds. Last year he completed the first of a three-year transition process to organic.
Although early in the process, he has already learned many lessons that could be helpful to growers who are curious to know if organic certification might be right for them. He shared those lessons at The Almond Conference 2020 during panel, “Organic Almonds: Why and How from a Grower’s Perspective”.1
Joining Sperry on the panel was Geordy Wise, senior vice president of farming operations at Pacific Ag Management, and Amélie Gaudin, Ph.D., associate professor and agroecologist with the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of California, Davis. Chief Scientific Officer at the Almond Board of California (ABC) Josette Lewis, Ph.D. moderated the discussion.
Wise, who manages 250 acres of organic almonds with another 450 acres in transition, said he was “skeptical” when his company started the organic process. ”But it’s a very doable thing if you challenge yourself and go after it properly.”
How to get started in organic certification
“There was definitely a learning curve on doing the paperwork,” said Sperry, who farms in both Merced County and Stanislaus County. “You’ve got to document all the products that you intend to use and your practices. Then continuously throughout the year, as you’re realizing that your product may be changing, you have to have those cross-referenced by your certifier.”
Finding an organic certifier is an important step to take early in the process. Sperry said there are a lot of certifiers out there, and constant communication with one’s certifier is an important part of the organic transition process.
To start the organic process, both Sperry and Wise converted a conventional orchard over to organic instead of developing a new organic orchard. Gaudin said this approach is most common in order to start trees off under low pest pressure and to protect growers’ long-term investment.
Managing pests and diseases organically
One of Sperry’s main concerns about jumping into organic was how he would manage pests and diseases. In his first year, he utilized organic-labeled fungal bloom sprays, mating disruption, and some organic hull split sprays. He was pleased to see that this approach was equally as effective on Navel Orangeworm as his conventional practices, although he acknowledged the costs are higher.
Farming in Kern County, Geordy Wise said organic almonds in his area can be managed very similar to conventional. “For Navel Orangeworm, sanitization and early harvest are really what’s working well for us,” said Wise.
He found success with some organic mite-control products as well, but said dust-reduction and early application are still very important in both organic and conventional systems. Lastly, when he encountered both plant bugs and Alternaria, he managed the pests with early detection and variety selection, respectively.
Lewis affirmed there are Integrated Pest Management tools,2 developed and supported by ABC-funded research, that can be effective in both conventional and organic systems.
“For Navel Orangeworm, things like winter sanitation, early harvest, and use of mating disruption are all tools that work for conventional as well as organic,” Lewis said.
The bigger challenge for both Sperry and Wise has been weed management. Both have used propane burners, which results in occasionally burning hoses, driplines, and emitters. They also mow the row middles frequently. Wise and his team at Pacific Ag Management also put tarp under the tree rows in a six foot band. Although he admits this is high maintenance, it does help cover some of the area that he cannot mow.
“How we handle weeds is going to be the biggest challenge and the biggest opportunity to change what we’re doing,” said Sperry.
While these solutions can be costly, Wise and Sperry have not yet identified better alternatives. Sperry explored the use of some organic-approved herbicides but decided against them due to cost and inconsistent reviews on their efficacy.
Organic fertility
According to Sperry and Wise, one of the biggest economic challenges of the organic transition is the reality that nitrogen-based organic fertilizers are very expensive.
“Nitrogen will be your limiting factor,” said Wise, “but it’s part of the game in organic. It’s probably three-to-four times the cost of what you would pay for conventional.”
Sperry starts his fertility in the fall after harvest, applying a lot of compost and manure-based fertilizers. He then uses nitrogen-based organic fertilizers during bloom and nut fill. In his first year, he saw great growth and color of next year’s fruit wood, but said it has been a challenge to find affordable and adequate nitrogen options.
Sperry also tried compost tea in his organic orchard to boost soil biology, hoping to get microbial benefits and assimilate nutrients in the soil. He saw positive impact from this decision, which led to an example of a practice initially driven by organic constraints that became useful on conventional acres.
“I’ve changed some of my practices on the conventional because of what I’ve had to learn on organic,” Sperry said.
Wise said he is trying to stay away from compost and manure because he doesn’t like the disturbance that comes with incorporating them into the soil. He is trending more towards liquids, which allow him to put together more consistent agronomic packages like he does on conventional acres. Other than the cost, the downside is that these products can plug up filters and irrigation devices – to address this, he has been diluting the products and using some foliar sprays in his organic fertility program.
Trade-offs of going organic
Organic production does involve challenges like more paperwork, added costs, and more intensive management – but the benefits can be both financial and personal.
“I believe the marketplace is there” said Wise. “It’s a very rewarding process to be able to challenge yourself to grow an organic product. It has been very fun for us.”
Other benefits include building long-term orchard resiliency with beneficial insects, cover crops, and soil health. Gaudin said her research shows real potential for organic production to reach similar yields to those of conventional systems. The key to achieving this will be “mindful investment into building soil fertility,” she said. Cover crops and soil amendments are two practices that can help achieve this goal, but she warns “this is not one-size-fits-all.”
As things stand today, the yields have not yet caught up to conventional production, and Wise said it’s important to be realistic about what to expect. “Costs are probably going to be 25% more, and your yields are probably going to reduce 25%,” he said.
Whether or not these trade-offs are worth it will be different for each individual grower, but ultimately, according to Sperry, “It’s a long term commitment so you’ve got to be in it for the long haul.”
1 View a recording of this panel discussion at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4vjeEFPiQk
2 https://www.almonds.com/almond-industry/orchard-management/crop-protection/integrated-pest-management
